reasonable-extremist

In other news I am somewhat back from a hiatus and oh boy, what a world I have returned to. Whilst the prevalence of McDonalds in Saudi Arabia may lead one to answer the question ‘What do Saudis most like that the US produces?’ in favour of a certain fast-food restaurant, in reality what is sought after by the Saudis from the US are guns. Lots of them. In recent months Obama has given the go-ahead for $60 billion in arms sales for those lovely ‘defense’ companies that would otherwise be feeling the strain of an american government tightening its Pentagon pursestrings. For source purposes, read here. The purpose of these arms were purportedly ensure that Saudi Arabia was capable of defending itself incase of an attack from Iran. This sort of thing is not just restricted to those charming Saudis however, a quick read and one can gather that Libya and Egypt too were big spenders on US arms. Need I recall Egyptian protesters reading ‘Made in the USA’ on the gas canisters being fired on them? Given recent events this is all very amusing but we should give the US the chance to defend itself, say. What the arms are for. There must be a good purpose, yes? (Taken from the Saudi Arabian article)

The proposed arms sale is intended to help Saudi Arabia counter threats from Iran, but also protect the Saudi kingdom from regional terrorism threats. The U.S. weapons are intended to protect Saudi Arabia “in a dangerous neighborhood,” Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said at a State Department press briefing last week.

For all the vacuous rhetoric that comes from Washington on a daily basis this kind of absurd delusion is inexcusable. As it stands right now the Saudi Arabian military have moved forces inside Bahrain obviously at the behest of the royal family there under what they say is a guise to maintain order. Bahrain has been having (like a flurry of other middle eastern states) an enlightened pro-democracy movement sweep across it. In another US client state Egypt we saw the removal of the longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak (once claimed as a ‘close friend’ of many a Prez) after nearly 300 protesters gave their lives, braving thugs and other typical dictator behavior so abhorred by the US when it is convenient to do so. Saudi Arabia saw this happen and realise that close US ties (like they have) won’t stop them if they undergo a populist uprising in their country – so they crack down on their own people harshly to ensure no disobedience. When neighbouring Bahrain presents an opportunity to turn the tide on these sorts of revolutions without the bad press of a massacre in ones own country, why wouldn’t they take it?

It is bad enough that there are Saudi helicopters firing on protesters camps. It is bad enough that people are being shot for protesting peacefully, the large majority being unarmed (it would be foolish to say some are not armed given the circumstances). But it is compounded by the fact that alot of these are US arms, made in the US and approved by Barack Obama (remember ‘peace in the middle east?’) being used by the Saudis to suppress a democratic movement. It would take a madmans logic to conclude that Iran is scheming to invade Saudi Arabia; so obviously the arms sales are not for Saudi defense but to flex imperialist muscle. The point of Irans nuclear development is almost certainly the same as almost every other country that has developed nuclear weapons = to have a deterrent. Anyway arguing such things is frivolous, the matter right now is Bahrain.

The US response to this has been to ‘urge restraint’ and that Obama is ‘deeply concerned’ about the goings on in the region. It would be satisfying to see Obama apply the same standards to Saudi Arabia that it would to other countries; similar to demanding Gaddafi step down – he should demand King Abdullah step down. But the fact is that for all of Obamas talk about wanting peace in the Middle East he has approved more arms sales in the past two years than nearly the previous ten. Over fifty-percent of US arms sales are destined for the Middle East.

What does Obama think the US-friendly dictatorships that he supplies the arms do with them? They certainly aren’t using the automatic rifles to bake cookies. Given that they have no credible threat they will do what could easily have been predicted they would do; they use them to control their populaces; something which Obama would probably be glad for even if he didn’t know it – given the most recent poll on Arab opinion showing Obamas ‘hope’ that was instilled in 2009 was obliterated in 2010 with most discouraged by US actions – an Arab government that isn’t a dictatorship and that represents the people is a dangerous thought. Most even thought Iran getting nuclear weapons would be a good thing. Obamas talk so far has just been… talk. His actions speak louder than his calming demeanour and apparent intellectual composure. You cannot have a peaceful Middle East if your definition of peaceful is to arm your vicious dictator friends so that they can hold off your vicious dictator enemies.