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Trump Departs For Saudi Arabia With $100 Billion Weapons Deal On The Table

A billboard bearing portraits of President Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman is seen on a main road in Riyadh, on May 19, 2017. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)
A billboard bearing portraits of President Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman is seen on a main road in Riyadh, on May 19, 2017. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump sets out Friday for Saudi Arabia on his first trip abroad since taking office. Ahead of the president’s departure, his administration hoped to finalize a weapons sale to the Saudis totaling more than $100 billion.

If agreed to, the deal would be a boon for U.S. defense contractors. But critics say it also further entangles the U.S. with the war in Yemen.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd takes a closer look at the arms deal with Cole Bockenfeld (@ColeBockenfeld), deputy director for policy at the Project on Middle East Democracy.

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