When the American and French presidents visited the Gulf last month, both leaders received the same red-carpet treatment. Both met with their regional counterparts, both talked about politics and security, the need for finding peaceful solutions to the various crises troubling the Middle East and both called for stronger engagement and deeper ties between the two regions, their peoples and their economies. But when it came to the business aspect of their respective visits, the differences could not have been greater. As the main course, George W. Bush brought with him parts of a $20 billion arms deal with some GCC countries that had been announced in 2007. Saudi Arabia is to receive 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) satellite-guided bomb kits worth $123 million, Kuwait and the UAE will acquire Patriot missiles worth $1.63 billion and $1.9 billion respectively, and the US will share its Littoral Combat System technology
