US And UAE Pushing For A Deal On F-35 Fighter Jets Sale By December

A formation of US Air Force F-35 jets perform aerial manoeuvres during combat exercise in Utah [File: Handout via Reuters]

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. eyes December agreement on F-35 jets with UAE - sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and the United Arab Emirates hope to have an initial agreement on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Gulf state in place by December, as the Trump administration studies how to structure a deal without running afoul of Israel.

Sources close to the negotiations said the goal is to have a letter of agreement in place in time for UAE National Day celebrated on Dec. 2.

Any deal must satisfy decades of agreement with Israel that states any U.S. weapons sold to the region must not impair Israel’s “qualitative military edge,” guaranteeing U.S. weapons furnished to Israel are “superior in capability” to those sold to its neighbors.

With that in mind Washington is studying ways to make the Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N F-35 more visible to Israeli radar systems, two sources said. Reuters could not determine if this would be done by changing the jet or providing Israel with better radar, among other possibilities.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was due to meet his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper in Washington on Tuesday.

The UAE embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment.

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WNU Editor: Even if there is an agreement, it will be years before the UAE can get these fighter jets .... US ambassador: It will take 6-7 years for UAE to get F-35 jets (Times of Israel).

More News On The US And UAE Pushing For A Deal On F-35 Fighter Jets Sale By December

Amidst F-35 to UAE rumors, Esper pledges to support Israeli edge -- Defense News
F35 For UAE Could Be Less Stealthy As Israel Protests Sale -- Investors Business Daily
US and UAE hoping for deal on F-35 jets sale by December: Sources -- Middle East Eye
UAE & US seek to reach preliminary F-35 deal by December, circumventing Israeli objections – report -- RT
US, UAE Mull Clinching F-35 Deal by 2 December Amid Reports of Netanyahu’s Nod to Sale, Media Says -- Sputnik
US, UAE may agree on F-35 deal by December: Reuters -- Al Jazeera
Selling Fighter Jets to the UAE Is All About Israel -- Bloomberg

U.S. Approves A New Arms Sales To the U.A.E.

American-made MRAP Photograph:( AFP )

CNN: The US cleared the way for a new arms sale to the UAE, despite evidence it violated the last one

The Trump administration has cleared the United Arab Emirates of wrongdoing and approved a possible sale of thousands of armored vehicles to the Gulf state, US government officials told CNN, despite evidence that the country made unauthorized transfers of American military hardware to armed groups in Yemen.

Yemen is embroiled in a civil war that has pitted a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- both key US allies -- against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and the presence of American-made weaponry has only helped to fuel the fighting.

A CNN investigation in February last year revealed that both American allies had given US-made equipment to al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other fighting factions in Yemen, despite their agreements with Washington.

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Update: US oks more arms to UAE despite violations (Nation/Anadolu)

WNU Editor: This is why the Middle East is a quagmire. Too many sides with disputes going back generations, and outsiders like the U.S. hoping to profit from it.

Report: The CIA Does Not Spy On The UAE

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates June 24, 2019. File photo. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Reuters: Why the CIA doesn't spy on the UAE

(Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates finances the military leader trying to topple a United Nations-recognized government in Libya. It helps lead a coalition of nations imposing an economic blockade of Qatar, despite U.S. calls to resolve the dispute. It hired former staffers of the U.S. National Security Agency as elite hackers to spy in a program that included Americans as surveillance targets, a Reuters investigation found this year.

And yet, in a highly unusual practice, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) does not spy on the UAE’s government, three former CIA officials familiar with the matter told Reuters, creating what some critics call a dangerous blind spot in U.S. intelligence.

The CIA’s posture isn’t new. What’s changed is the nature of the tiny but influential OPEC nation’s intervention across the Middle East and Africa - fighting wars, running covert operations and using its financial clout to reshape regional politics in ways that often run counter to U.S. interests, according to the sources and foreign policy experts.

The CIA’s failure to adapt to the UAE’s growing military and political ambitions amounts to a “dereliction of duty,” said a fourth former CIA official.

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WNU Editor: The CIA does not operate in a vacuum. The political leadership and oversight committees are the ones who dictate what the CIA can and cannot do. So the real question that should be asked is .... why. Why is the political leadership in the U.S. giving a pass to the UAE when it comes to U.S. intelligence?

