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TechnoratiThe $63 Billion Sham
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States wants to send $63 billion in military aid and weapons to the Middle East to "bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran."
Talk about wriggling in quicksand. Having destroyed Iraq to save us from horrors that did not exist, Rice now wants to save us from Iran's future nukes by selling American weapons of mass destruction. Over the next decade, the Bush administration wants to give Israel $30 billion in military aid, a nearly 43 percent increase over what that nation received over the last 10 years, according to The New York Times. We want to give $20 billion to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. We want to give Egypt $13 billion.
Do you feel safe?
"This is throwing bad money after worse money," said Frida Berrigan, senior program associate at the Arms and Security Project of the New America Foundation. The program was formerly known as the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute. "You can see the whole arms package as a buyoff of Arab nations for what we've done in Iraq.
"Justifying the sales because these countries feel threatened by Iran doesn't hold water. Iran is five to 10 years away from a nuclear weapon. That gives the United States and its partners more than enough time to come up with diplomatic solutions," Berrigan said. "This is just going to reinforce Iran's desire to have a nuclear weapon."
The United States had already set records for global arms sales. The New York Times reported in November that the Bush administration and American military contractors doubled arms sales from $10.6 billion to $21 billion from September 2005 to September 2006. Berrigan estimates that the latest proposal will increase military aid and weaponry by another 25 percent.
This is a bipartisan craziness that never ended despite the end of the Cold War. Under the dual guise of national security and protecting American jobs, the first President Bush and President Clinton aggressively promoted US arms sales to more than twice their level of the last years of the Cold War.
Lawrence Korb, assistant defense secretary under President Reagan, told the Globe in 1996, "The brakes are off the system. . . . There is no coherent policy on the transfer of arms. It has become a money game; an absurd spiral in which we export arms only to have to develop more sophisticated ones to counter those spread out all over the world. . . . It is a frightening trend that undermines our moral authority in the New World Order."
The absurd spiral did nothing for regional stability, democracy or stop terrorism from spreading to American shores. Saudi Arabia was a big buyer under Clinton. It remained a "problematic ally," according to the 9/11 commission. This week, the US envoy to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, could not decide whether Saudi Arabia was "a great ally" or "undermining" the United States in Iraq.
There is no hint of a coherent policy. Under the president, 80 percent of nations that received arms from America in 2003 were classified by the State Department as being either undemocratic or having a poor human rights record, which covers all the Arab countries in the new deal. Israel is a democracy, but in its 2006 country profile, the State Department cites a source that determined that 322 of 660 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military "were not engaged in hostilities when killed and 141 were minors."
This latest deal is so over the top that Israel is not opposing the $33 billion to Arab states because it gets $30 billion to maintain its military edge. En route to the Middle East this week, Rice denied that the military package was an attempt to buy allies with bombs. She also denied that the United States was relaxing its standards for democracy and human rights.
But a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit said that "the weak response in the Middle East to pressures for democratization, as well as the experience with imported political change in Iraq, is making a mockery of George Bush's 'freedom' agenda." Reuters this week quoted Paul Salem, director of the Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as saying that the arms deal meant Bush's effort to spread democracy in the region was "more than dead."
Berrigan said, "We've created a black hole in what used to be a country and this is supposed to be the solution? More military aid and more high-tech weaponry? The best case scenario is that Congress exercises its power and keeps this from happening."
© 2007 The Boston Globe
56 Comments so far
Show AllThis deal is a stupid as can be i cant wait to see the end when these weapons turn their sites to us and Israel.
hahahahahahahahahahaha
No doubt the real reason for weapons aid is that the money ends up in the pockets of his buddies, the military industrial complex, enriching them. What he would have done if he could was to give them $63 billion in aid for petroleum, but that would have been too obvious a scam even for all the blatantly obvious scams he has already pulled.
