The new Iran nuclear deal may not be so bad for the American economy. It’s made the Saudis so nervous they just agreed to buy $1 billion worth of weapons from the Pentagon. What Dwight Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex is alive and well in the 21st century. Weapons-buyer Saudi Arabia remains a stalwart ally of the US in a volatile Middle East region where the balance of power seems to shift daily, as the Islamic State continues to terrorize and colonize swaths of real estate in Yemen and elsewhere.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia is due to visit the White House today. The Pentagon-Saudi arms deal still needs congressional approval, but is expected to move through the process without major objection. The bulk of the billion dollar cache of weapons will be missiles fitted out for the American-made F-15 fighter jets that make up much of Saudi’s air power, according to the New York Times.
