Congress has 30 days to decide on the Saudi sale, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said they
believed the Democratic-controlled Congress, lobbied heavily by prime
contractor Boeing and other defense companies, would not block the deal.
"We feel comfortable that Congress will not be a barrier to the
completion of this sale," Shapiro said.
Congressional response to the Saudi deal appeared slight. Congress has
been in recess, with most lawmakers fighting for re-election in November.
"I plan to introduce a resolution with my colleagues to block this arms
deal," Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat, said. "Saudi Arabia has not
behaved like an ally of the United States. They have a history of financing
terrorism, and it is a nation that teaches hate of Christians and Jews. They
should not be rewarded with a weapons upgrade."
In a briefing on Oct. 20 Shapiro, responsible for military affairs at
the State Department, said the Saudi deal would mark a process that could
last for decades. He said the delivery of fighter-jets as well as missiles,
munitions, radars and communications could take up to 20 years.
"Given the defense requirements being pursued by Saudi Arabia, it may
choose not to fully fund all four of these programs," Shapiro said. "The
final amount of the sale may well be less than the not-to-exceed estimate
provided by DSCA [Defense Security Cooperation Agency] as it will ultimately
depend on what the Saudi Government decides to purchase and on the outcome
of contract negotiations with industry."
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Saudi Arabia would receive
84 F-15s with such advanced air-to-air missiles as the AIM-9X Sidewinder and
AIM-120C/7. The deal would also include 1,000 Joint Direct Attack Munitions,
a kit meant to turn 2,000-pound general purpose bombs into precision
air-to-ground weapons.
"Also included are the upgrade of the existing Royal Saudi Air Force
fleet of 70 F-15S multi-role fighters to the F-15SA configuration," DSCA
said. "The proposed sale of this service will not alter the basic military
balance in the region."
DSCA said the F-15 component of the Saudi deal was estimated at $29.4
billion. The agency also announced the sale of 70 AH-64D Apache Longbow as
well as 72 Black Hawk helicopters in a separate $30 billion proposal.
"The Saudi Arabian National Guard will use the AH-64D for its national
security and protecting its borders and oil infrastructure," the Pentagon
agency said. "The proposed sale will provide for the defense of vital
installations and will provide close air support for the Saudi military
ground forces."
In the State Department briefing, officials acknowledged that the
administration was preparing to also approve a Saudi request for U.S. naval
platforms. They did not say when the naval package would be relayed to
Congress.
Shapiro refused to explain Saudi Arabia's requirement for hundreds of
U.S. fighters and helicopters. He denied that Riyad's main threat stemmed
from Iran.
"It's not solely about Iran," Shapiro said. "It's about helping the
Saudis with their legitimate security needs, and they have a number of
legitimate security needs."
Shapiro said the Saudi deal would not harm what he termed Israel's
qualitative military. He refused to say whether Israel, which received more
than $2.7 billion in annual U.S. military aid in 2010, was provided
guarantees.
"Our assessment is that this would not diminish Israel's qualitative
military edge, and therefore, we felt comfortable in going forward with the
sale," Shapiro said. "I think it's fair to say that based on what we've
heard at high levels, Israel does not object to this sale."