As part of Trump's Middle East policy, he will be striking another multi-billion Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia to cement ties to the Muslim country. The deal aims to solidify the ties between the US and Saudi Arabia and to continue having Riyadh as a regional ally for further US operations in the Middle East.
What will the US offer Saudi Arabia in this massive arms deal?
According to reports, the arms package that is worth $100 billion will include American arms, ships for maritime security, air missile defense and fighter jets.
If the deal continues, in a decade, think tanks estimate the arms package would surpass $300 billion yet it will not be close to the amount given to the major beneficiary of military aid in the Middle East, Israel.
According to inside sources, the deal is in the final stages and is one of Trump's main agenda items when he visitsSaudi Arabia next week. The deal will increase manufacturing jobs in the United States, which was one of the main campaign objectives of Trump. The US president will visit Saudi Arabia next week as part of the Middle East tour, which includes a visit to Israel and then an audience with Pope Francis in Rome.
Trump hopes that the visits will further unify the three major faiths in the Middle East towards a common goal of achieving prosperity, end the religious and cultural conflicts and defeat global terrorism.
How will this Saudi arms deal benefit the United States?
Having a regional ally during the push to crush ISIS this coming June is very important. The US military is speeding up arming Kurdish troops in Syria for that big push to capture the ISIS capital of Raqqa. However, the US will not be expecting full support from Saudi because at the moment, the country is in the middle of an armed conflict with Yemen, which is now under an Iran-backed government.
Saudi Arabia is concerned that Yemen will become a Shia government under the influence of Iran.
Also, it has been reported that Yemen is attracting a number of terrorist cells within the Houthis group that is slowly gaining power. Saudi will not tolerate a Shia-led country on their doorstep and will do what they can to prevent this.
It is most likely that the arms deal to be made with the US will be used mostly to fuel the ongoing conflict with Yemen. Through the added arms acquired from the US, Riyadh can easily dominate Yemen and halt the Shia influence that is slowly enveloping the country. It is also in the best interest of America that Yemen capitulates to Saudi pressure as it will stamp out Iranian influence spreading throughout the Middle East.