{"id":21370,"date":"2018-11-20T20:25:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T20:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/20\/trump-statement-sticks-with-saudis-hyping-economic-benefits-of-alliance\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:55:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:55:19","slug":"trump-statement-sticks-with-saudis-hyping-economic-benefits-of-alliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/11\/20\/trump-statement-sticks-with-saudis-hyping-economic-benefits-of-alliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump statement sticks with Saudis, hyping economic benefits of alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON and HALIFAX, Canada \u2014 President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement Tuesday justifying the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia by focusing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/10\/11\/trump-doubles-down-hes-not-stopping-saudi-arms-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\">domestic economic benefits<\/a> and the threat from Iran \u2014 and saying he does not know whether Saudi leaders ordered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/10\/10\/us-senators-order-magnitsky-probe-as-riyadhs-capitol-hill-clout-plummets\/\" target=\"_blank\">journalist\u2019s murder<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the White House statement, Trump repeated disputed claims he won $110 billion in U.S.-Saudi arms deals as he signaled he will not move to take stronger action against Saudi Arabia since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and amid the civilian deaths from Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Per Trump, his trip to Saudi Arabia last year landed the mega deal for weapons as part of a Saudi agreement to spend $450 billion in the U.S. \u2014 \u201ca record amount of money\u201d that \u201cwill create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOf the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cIf we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries \u2014 and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump, in the statement, pointed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s denials of involvement in Khashoggi\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKing Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event \u2014 maybe he did and maybe he didn\u2019t!\u201d Trump\u2019s statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order to kill Khashoggi on Oct. 2 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul came from the highest level of the Saudi leadership. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Saturday that an 18-member \u201ckill team\u201d from Saudi Arabia carried out the murder of Khashoggi and could have smuggled his body parts out of the country thanks to their diplomatic status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Arabia\u2019s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said Tuesday in an Arabic-language newspaper interview that claims, including by the CIA, that Salman gave the order to kill Khashoggi were false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis accused of involvement in the killing and made a joint <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/11\/11\/us-to-stop-refueling-of-saudi-aircraft-in-yemen-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">decision<\/a> with Riyadh to end U.S. refueling of Saudi aircraft involved in the Yemen war, Trump\u2019s letter signals he will seek to defy the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/11\/15\/us-house-shelves-yemen-vote-but-theres-another-right-behind-it-and-maybe-two-after-that\/\" target=\"_blank\">growing call in Congress to take further action<\/a> in light of Khashoggi\u2019s death, like halting U.S. arms sales to the kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump said in his statement that while he understands members of Congress may \u201clike to go in a different direction\u201d he would only proceed if ideas \u201care consistent with the absolute security and safety of America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm,\u201d he said. \u201cVery simply it is called America First!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/11\/15\/us-house-shelves-yemen-vote-but-theres-another-right-behind-it-and-maybe-two-after-that\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"231\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-925591912.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US House shelves Yemen vote, but the issue isn\u2019t dead<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">House Republicans just shut down a measure to end U.S. military involvement in the Yemen civil war, but several lawmakers say they are not done yet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement Tuesday, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee decried Trump\u2019s \u201cdisturbing willingness to take the word of Vladimir Putin or the Saudi Crown Prince over U.S. intelligence professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis White House statement is a stunning window into President Trump\u2019s autocratic tendencies, his limited grasp of world affairs, and his weakness on the world stage. It is shocking to see President Trump continue to act as an accomplice to a clear cover up by Saudi leadership,\u201d said Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reed is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, mandate sanctions for Khashoggi\u2019s killers, and bar U.S. refueling of Saudi-led coalition aircraft engaged in the Yemen civil war, among other oversight measures related to the conflict there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another co-sponsor, Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Armed Services Committee member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H, offered her own rebuke of Trump\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s habit of siding with murderous foreign dictators over American intelligence professionals is a stain on our democracy that undermines the American ideal,\u201d Shaheen said in a statement. \u201cFortunately, the President is not the sole protector of that ideal. Congress must now stand up with bipartisan resolve to condemn the brutal slaying of Jamal Khashoggi and pass legislation to respond to this and other Saudi crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it\u2019s unclear whether that bill will see a vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he expects his war powers resolution \u2014 meant to compel an end to U.S. involvement in the Yemen war \u2014 to come to a vote after Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Economic benefits<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.wixstatic.com\/ugd\/3ba8a1_5e9019d625e84087af647e6cb91ea3e2.pdf\" target=_blank>report<\/a> by the Center for International Policy, a Washington-based think tank, argues that U.S. arms sales Trump touts in the letter amount to $14.5 billion and fewer than 20,000 U.S. jobs per year. The president is getting it backwards, and the U.S. role as Saudi Arabia\u2019s weapons supplier gives the U.S. strong leverage over Riyadh, according to the report\u2019s author, William Hartung, director of the think tank\u2019s Arms and Security Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Saudi military depends on U.S. arms, spare parts and maintenance to carry out its brutal war in Yemen, and could not prosecute that war for long without that support,\u201d Hartung said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-thirds of the 365 combat-capable aircraft in the Saudi arsenal are of American-origin, including 171 F-15 combat aircraft, a mainstay of the Saudi air war in Yemen. The Saudi land forces and National Guard possess more than 3,000 U.S.