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BumRushDaShow

(171,450 posts)
Sat May 2, 2026, 05:00 PM 19 hrs ago

State Department approves over $8B in arms sales to Gulf nations

Source: The Hill

05/02/26 2:45 PM ET


The State Department on Friday approved over $8 billion in arms sales to Persian Gulf countries and Israel, nations that have all been involved in the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran. Purchases approved included an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to the United Arab Emirates for $147.6 million, to Israel for $992.4 million and to Qatar for $992.4 million. The State Department also approved the replenishment of Qatar’s Patriot missile capacity for $4.01 billion and an Integrated Battle Command System to Kuwait for $2.5 billion.

The APKWS includes rocket launchers, high explosive warheads and proximity fuzes, among other items, to the UAE and Qatar; technical data, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment and U.S. government and contractor engineering, among other items, to Israel and Qatar. Defense equipment to be sold to Kuwait include communications equipment, generators, vehicles, training equipment including an air defense reconfigurable trainer and field office support, among other items.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to” each country, the State Department stated. Each sale “is in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements…”

All of the proposed sales “contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner that has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the department added. The approval of the sales comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released $400 million in Ukraine support. Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III said the aid was “not under contract, but released to be put under contract.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5860824-state-dept-arms-sales-gulf/

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Igel

(37,604 posts)
7. Chance of renewed attacks on those countries,
Sat May 2, 2026, 06:55 PM
18 hrs ago

after they've mostly exhausted their defensive weapons in the last series of attacks.

Of course, the problem is that between what we sent to Ukraine in '22, '23, '24 and even '25 (and didn't replace) and what we used last summer (and didn't replace) and what we used in March (and didn't replace) we're sort of running a bit low on some of those munitions ourselves. Even as there's a persistent demand to send even more to Ukraine. (Which demand I support, but that doesn't change the base fact that we're running low on some of those munitions and replenishment rates are abysmal.)

Lovie777

(23,451 posts)
2. Well the golf league that Saudi and shithole....
Sat May 2, 2026, 05:20 PM
19 hrs ago

Created, just folded because the funding ran out.

Deuxcents

(27,477 posts)
3. We are the world's largest arms dealer but there's no funds for USAID, healthcare, or Ukraine like we promised
Sat May 2, 2026, 05:23 PM
19 hrs ago

Priorities are really messed up and getting worse and we’ve got 2+ years to go

pat_k

(13,728 posts)
6. The future remains unknown. Frankly, resignation isn't outside the realm of possiblity.
Sat May 2, 2026, 06:47 PM
18 hrs ago

As the damage of his criminal war on Iran escalates going into the midterms, and beyond, the instinct for self-preservation among trumpublicans could kick in.

Sooner or later, it is going to become clear to them that there is NO WAY OUT with the felon-in-chief in the WH. When/if that grim and inevitable reality dawns on enough of them, I wouldn't be surprised to hear leaks about visits to the WH by little delegations of from the hill. The content won't be leaked, but you can bet they'll be pitching face-saving resignation for health reasons or some such bullshit. Particularly if we win the House (and perhaps Senate) and put the full extent of the corruption and crimes front and center in the public's mind. There are only so many of them who will be willing to sacrifice careers to go down with the rotting corpse of trump around their necks.

Right now they are hanging on to the fantasy that the criminal war on Iran will magically end and things will go back to some survivable trumpian business as usual. When it is clear that there is NO WAY OUT with him in the WH, things could shift dramatically.

Cheezoholic

(3,819 posts)
8. The MIC is setting up a new hot war zone. Maybe not this year or next but 5 or 10 years down the road, it's just stupid
Sat May 2, 2026, 07:18 PM
17 hrs ago

We can't keep dumping this many weapons into a region wrought with not just religious persecution and violent repression but extremely excessive societal economic oppression. These countries oppress the poor majorities like there's no tomorrow. The American people have been fooled into thinking these Persian Gulf countries are so rich, everyone lives like kings when it's quite the opposite. These Monarchies oppress anything that would get in the way of them holding on to the majority of economic wealth as ALL Monarchies in history have. Toss in the vicious religious divisions and you have a ticking time bomb as soon as there is a power vacuum. And there will be. Look what happened to Iran and Iraq, both stocked to the hilt by not just us but Russia, in the 50's and 60's. The Iran Iraq war was insanely one of the most vicious bloody wars of the 20th century. To think these countries will be any different is just foolish and it could very well draw the big players right into the quagmire. It very nearly has now.

EX500rider

(12,674 posts)
11. "We can't keep dumping this many weapons..."
Sun May 3, 2026, 09:42 AM
3 hrs ago

They will get them one way or the other, just a matter whether US companies sell them to them or Chinese companies or Russian companies or Indian companies or German companies Etc

RussBLib

(10,704 posts)
9. No matter what
Sat May 2, 2026, 07:56 PM
17 hrs ago

We, the U.S., will continue to supply any country with lethal weapons. That’s what we do.

Health insurance? Get away from me you freeloader!

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

popsdenver

(2,510 posts)
10. Trump recently ordered the U.S.
Sat May 2, 2026, 09:52 PM
15 hrs ago

Military Industrial Complex to greatly increase their production of weapons.......

I wondered why, and now we know at least one reason.......

He is throwing a TON of candy to all kinds of the U.S. Corporations that not only put him in power, but have kept him, and all of his Republican CABAL in Power........

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