US newspapers are running stories today about plans by the US government to sell advanced weapons to the GCC States (including Saudi Arabia) and Israel. The stories note that the Kingdom has requested ‘Joint Direct Attack Munitions’—JDAMs—the formal designation of what are popularly called ’smart bombs’. The articles do not discuss exactly which munitions the other Gulf States are to receive. For Israel, again there’s no citation of specific weapons systems. Instead, Israel is to receive $30 billion in new aid—strictly military—as Israel has reached a point of economic development that it no longer qualifies for developmental aid.

All the reports focus on the fact that the assistance is predicated on perceived threats from Iran to the entire Gulf region.

In order to mollify Israel’s concerns about the KSA’s possession of ’smart bombs’, the US is expected to put conditions on where they may be deployed, i.e., not at air bases nearest Israel. The article in The New York Times says that the Israelis are not afraid of an attack by the Saudi government, but are concerned about the potential acts of a rogue pilot or what might happen if the Saudi government were replaced by a radical group.

The New York Times: U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia

The Washington Post: U.S. Plans New Arms Sales to Gulf Allies

McLatchy Newpapers: U.S. plans to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Egypt

Cynic that I sometimes am, I wonder if the flash of negative media coverage of Saudi Arabia over the past week is linked to this. There are those in the media, Congress, and other government offices that simply do not like Saudi Arabia for a variety of reasons. Negative publicity on the eve of sales like these could very well be used to try to scuttle the deal in Congress. But maybe that’s just me.