-supplied armored vehicles, and the Saudis have tens of thousands of U.S.-supplied bombs and missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why a competitor could not easily replace the U.S. in supplying Riyadh, according to Hartung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt would take decades for the Kingdom to wean itself from dependence on U.S. equipment, training and support, and new equipment might not be easily interoperable with U.S.-supplied systems,\u201d Hartung said. \u201cSaudi Arabia could buy a Russian or Chinese system here or there to send a political message, but they could not easily replace the role of sales and support from the United States, along with the United Kingdom, as the major bulwarks of its military capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Trump has claimed U.S.-Saudi arms deals account for 40,000 jobs, Hartung reckons that because there are $2.5 billion in annual arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, only 17,500 jobs would have been created in any given year. Still, that\u2019s equal to less than three one-hundredths of 1 percent of the total U.S. labor force of more than 160 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To boot, many of the jobs will be created in Saudi Arabia as part of its new economic plan, which calls for 50 percent of the value of Saudi arms purchases to be produced in the kingdom by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A key part of Trump\u2019s rationale is that Iran was responsible for the war in Yemen, attempting to destabilize Iraq, supporting Hezbollah and propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. Saudi Arabia would leave Yemen if Iran does, he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2015, the Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthis, who took over Yemen\u2019s capital, Sanaa, have fired long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia and have targeted vessels in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLikewise, the Iranians have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cIran states openly, and with great force, \u2018Death to America!\u2019 and \u2018Death to Israel!\u2019 Iran is considered \u2018the world\u2019s leading sponsor of terror.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/08\/16\/can-the-us-track-how-its-weapons-are-used-in-yemen-elizabeth-warren-wants-to-know\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1015590488.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Can the US track how its weapons are used in Yemen? Elizabeth Warren wants to know.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A top Democratic senator wants to know why the U.S. isn&#039;t doing a better job of overseeing attacks using American weapons in Yemen.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon\u2019s top uniformed officer was asked at a public forum Saturday to provide a military perspective on the impact of a freeze of U.S. arms sales to Riyadh. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford said Saudi Arabia has been and is now \u201can important partner for regional security.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTheir cooperation, interoperability and capability, if you will, would be a stabilizing force for the region, has been a stabilizing force for the region,\u201d Dunford said, adding that Saudi Arabia was one of America\u2019s partners in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWorking forward,\u201d he said, \u201cwe will listen carefully to whatever the policy is in light of recent events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House Intelligence Committee\u2019s ranking member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Tuesday fired back at Trump\u2019s statement, calling for an end to support for Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, suspending arms sales to the kingdom \u201cand diminish[ing] our reliance on Riyadh regarding other matters in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schiff, the panel\u2019s presumptive chairman when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/11\/07\/democrats-big-night-brings-big-questions-for-defense-policy\/\" target=_blank>Democrats assume control<\/a> of the House, previously said the committee will conduct a \u201cdeep dive\u201d examination of Saudi Arabia\u2019s conduct in the wake of the Khashoggi murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is true that our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, not just its Crown Prince, and that must factor into our response,\u201d Schiff said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut to suggest \u2018maybe he did and maybe he didn\u2019t\u2019 or that we are incapable of finding out the truth, or that knowing the truth our silence can be bought with arms sales, undermines respect for the Office of the Presidency, the credibility of our intelligence community and America\u2019s standing as a champion of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement justifying the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia by focusing on domestic economic benefits and the threat from Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"8":{"categories":["congress","federal-oversight","home","daily-brief","newsletters","acquisition-update"],"primary_category":"congress"}}},"categories":[8,160,11,36,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-21370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BPHW2DOMC5BF7IS7QZTEYNSNEQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/2018\/11\/20\/trump-statement-sticks-with-saudis-hyping-economic-benefits-of-alliance\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump statement sticks with Saudis, hyping economic benefits of alliance - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement justifying the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia by focusing on domestic economic benefits and the threat from Iran.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump statement sticks with Saudis, hyping economic benefits of alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement justifying the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia by focusing on domestic economic benefits and the threat from Iran.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/11\/20\/trump-statement-sticks-with-saudis-hyping-economic-benefits-of-alliance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-20T20:25:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:55:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            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