U.S. Sells More Bombs To The UAE

Joint Direct Attack Munitions, guidance kits that convert existing unguided bombs into precision-guided "smart" munitions. (US Navy photo)

The Hill: US approves $785M bomb sale to UAE

The State Department has approved the sale of $785 million in bombs to the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report.

The deal is intended to help the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Reuters said Tuesday.

The Pentagon on Tuesday announced that the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which facilitates foreign arms sales, had authorized the move.

Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, Reuters said, but such action is rare as transactions are carefully vetted.

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Update #1: U.S. approves $785 million bomb sale to UAE ally against Islamic State (Reuters)
Update #2: US Approves $785Mln Munitions Sale to United Arab Emirates (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: The arms business is definitely good.

UAE Purchases A Missile Defense System From The U.S.

A THAAD missile test launch (file photo)

US to Sell Missile Defense System to UAE -- Voice of America

The United States and the United Arab Emirates have signed a deal for a missile defense system in the Persian Gulf nation.

The Pentagon said in a statement Friday that U.S.-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin has been awarded a nearly $2 billion contract to supply the UAE with two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Systems (THAAD).

Defense officials say the deal includes additional equipment, training and support that boosts the total value of the package to approximately $3.48 billion.

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More News On The U.S. Selling A Missile Defense System To UAE

US seals $3.48B missiles, technology sale to UAE -- AP
US arms deal bolsters UAE's missile defense -- AFP
US seals deal on $3.48 billion sale of missiles, technology to UAE, a close ally in Mideast -- Washington Post/AP
U.S. signs deal to sell missiles to UAE as Iran backs down from its own missile testing plan -- National Post/Reuters
U.S., UAE reach deal for missile-defense system -- CNN
Boeing wins $3.48 billion Missile Defense Agency contract for development, sustainment of GMD system -- al.com
UAE Said to Sign Lockheed Thaad Pact Valued to $3.49 Billion -- Bloomberg
US to sell $3.5b in missile technology to the United Arab Emirates -- Global Post
US sells $3.5 billion missile defense system to the UAE -- The Hill

US Nuclear Accord With A Persian Gulf State Raises Concerns About Proliferation

US President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Obama on Thursday approved a civilian nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which some observers see as striking a contrast with Iran's defiant nuclear drive. (AFP/Saul Loeb)

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Backers says the agreement with the United Arab Emirates is a model for other countries in the region. But critics worry about the UAE's ties with Iran.

Washington - The Obama administration, anxious to demonstrate America's willingness to deepen relations with reliable partners in the Muslim world before the president's much-heralded speech to that community early next month, has signed a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

The nuclear accord, negotiated by the Bush administration but left for President Obama's sign-off, is touted by the new administration – as it was by the former – as a model for future civilian nuclear cooperation with Arab countries.

With Obama set to lay out his vision for America's cooperation with Muslim countries from Cairo June 4, the US-UAE accord is also seen as a counterpoint to Iran's nuclear program and its combative relations with the international community.

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My Comment: Did the U.S. have a choice. The Gulf Arabs have the money, resources, and technical expertise to develop such a program. From where I stand, it appears that the U.S. had no choice but to go along with this project ..... or let someone else do it instead.

Torture By Royal Threatens To Derail UAE Nuke Deal

From The Australian:

A VIDEOTAPE showing a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family torturing a man is jeopardising a multi-billion-dollar nuclear power deal between the US and the Gulf kingdom.

The 45-minute tape shows a man the Government of Abu Dhabi has acknowledged is Sheik Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - one of 22 royal brothers of the UAE President and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince - mercilessly and repeatedly beating a man with a cattle prod and a nailed board, burning his genitals and driving his Mercedes over him several times. He is assisted in the torture by a uniformed policeman.

The fallout from the film - smuggled out of the UAE by a former business associate of the sheik - has reached all the way to the Oval Office, where the civilian nuclear deal, awaiting the signature of US President Barack Obama, remains unsigned. A senior US official has said the administration is holding off certifying the treaty as a direct result of the film.

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My Comment: What happened to this hapless victim is REAL TORTURE .... not the stuff that may have happened at Gitmo or at a secret CIA prison.

But what is disturbing about this incident is NOT the realization that this is common practice in United Arab Emirates .... but this is a country that is now a recipient of billions in advanced weaponry .... as well as a customer who will possess sensitive nuclear technologies.

I am always dubious on giving technologies to governments whose culture is to operate a few centuries behind the rest of us .... but what is even more perplexing is seeing a first world nation like the United States more than eager to sell these technologies to such a group.

Sigh .... what can I say after that.