Arab NATO: a New Alliance Between Saudis And Americans

But let's go back to Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. Later, he'll go to Israel and Palestine, then Europe. But Riyadh is the central spot for Trump's first international tour.

But let's go back to Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. Later, he'll go to Israel and Palestine, then Europe. But Riyadh is the central spot for Trump's first international tour. Let's talk about the contract with Saudi Arabia for the delivery of arms. Just consider this — it is worth 110 billion dollars.

To give a better picture, 110 billion dollars is way more than Russia's annual defense budget. But it's not just a pile of weapons in exchange for a pile of money. It's a completely new US policy in the Middle East with a radical shift in all proportions. While Trump was in Saudi Arabia, at home, in the US, he was still taking flak for his supposed pro-Russian stance.

For example, the former Head of the CIA and the NSA, Michael Hayden, in his interview with the German Bild am Sonntag, said that for the Russians, Trump plays a role of a useful idiot. But the weapon contract with the Saudis, who sponsor terrorists in Syria while dreaming of destroying Iran, turns these accusations to dust. It seems that nothing helpful came out of the events in Riyadh.

For his meeting with Trump, Saudi Arabia's King Al Saud gathered a summit of about 50 reps from Muslim and Arab states in his house. There, he said that the visit and the meeting with the US President will establish the alliance against extremism and terrorism. These words echoed with Trump's speech in Riyadh in front of Arab and Muslim leaders, where he said that the US is striving to create a coalition of nations to fight terrorism.

Nothing new, but attentive observers already know what these words mean, even if they are said in a new context. Saudis, with support from the US and with American weapons, want to create a new military alliance in the region, which the press already calls the "Arab NATO". Its members will be more sensitive, at least, to the anti-Iranian tendencies coming out of Washington, unlike the more cautious NATO members in Europe. Sounds kind of dangerous.