PAYBACK TIME FOR BOEING

Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to purchase $6 billion worth of jetliners from the two leading U.S. aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. The White House says the agreement will create 100,000 jobs, mostly in Washington state and California. "Although this deal is not quite a quid pro quo, it can be considered a partial payback for our role in keeping Saddam Hussein out of Saudi Arabia's backyard during the Persian Gulf War," says defense correspondent Mark Thompson. "The Saudis would look pretty bad if they turned to Europe's Airbus to build the planes after what the U.S. did for them in the war." Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, will purchase 23 777-200 twin jets and five 747-400 jumbo jets from Boeing, and 29 MD-90s and four MD-11s from McDonnell Douglas.