Bad dreams in Washington and bad vibes in Israel

[bemildred]

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The Israeli government has been pressing Washington to
halt the sale of advanced weapons systems to Saudi Arabia
and Egypt for some time. The main concern is the sale of
Joint Direct Attack Munitions, high-precision,
satellite-guided weapons known as JDAMS used with
devastating effect in the 1991 Gulf war and the 2003
invasion of Iraq, to both countries. Egypt also wants more
AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles along with
AGH-114K3 Hellfire II air-to-surface missiles that also
wreacked havoc against the Iraqis in 1991 and 2003, and
AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (Harms)
which knock out radar systems to blind an adversary.

But the weapons system sought by Cairo which worries the
Israelis most of all is the AIM-120 Advanced
Medium-Range Air-to-Air missiles (Amraam). This is
considered the most advanced missile of its kind in the
world. Its built-in radar and microcomputer enable it to
follow a target without the pilot's intervention and would
seriously neutralize Israel's vaunted air force, its first line of
defense and its most potent conventional offensive arm.
Jordan also has asked the U.S. for this weapon, which has
been offered to Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states but not
to Arab states bordering Israel. Jdams have not been sold to
any Arab country so far.

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Daily Star

[rfranklin]

1. But Raytheon needs that money!

without the weapons trade the U.S. would have an even more frightening balance of trade deficit. And the Republicans would run out of funds within two weeks.

[DavidMS]

2. There is also the option of buying the russian equivilient

but the real problem in the Arab world is that the population isn't well educated as a whole and as a result their officer corps suffers.

Selling military toys won't signifigantly in and of itself dramaticaly alter the balance of power.