<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center">It looks like President Donald Trump&rsquo;s first foreign trip since entering office has already been deemed a success. The White House announced Saturday that the president signed a $110 billion arms deal with U.S. ally Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The agreement states that Saudi Arabia will buy massive amounts of military equipment from the U.S., while also employing American companies to build the equipment. ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,&#8221; said Trump after signing the agreement. &#8220;Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.&#8221; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praise the deal calling it a &#8220;historic moment in U.S.-Saudi relations.&#8221; ; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;The agreement, which is worth $350 billion over 10 years and $110 billion that will take effect immediately, was hailed by the White House as &#8220;a significant expansion of&hellip;[the] security relationship&#8221; between the two countries,&rdquo; writes <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CNBC.</em> &ldquo;Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia is in a broad-based push for economic reform, and as part of that effort signed a flurry of deals with private U.S. companies worth ;tens of billions of dollars.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only will it create more U.S. jobs, but it will also create new highly skilled positions in Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor privy to the U.S.-Saudi accord said that it</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;will directly contribute to [Saudi Arabia&#8217;s] Vision 2030 by opening the door for thousands of highly skilled jobs in new economic sectors.&#8221; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;At Lockheed Martin, we are proud to be part of this historic announcement that will strengthen the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,&#8221; said Marilyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin president in a statement. &#8220;We are especially proud of how our broad portfolio of advanced global security products and technologies will enhance ;national security ;in Saudi Arabia, strengthen the cause of peace in the region, and provide the foundation for ;job creation ;and economic prosperity in the U.S. and in the Kingdom.&#8221;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This deal will also foster efforts against radical Islamic terrorism.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;This package of defense equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats, while also bolstering the Kingdom&#8217;s ability to contribute to ;counter terrorism ;operations across the region, reducing the burden on the U.S. military to conduct those operations,&#8221; said the White House in a statement.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The president&rsquo;s son-in-law was allegedly imperative to getting the deal done.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Sensing that the cost might be a problem, several administration officials said, Mr. Kushner picked up the phone and called Marillyn A. Hewson &mdash; the chief executive of Lockheed Martin, which makes the radar system &mdash; and asked her whether she could cut the price. As his guests watched slack-jawed, Ms. Hewson told him she would look into it, officials said,&rdquo; writes the <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</em>. &ldquo;Mr. Kushner&rsquo;s personal intervention in the arms sale is further evidence of the Trump White House&rsquo;s readiness to dispense with custom in favor of informal, hands-on deal making. It also offers a window into how the administration hopes to change America&rsquo;s position in the Middle East, emphasizing hard power and haggling over traditional diplomacy.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Author&rsquo;s note: </strong>Trump previously said it was time to stop paying for the defense of other countries. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. both are benefiting from this deal. It&rsquo;s a pretty nice order for our defense contractors and Saudi Arabia gets advance weaponry, while creating more jobs. It&rsquo;s a win win.! (I&#8221;m ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Somee are questioning Trump&#8217;s ability to acheive a 3% GDP growth rate.  ;Well, considerig it was an anemic 2% under Obama, and here is a a gross 0.5% I&#8217;d say he&#8217;s almost there!  ;(I&#8217;m being a bit facetious, the number don&#8217;t quite add up that way because the deal will be over many years, but on the other hand, Trump is just getting started).</p>
<p> ;</p>