Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
October, 2013, Crescent International
The US plans to sell more lethal weapons to two of the most oppressive regimes in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Neither has been able to use such weapons effectively. These weapons will most likely be used by the US against innocent Muslims. The US remains the biggest arms supplier in the world thus keeping the dubious distinction of being the world’s number one merchant of death.
Washington DC, Crescent-online
October 19, 2013, 19:33 EDT
The news that the US plans to sell $10.8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE has raised eyebrows. Why is the US so keen to introduce more weapons in an already unstable region?
American officials said the Pentagon notified Congress last week of the deal under which the US plans to sell a thousand bunker-buster GBU-39 bombs to the Saudis and 5,000 to the UAE. Air-launched cruise missiles that can be used on US-made F-15 and F-16 fighter jets are also part of the deal as are attack helicopters. The US has already supplied fighter jets to both countries.
Together with their allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been alarmed by the possibility of a deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries, especially the US. Informed observers believe that the weapons deal is meant to pacify the jittery Arabian rulers.
The Saudis have over the years purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons. In 2011, Saudi Arabia had purchased $34 billion worth of US weapons boosting American sales to $66 billion. A year earlier, the US had announced plans to sell $60 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. The sale would stretch over a decade or more.
As rank amateurs, the Saudis have never been able to use such weapons effectively. In the nineteen eighties, Saudi Arabia had signed a 20 billion pounds sterling agreement ($40 billion at the time) to purchase weapons from Britain. Called the Yamama Project, Bandar bin Sultan, then Saudi ambassador to Washington, pocketed 2 billion pounds in kickbacks. The deal was struck when Bandar’s father Prince Sultan was the defence minister.
American officials have candidly admitted that the latest deal is not only about selling weapons to both governments but also training their troops and giving logistical support. The proposed sales announced on October 16 “will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States,” according to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
Andrew Shapiro, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, said the package, the largest overseas US arms deal to date, “supports our wider regional security goals in the [Persian] Gulf.” He further stated that this would not undercut our ally Israel’s military edge.
What he left unsaid but was stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, was that the Arabian regimes and Zionist Israel are close allies. The Zionist ruler said developments in the region [Islamic awakening uprisings] had brought these regimes closer to Israel. As enemies of the people, this is not surprising.
The latest deal will bring windfall profits to such weapons manufacturers as Boeing and Raytheon. Their lobbyists were the ones that were also pushing for war against Syria in August.
The US remains the world’s biggest weapons exporter and thus the number one merchant of death. It has just added to this dubious distinction by sending more weapons to oppressive regimes.
