U.S. SHOWS FRUSTRATION WITH SAUDIS BY SELLING THEM $20B IN WEAPONS

U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations with Saudis' Role in Iraq (NYT)
Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabia's counterproductive role in the Iraq war. They say that the Saudis have offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq. Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow. It appears that Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to undermine the Maliki government and to pursue a different course in Iraq from what the administration has charted. Saudi Arabia has also stymied a number of other American foreign policy initiatives, including a hoped-for Saudi embrace of Israel.

See also U.S.-Saudi Tensions to Increase in 2008 (Forbes/Oxford Analytica)

SO WHAT DOES AMERICA DO? (SEE BELOW). THAT'LL TEACH 'EM.

Report: White House Planning $20 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia (FOXNEWS)
The Bush administration will be asking Congress to approve a $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states despite the concerns of some U.S. officials that the Saudis have been hampering U.S. efforts in Iraq, the New York Times reported Saturday.

The size of the proposed package, which would include advanced weaponry, has made Israel and its supporters in Congress “nervous,” the Times reported. The administration is expecting Israeli supporters and Saudi critics in Congress to oppose the deal when it is formally presented to Congress this fall.

To resolve these concerns, the administration has promised Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, and is asking the Saudis to accept restrictions on the “range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs” and to agree not to store the weapons near Israeli territory, a U.S. official told the Times.