No security in US arms to Saudi Arabia

Palm Beach Gardens:

Often, the sale of arms may save jobs but not lives.

Thinking of Iran, Washington is selling expensive air power technology to Saudi Arabia and Israel. But the two client-states are neither in the same trench nor in a similar category of vulnerability.

While Israel worries about the possible development of atomic weapons in Iran, Saudi Arabia frets about the rise of power of Tehran-subsidized Shiite militia in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Muqtada Al-Sadr Brigade in Iraq.

The Saudis do not need new weapons to handle grass-root opposition groups. Better treatment of minorities would go a long way to make the Gulf regimes safe. Israel may also not be much lacking in defense technology to enhance its security. Progress in the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict would significantly improve regional stability and weaken the raison d’être of militancy.

Saudi Arabia is about to squander sixty billion dollars in purchasing a large number of F-15 jet fighters, a fleet of the latest models of military helicopters and the most sophisticated of defense missile systems. In a deal recently submitted for congressional approval, the US will update existing Saudi weapons. In effect, Uncle Sam is soon to assume additional responsibility for military security in the Gulf. More billions will be spent by neighboring Gulf States on rearming.

The sixty billion dollar sale is being touted in Washington as an economic “stimulus” for generating American jobs. Washington’s massive re-armament recipe to strengthen Saudi Arabia is morally and strategically questionable.

The Saudis are paying top prices for American “protection”; the Israelis would pay with political tokens. The US asks Netanyahu to freeze construction on Palestinian land, for a mere two month period, to receive an overgenerous free package of support. Strange: while the Saudis run after Washington to buy its arms, Washington runs after Israel to dump foreign aid.

In what context is this deal taking place?

As the Mideast is desperately searching for ways to restart deadlocked peace talks, we find Washington, Israel and Saudi Arabia taking action on a possible war scenario. The pretext is “defending” the Arabian Gulf regimes against anticipated attacks from Iran, should a regional war flare up in the near future.

Washington is treating Iran as an adversary, not only of Israel, but also of those Arab countries who feel threatened by Ahmadinejad politics. Such a policy reinforces an already existing sectarian tension in the region, where Saudis represent the Sunnites and Iran the Shiites.

Is this unprecedented sale serving American interests?

Selling superfluous arms to the region may in the long run work against America’s interests. We are now pursuing the same policy we followed with Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, when we sold him arms during his war with Iran, a war which he started and did not know how to end. The US helped prolong the Iran- Iraq war; and this long war turned Saddam into a tyrant in search of external resources to survive politically. He invaded Kuwait and transformed his country into a full dictatorship. We ended up launching a war to end Saddam’s reign. And now we do not know how to end this Iraq war, which we started reflexively.

The Saudis could do much better with their money.

The Arabian Kingdom could improve its security without adding much to its military stockpile, a stockpile which is likely to remain largely unused and mostly managed by expatriates. Spending money on worthy causes in the region might do much better for Saudi Arabia’s security than amassing the latest of military hardware.

To illustrate, with ten billion dollars, the Saudis could pledge massive support for compensating and reintegrating Palestinian refugees as part of an Arab-Israeli peace agreement. The Saudis could challenge Israel and the US to pledge the same amount of money in contributing to the wellbeing of 4.7 million displaced refugees, whose plight poses a real challenge in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. With another ten billion dollars the Saudis could support its immediate neighbor Yemen, a miserably poor, war-ravaged and terror generating state.

The rush to war to resolve conflict fits the policy of rushing to sell arms in order to create jobs and justifies dumping of arms on foreign soil.