U.S. cuts off nose to spite face.

[Rictor]

or, arms one repressive fundamentalist regime to spite another.


The United States is reported to be preparing a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $20bn (£9.8bn) over the next decade.

It is said to be part of a strategy for countering Iran's growing strength.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6920458.stm

[Hydro]

It's not just the US. Remember the Typhoon scandal involving Saudi and the UK?

[Weasel]

Thanks god the middle east is a stable region and we don´t have any problems with any regimes there. :roll:

Arming future enemies is a clever move.

[Rictor]

Thanks god the middle east is a stable region and we don´t have any problems with any regimes there. :roll:

Arming future enemies is a clever move.

Future (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070727/pl_afp/usiraqsaudimideastdiplomacy) enemies?

[Weasel]

Future (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070727/pl_afp/usiraqsaudimideastdiplomacy) enemies?

Ignore it. It´s all about the Benjamins.

[Weasel]

The same could be said of any country (being a FUTURE enemy).

Conclusion: Don´t sell weapons to foreign countries.

[Kilgor]

It's not just the US. Remember the Typhoon scandal involving Saudi and the UK?

Shhh... it doesn't matter that european companies are scrambling to tap that saud dollar.

[Flagg]

Selling weapon systems to Saudi Arabia accomplishes a lot of things:

*Improves the US trade deficit with Saudi Arabia...they sell us energy..we sell them expensive toys

*Increases US exports in a time when the overall trade deficit is a pretty substantial problem...lots of well paying US jobs are involved.

*Increases access, ties, influence over, and intelligence opportunities from within the Saudi military and government

*Increased military export sales reduces the cost of US military defense procurements by ammortizing the R &D costs over longer production runs.

*Helps a lot of Saudis in positions of influence and control get paid from massive kickbacks and corruption...basically putting them on the US payroll using Saudi money.

Massive military sales to Saudi have the potential to bit eus in the ass someday. If there is a successful uprising against the Saud royal family, I reckon a lot of average Saudi will be pissed at the huge waste and corruption surrounding Saudi military procurements.

I'm sure the same thing happens on the civvy side as well(probably to a much greatre scale too!)......commercial airplane sales(Boeing/Airbus), civilian construction/infrastructure projects......just less likely to make headlines I rekcon.

But hey, what's the lesser of two evils?

If the US refused to provide cool ghear to the Saudis, the French, Russians, Chinese, etc will step into the void...so we would have our ethics....but we would be short a LOT of cash and ongoing influence.

I don't like it much...it's a bit seedy, but that is often how the world works and I don't see any other viable alternatives.

[Rictor]

Well it may look like the lesser of two evils now, but I'm guessing that unintended consequences in the future will likely change that equation. Interventionism always tends to make the long-term cost greater than the short-term benefits.

Remember that the French and Chinese aren't propping up the corrupt, repressive Saudi government, so it's not French flags that they'll be burning when/if the House of Saud implodes. Twenty seven years of enmity with Iran were caused by exactly this sort of thing.

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

Selling weapon systems to Saudi Arabia accomplishes a lot of things:

*Improves the US trade deficit with Saudi Arabia...they sell us energy..we sell them expensive toys

Like the man said;



Defence officials quoted by US media said the sales would include advanced weaponry, missile guidance systems, upgraded fighter jets and naval ships. From BBC Article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6920458.stm)

[Airborneranger4israel]

its unessecary, and the fact of the matter is that there is growing radical movement in saudi arabia

in the off chance htat they were to gain power this deal would provide them with quite a large arsenal of high tech weaponry.

somebody mentioned that it would help us get cheap energy. How bout we move towards cleaner more sustainable fuels that we can produce domesticaly. Thats a much better option than providing a bunch of saudi's that hate us with jobs and giving money to terrorists.

if someone else is going to supply them weapns then we can use our influence to block the deal

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

somebody mentioned that it would help us get cheap energy. How bout we move towards cleaner more sustainable fuels that we can produce domesticaly. Thats a much better option than providing a bunch of saudi's that hate us with jobs and giving money to terrorists.l

Probably not going to happen anytime in the immediate future.


The fact that they are hi-tech, not like AK-47s, means they'll be harder to maintain unless they have the support of US suppliers. Which, won't happen if the House of Saud get overthrown by radicals.

[Flagg]

Well it may look like the lesser of two evils now, but I'm guessing that unintended consequences in the future will likely change that equation. Interventionism always tends to make the long-term cost greater than the short-term benefits.

Remember that the French and Chinese aren't propping up the corrupt, repressive Saudi government, so it's not French flags that they'll be burning when/if the House of Saud implodes. Twenty seven years of enmity with Iran were caused by exactly this sort of thing.


I don't necessarily agree.

While the US appears to take center stage as the Saudi Royal family's pimp...the French have played an important role over the years as well.

The French are considered(at least in open source) to have played an important role in helping retake the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979.

French industry also aggressively markets their wares to Saudi Arabia with pretty good success over the years.

France does, afterall, have a permanent UN Security Council seat as well..with the Veto to go along with it that has substantial value at times.

But I agree...if things go pearshaped it could have serious negative consequences.

[Weasel]

My conclusion: The same could be said for every country including yours!

Of course. My country just does it in a smaller dimension. But this doesn´t make it better.

[annihilation]

Thanks god the middle east is a stable region and we don´t have any problems with any regimes there. :roll:

Arming future enemies is a clever move.

Arm them, stay out of the middle east and when they decide to fight among themselves, sell to both sides!