What's Up, Blogging Tories? Arms for Arabia

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

What's Up, Blogging Tories? Arms for Arabia

Daimnation has an interesting post today, emphasis mine:

Arms for Arabia

More evidence, as if any were needed, that it's back to pre-9/11 business as usual in the Middle East:

Two New York congressmen say they plan to introduce legislation to stop the Bush administration's proposed $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Standing in front of the Saudi Consulate, Reps. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat of Brooklyn and Queens, and Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat of Manhattan and Brooklyn, yesterday condemned Saudi Arabia as a sponsor of terrorism unworthy of American military support.

"The folly of this arms deal is beyond belief," Mr. Nadler said." Saudi Arabia is the no. 1 exporter of terrorism in the world today."

He continued: "They are not our friends. We cannot trust how they will use their arms. Â... We don't have to give them high-tech weapons which may be turned against our friends or us."

Secretary of State Rice is expected to announce today that America is entering into discussions with the Saudis on the specifics of the deal. The arms package is expected to include Joint Direct Attack Munitions and satellite-guided bombs, which Mr. Weiner said would be "accurate enough to shoot through the window of a building."

[...]

"They are paying the bills for the suicide bombers," Mr. Weiner said. "It is not an accident that 15 of the 19 suicide attackers here on our soil were Saudis." He added that 70% of the most-wanted international terrorists, and 40% of foreign fighters combating American troops in Iraq, are Saudis.

While military aid to Saudi Arabia has often been justified by the need to cultivate allies in the Arab world, Mr. Weiner said that "looking for the moderate Arab state might be akin to looking for the unicorn."

Damian P.

Update: more here. I don't think it's a question of whether this will come back to haunt America, but when.