Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis

by BooMan
Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 01:12:14 AM EST

You don't have to be a bleeding heart liberal to know that this is bad news.

WASHINGTON, July 27 — The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.
The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.
But administration officials remained concerned that the size of the package and the advanced weaponry it contains, as well as broader concerns about Saudi Arabia’s role in Iraq, could prompt Saudi critics in Congress to oppose the package when Congress is formally notified about the deal this fall.

Can you count the ways in which this is wrong?

Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

So, based on this pattern, what happens when some other country, say India, objects? We give them a $40 billion deal?

by bmaz on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 01:37:21 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

Actually we already bribed the Indians: in order to get them to support sending Iran's nuclear file to the UNSC, we agreed to provide them with nuclear technology, in violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty.

Irony: We're demanding that Iran go beyond what the NonProliferation Treaty requires, while at the same time we're violating the NPT by providing this technological aid to India.

Of course, don't except the NY Times article on the subject today even mention the NPT. No. Read the article and see if they make even the slightest mention that we're about to blatantly violate the NPT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/washington/27india.html?ref=world

Not that we've ever really observed our other obligations under the NPT anyway - rather than disarming our nukes we're building newer ones.

by hass (hassani1387@yahoo.com) on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 01:49:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

Yeah, I knew that. Bad example, especially in light of the fact that was in the news today. I was just looking for any name to make the somewhat lame point.

by bmaz on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 01:58:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

A Reminder (4.00 / 3)

.
The Arabs still do not recognize Israel, Saudi Arabia included.
So why the isolation and embargo of Hamas?

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

by Oui on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 01:57:23 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

And when those weapons find their way into the hands of the Sunni militias, we'll have to start a public scare campaign to build up support for bombing the factories that made them.

Why does the Bush administration hate the State of Virginia?

by Natasha Chart (natasha.the at gmail dot com) on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 02:51:38 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 3)

A drug dealer will sell to anybody, same with an arms trader.

We and the Bush family are in the weapons business.

They, as war profiteers, always find a way for the government to enrich them.

by Alice on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 06:57:44 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

Are you nuts? This is the best news that we have had in quite a while! Given the fact that there appears to be nothing that this congress can do to stop this monster fron raping the constitution and this country, The only serious hope that is left is that these bastards will destroy themselves. The public must be slapped so hard that they finally realize that they must remove these treasonous pigs and anything that feeds this feeling is wonderful
Now, lets see what the media does with this information!

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 07:33:43 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

The solution to this is a no-brainer and (theoretically) obvious to all: Peace and a big mea culpa (re the Shah and Mossadegh) for Tehran. That plus the empowerment of Iraq's Shi'a majority would constitute the beginning of the containment of Saudi Arabia and Wahabist Islam.
But no. No no no.
What I find so intriguing is that Cheney himself did, in fact, call for the sanctions on Tehran to be lifted... 10 years ago when he was the Halliburton CEO.

by Guthman on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 09:02:26 AM EST

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

Are there any fighter planes in the deal? That way when they attack us again the Saudis wouldn't have to hijack any of our airliners.

by Bob In Pacifica on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 10:46:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis (4.00 / 2)

Since 9/12/01 I've taken a fair amount of flak for my contention that the lunatics at the helm of the Bush regime had as their goal perpetual war in the Middle East for the foreseeable future until such time as all the governments there collapsed, many millions were killed, and the US magically gained control of the energy reserves across the entire region.

This latest push to further weaponize the entire area from SA all the way to India seems, tragically, to only strengthen that perspective.

Denial is our most dangerous adversary.

by sbj on Sat Jul 28th, 2007 at 11:39:00 AM EST

Trouble in Iraq, Let's Arm the Saudis | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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