[jeffkrol]

Selling arms......
U.S. announces massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia - CNN.com

The Obama administration has notified Congress of plans for a multiyear, multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, a State Department official said Wednesday.

The sale is meant to further align the Saudi military relationship with the United States and enhance the ability of the kingdom to defer and defend threats to it and its oil structure, which "is critical to our economic interests," said Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary for political and military affairs, at a State Department news conference.

The deal, worth up to $60 billion over 20 years, will include the sale of 84 F-15 aircraft, the upgrade of 70 older-model F-15 aircraft and almost 200 helicopters.

Congress has 30 days to raise any objections to the deal.

No objection from Israel.......
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=192171

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Last edited by jeffkrol; 10-20-2010 at 03:05 PM.

[Parallax]

Saudi Arabia is no more our friend than Iran or North Korea.
This can't end well.

[jeffkrol]

Saudi Arabia is no more our friend than Iran or North Korea.
This can't end well.

Don't think I'll argue that point... old background just for interest.
American Thinker: The Saudi War on George Bush

George W. Bush seriously disrupted the previous cozy relationship that Saudi Arabia historically enjoyed with the Bush family —— and with Washington power brokers, in general. The Saudis feel that their family's absolute rule over the kingdom may be endangered, and that their efforts to spread their virulent brand of Islam, Wahabbism, may be curtailed by the current Administration. The Saudi royals may well feel abandoned, and in their disillusionment have resolved to prevent a second term for George W. Bush.
The Saudis traditionally had a symbiotic relationship with the Bush family and with George H.W. Bush's coterie among the policy elites of the Republican Party. The largesse of the Saudi royal family is legendary. The Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bander bin Sultan, has boasted of his success in cultivating powerful Americans:
If the reputation then builds that the Saudis take care of friends when they leave office, you would be surprised how much better friends you have who are just coming into office.........The Carlyle Group is a supremely successful merchant bank, which also has James Baker (Bush I consiglieri) and Brent Scowcroft (Bush I National Security Adviser) as partners. This particular investment group has enjoyed access to investment funds from the Saudi royal family. Undoubtedly, the triumvirate of former officials, none of them previously renowned for investment prowess, has handsomely prospered from the arrangement.



One—sided relationships are fleeting and rare in the political world, and one is entitled to ask what the Saudis have received in return for their munificent gestures. Publicly, James Baker and Brent Scowcroft have written editorials critical of the approach Bush II has taken towards the Middle East (particularly his support for Israel and regime change in the dictatorships that rule the Arab world). The New York Times reported in 2001 that Bush I had phoned the Saudis in Bush IIs's presence, and assured them that his son would do the 'right thing' with regard to the Israeli—Palestinian conflict. Presumably, this meant pressuring the Israelis.

[Parallax]

Don't think I'll argue that point...

That may set a dangerous precedent, Jeff. After all, we both have reputations to maintain here, you know.

[MRRiley]

Come on guys... there is nothing new here. We have a long and illustrious history of arming those who turn out to be our enemies... who then fire at us with our own weapons.

[jeffkrol]

Come on guys... there is nothing new here. We have a long and illustrious history of arming those who turn out to be our enemies... who then fire at us with our own weapons.

Well at least we know exactly how to shoot them down.....or which parts are sub standard

[mikemike]

So over the next 20 years we will be selling the Saudis weapons that are already 35 years old.

They have to use those petro dollars on something and every country needs a military, especially when you are sandwiched between places like Yemen and Iran. They might as well buy american.

[Parallax]

Come on guys... there is nothing new here. We have a long and illustrious history of arming those who turn out to be our enemies... who then fire at us with our own weapons.

Yep. When I was in Basic Training and Tech School at Lackland in the mid seventies you couldn't walk across base without bumping into dozens of Iranian pilot trainees. (Never quite figured out why they were a Lackland, since there wasn't even a runway there. Language school, I think.) Less than 5 years later, Iran was a sworn enemy.

[jeffkrol]

So over the next 20 years we will be selling the Saudis weapons that are already 35 years old.

They have to use those petro dollars on something and every country needs a military, especially when you are sandwiched between places like Yemen and Iran. They might as well buy american.

Yep US's first (actually I know it's not the first ) big garage sale to a sort of friendly (as long as the dollars flow) country........

[Ira]

The Saudi Royal Family wants to protect itself against states that would ferment a radical Islamic takeover of the country, so why in the world wouldn't we help them do that?

Come on guys--you're missing the big picture.

---------- Post added 10-22-10 at 02:40 AM ----------

Less than 5 years later, Iran was a sworn enemy.

Possibly because they took our Embassy hostage?

How dare us!

[Parallax]

..............

Possibly because they took our Embassy hostage?

How dare us!

Not sure I understand that, Ira. My point was, that like just about everybody in that part of the world that we have helped pr allied with, they turned on us; as will Saudi Arabia, sooner or later, when it best suits them.

[Wheatfield]

Not sure I understand that, Ira. My point was, that like just about everybody in that part of the world that we have helped pr allied with, they turned on us; as will Saudi Arabia, sooner or later, when it best suits them.

If it's that common, perhaps you need to look at how you are "helping" them. Perhaps the price of it is just too high.

[Parallax]

If it's that common, perhaps you need to look at how you are "helping" them. Perhaps the price of it is just too high.

Clearly, it is.
European and the Middle East countries can largely be divided two groups;

1. Those who's ass we've kicked and then aided financially.
2. Those who's ass we've saved and/or aided financially.

yet with few exceptions, none of them, including those from group 2, will give us much support in anything.

Our policies suck!

[Nesster]

well, there's also
3. those whose leaders we've deposed/had assassinated and then aided financially
4. those whose leaders we've installed/propped and aided financially

There's that little bit about people not taking kindly to other countries messing with their internal affairs, and there's a difference between "saving a country's ass" and "saving the local dictator's ass" etc.

As for the Europeans, what do you want, they are European.

[Black_ronin]

well, there's also
3. those whose leaders we've deposed/had assassinated and then aided financially
4. those whose leaders we've installed/propped and aided financially

There's that little bit about people not taking kindly to other countries messing with their internal affairs, and there's a difference between "saving a country's ass" and "saving the local dictator's ass" etc.

As for the Europeans, what do you want, they are European.

+1.

On the side note: Germany was loosing WW1 and had economic depression - they needed to end war before they got occupied by Antanta armies. Germany financed Lenin and communists in 1918 to cause chaos in Russian Empire (member of Antanta) and use Lenin as puppet leader to end war in conditions favorite to German interests. Germany couldn't imagine in it's worst nightmares that they helped creating one of the most evil regimes in history. The same Bolsheviks army, which Germany sponsored initially, occupied their capital in 1945 and for next 45 years split their country into 2 blocks: West and East.

Are people ever going to learn from past mistakes?