U.S. Arms Sales (1976)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 34 years ago in 1976.

Here, in 2010, the latest news is that once again Israel is nervous about U.S. Arms sales to the region.

According to latest reports:

U.S. to sell F-15 fighter jets to Saudis
August 9, 2010

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- "The United States plans to sell F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, but made clear to an anxious Israel that it won’t include long-range weapons systems.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the Obama administration said it would sell 84 F-15 planes to Saudi Arabia in a 10-year, $30 billion deal.

U.S. officials clarified to Israeli officials who expressed concerns that this would undermine Israel's military advantage in the region that the deal would not include long-range weapons systems or other arms. The U.S. officials made it clear that Washington did not make changes to the deal at Israel’s request. Haaretz reported that Israeli fears were assuaged after U.S. officials clarified the details.

Israel and Washington have held meetings over the past 18 months on maintaining Israel’s security advantage in the Middle East. The Saudi deal, which the Obama administration is expected to formally announce next month, had been a source of tension at many of the meetings, according to the Journal." -more

I find it interesting that India, another American ally, is nervous about U.S. Arms sales in its region!! Here's the situation as just reported in the Hindustani Times:

US arms: India against US 'blank cheque' to Pakistan
New Delhi, August 08, 2010

"India has conveyed its concern to the US over arms sales to Pakistan and is against giving a "blank cheque" to Islamabad, which could use the sophisticated weapons against it as it did in the past. "We have shared our concerns with Washington. We have said all along that Pakistan cannot be given a blank cheque in such matters," Foreign Secretary Nirpama Rao said.

She said that assistance extended to Pakistan "ostensibly for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations could very well be used against India as the history of the last sixty years goes".

The US is "increasingly aware, and alert, and attentive" to India's concern on this issue, Rao told Karan Thapar in 'Devil's Advocate' programme on CNN-IBN.

Apart from the sale of F-16s worth $ 1.43 billion, the US is also financing $ 477 million for almost 60 mid-life update kits for its older fleet of F-16s A/B combat aircraft and financing part of 115 M-109 self-propelled howitzers. Pakistan is also getting 20 AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters and 121 refurbished TOW missile launchers from the US, according to Pakistani media reports" -more

Posted by BLODOX

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