US okays $1bn missile sale to Saudi Arabia

The Pentagon has approved the sale of more than 15,000 Raytheon Co anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia under two separate deals valued at nearly $1.1 billion.The Defence Security Co-operation Agency, which oversees foreign military sales, notified Congress on Thursday that it had approved Saudi Arabia’s request for nearly 14,000 tube-launched, optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) missiles for its national guard, and more than 1,700 similar missiles for the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

The potential sales were announced during Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel’s current visit to the Gulf, aimed at underscoring the US commitment to Middle East security.

Lawmakers have 30 days to block the proposed sales, although such action is rare.
“The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a critical partner who has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability in the Middle East,” DSCA said on its website.

The agency said Saudi Arabia would use the missiles to support defence and counterterrorism missions, strengthen its homeland defence and provide a deterrent to regional threats.

Adding the missiles to the Royal Saudi Land Forces’ arsenal would also improve the compatibility of those forces with US forces, and demonstrates the US government’s continued commitment to Saudi military modernisation efforts, DSCA said.

Raytheon’s website describes the TOW weapon system as the “premier long-range, precision anti-armor, anti-fortification and anti-amphibious landing weapon system” used around the world. It said the system is in use in nations around the world.

Meanwhile, a rare shootout between police and an armed group that left 10 people dead in northern Nicaragua has fuelled suspicions that guerrillas are forming to challenge President Daniel Ortega’s government.

Nicaraguan officials have called Wednesday’s confrontation in the town of Ayapal near the Honduran border little more than an attempted grocery store robbery gone bad. Ortega chief of staff Ana Isabel Morales said on Wednesday the assailants were “criminals.”

Others disputed the official account. One of the country’s main human rights groups, as well as a former Ortega ally and a Roman Catholic bishop reportedly in touch with a guerrilla band said the bloodshed represented evidence of long-rumoured insurgent activity.-AFP.