Trump Signs $110B Arms Deal With Nation He Accused Of Masterminding 9/11
Local Editor
US President Donald Trump signed the largest arms deal in history with Saudi Arabia despite warnings he could be accused of being complicit in war crimes and after blaming Saudi Arabia himself for producing the terrorists behind 9/11.
Trump confirmed he had signed a weapons deal with the Saudis worth $109.7 billion, predicted to grow to a $380 billion Saudi investment within 10 years, during his first trip abroad since his Inauguration.
Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the deal was positive news for American employment and the economy.
Yet a February Gallup poll found that Saudi Arabia is one of the least liked countries by Americans, only slightly less than Russia.
The deal would also appear hypocritical after the President publicly accused the Saudis of masterminding the attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001.
After his election, Trump said Saudi Arabia should be banned from exporting oil to the US, and accused the country of killing people and enslaving women.
Amnesty International accused the President of a "glaring omission" of human rights on the leaders' agenda, and called for the US to stop selling arms to the Saudis to prevent the nation's violation of international law via air strikes in Yemen and killing civilians.
"This brazen disregard for human rights and humanitarian law will only serve to further embolden states in the Gulf and around the globe in their pursuit of ‘security' at the expense of people's basic rights," said Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA.
According to Kristine Beckerle, the Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch, the sale puts Americans at risk and exposes US officials to legal liability for "aiding and abetting coalition war crimes".
But in recent months the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has developed a relationship with Trump, seven months before the President would arrive in Riyadh with his wife, Melania Trump, to kick off his trip overseas and give a speech on how to combat "radical Islam."
Source: The Independent, Edited by website team
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