The Obama Administration has released a statement today announcing that a $30 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia has been finalized, which will involve selling 84 F-15 fighter jets as part of a “modernization deal.”
Officials were quick to cheer the deal, saying it “will positively impact the US economy” and that it wouldn’t harm Israel, adding that “all sales to the region must be evaluated for the impact on Israel.”
The real question, however, is why Saudi Arabia is bothering to spend such massive amounts of money on US weaponry that is of no obvious use to them, Saudi foreign intervention mostly involving deploying ground troops to tiny neighbors to help crush popular uprisings.
Some official comments suggested it was something to do with Iran, but no one seriously expects the Saudis to attack Iran, or vice versa, and it seems unlikely that if a war did break out it would involve epic dogfights between the Saudi F-15s and Iranian MiG-29s.
Rather the sales of hugely expensive warplanes to Gulf nations appears to be more a question of national prestige than utility, with the Obama Administration pushing the sales in the hopes of following through on promises to increase America’s arms sales abroad.
Thirty billion dollars worth of paid for F-15s for the Saudis might defer a small part of the cost of free F-35s for Israel.
Why does Israel get free F-35's from us? That's asinine.
Well, you couldn't possibly expect our illustrious corporate government to send out a bill to their master, wouldya, Steve?
Because they own you, that's why.
This makes perfect sense to me. First, the Saudis are the silent protectors of Isreal, the US bastard child. Then, the Saudis are being used to fight a proxy war against Iran and to provoke a real one if possible. Hence, the Saudis must have all the weapons of mass destruction that their shriveled up little hearts desire in order to "defend" themselves from Iran's self-defense. Last but not least, there is the little matter of the Fifth Fleet. Nothing – I repeat, nothing! – is too good to defend the US strike force in the Middle East against the clenched fists of the civilian protesters in Bahrain.
PS: And, of course, in the event that the US needed another "terrorist" attack, our good buddy Saudi Arabia needs the appropriate firepower to help us with that too. Not that they seem to have needed on 9/11, it appears that box cutters are just as effective to bring down entire buildings. ~hark, hark~
Saudi Arabia just execured a woman for the crime of witchcraft, and were letting them have 30 billion in weapons…
They have also been big supporters of the Taliban (unlike Iran) since the 80s.
The more you know.
And 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers. With "friends" like these….
1. Coupled with the recently announced $11 billion weapons sale to Iraq, the Obama Regime is positioning itself very solidly for the Militaeryt Industrial/FatherLand Security Industrial Complex vote (or at least money) in 2012. ***
2. Israel doesn't get anything "free" from the U.S. Israel gets foreign and/or military aid/assistance, which is then used by Israel to buy weapons, arms, equipment, etc from US arms/weapons manufacturers. That's the way Israel gets their weapons and the MI/FSC gets their money.
*** (That's why the Republican nomination race is such a joke: why do the NeoConservatives/NeoLiberals need somebody else in the White House when they already have Obama? They have already conceded 2012 to Obama just like they did in 2008 w/ McCain/Palin. This would be a great time for them to put Paul up for Sacrificial Offering )