Word: arabia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...first it looked like a shrewd way to expand U.S. influence in oil-rich, pro-Western Saudi Arabia, without unduly roiling its troubled near neighbor Israel. But by last week the prospective deal had turned into something of an Arabian nightmare. By spelling out just what would be included in $5 billion worth of modern weaponry, which he intends to sell to the Saudis, Ronald Reagan set a time bomb ticking toward an explosive congressional battle over his foreign policy...
...REAGAN administration's decision to ask for Congressional approval of a major sale of advanced military hardware to Saudi Arabia was admittedly a tough one. Had the White House abandoned support of the sale, critics would have charged the President with backing down in the face of Congressional opposition, or with insulting the Saudi government when it is trying to convince radical Arab states of the value of American friendship. But the potential damage to the administration is certainly less grave than that which might result if Congress approves the sale...
...they need the fuel tanks along with five Airborne Warning and Command System (AWACS) aircraft, claiming that their security needs have changed since then. The Soviets are in Afganistan, and Iran, once America's arsenal in the Persian Gulf, is now unfriendly to both the United States and Saudi Arabia...
...weak oil market is now putting OPEC on the spot. During 1980, the cartel's production dropped to nearly a decade low of 27 million bbl. a day, even though Saudi Arabia, the group's single biggest producer, has since last autumn been pumping daily almost 2 million bbl. over and above its self-imposed output ceiling of 8.5 million...
Some Western observers, however, now wonder if Saudi Arabia is also keeping production high because it simply needs the oil income. Despite its large foreign reserves, the country is pushing development so rapidly that it is hard-pressed for cash. Writes Douglas J. Feith, general counsel of the Center for International Security in Washington: "A Saudi production cut from 10 million to 5 million bbl. a day would cut Saudi revenues in half-from the current $120 billion a year to around $60 billion. But official Saudi spending is at the rate of $96 billion a year, and thereby hangs...