It is all about military industrial complex corporate profits. They have been making huge profits hand over fist from our invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. It is absolutely predictable that our 63 billion dollar arms deal will not bring about balance, it will escalate the arms race in the mideast. And that will mean more arms deals and the same corporations making more huge profits. And once they have our weapons, they will need customer services, parts, training and ammo.
This is another one where I would go with what Deep Throat said, "follow the money." This arms deal is like the invasion of Iraq, which was like our 750 plus military bases in the world. It has never been about national security and always been about corporate profits.
(Sarcasm) I am so shocked that the Bush administration would lie to the American people (again).
Hi Vern,
with all do respect, you are jumping into conclusions here without seeing the broader picture.
>The real danger is in Washington DC.
I completely agree, but it is not only the Washington, but the whole US that has an arrogant view of the world problem and believe that they can be solved with violence.
>Don't go jumping on Obomba's idiotic quest to prove he is just
>as stupid and blundering as BillaryBush
I personally don't give a rats ass about any of the US candidates, they are just a bunch of power whores who are doing everything to get elected. Some have some grounds to stand on line Kuchinic (spelling?) or Ron Paul, but again, being outside of the US, I find both candidates far far to the right of myself.
Anyway, when I said the real problem is in Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to over 25 years of experience from those regions.
Afghanistan is the main source of instability in the whole central asia these days, they enormous amount of Opium/Heroin is causing long term damage to social and economical situations of almost entire region, this policy is being supported/sponsored and in best case tolerated by the western leaders since they see the multi billion dollars production of narcotics from Afghanistan as a "good" issue for their long term plans of destabilizing and destroying the economy of those countries.
Also, since most of this money goes to terrorists organizations like the Jundollah of Iran or the Ansar-al-Islam of Iraq or Al-Qaida or what ever other groups you call, that gives an excuse for military presence as well as sales of useless high-tech weaponry to those countries. War is a lucrative business and Afghanistan is an excellent source of war before, now and in a long time in the future.
Pakistan in the other hand is the most dangerous nation in the world at the moment, with a strong military who is not so loyal to their leaders, with over 100 million inhabitants and the nuclear capability, it is 100s of times more dangerous to the world than Iran, Syria or any other anti-US country can ever be.
Pakistan is extremely unstable, 40 years of lack of international support for democratic institutions as well as billions of dollars spent on military expansion rather than education and basic infrastructure for their country has given the extreme religious groups (the grand fathers of the Taliban movement) a stronghold in the society. Ever since 1977 when George Bush Sr. and other heads of CIA decided to use Pakistan as the front of their war against the Soviet Empire by creating and supporting militant fundamentalist groups, the country became a danger for the world, sadly the stupidity of the majority of the western leaders and their short sited excitements of their success has caused the death of over a million people in the region as well it has destroyed almost everything the non-violent movement in Pakistan when Zia-ol Haq created the first Islamic Republic of the region and killed the elected president Bhuto.
I really wish more Americans learned the history of the countries you are screwing and bombing before you do so, your foreign policy in the Persian Gulf and central asia is the main cause of the disaster we live in today and with dumb-ass leaders like Bush-Obama or Hillary the future is even worse, or as my favorite Swedish cartoon character (Arne Anka) used to say, "The future is like a Baboon's ass, colorful and full of shit"!
oldtimer - "tiny Israel is without a doubt the supreme terrotist country in the world."
Oldtimer -> If I want hate sites and lies, I don't need to go to your revisionists sites. I can go directly to Arian nation or other Nazi and white supremacists sites.
You claim Israel is the #1 terrorist state.
- Not Russia who flattened Grozny (50,000 dead)
- Not the USA who is responsible for 1,000,000 death in Iraq.
- Not Iran who executed 40,000 people, and oppressed the Kurds and the Arabs.
- Not Sudan that Killed 2.3 Million people in South Sudan and Darfur.
- Not China who Occupied Tibet, and killed million.
- Not Syria who killed ten of thousands in Lebanon and Hums
Now compare some of these to Israel's crimes and judged for yourself if Israel is truly without doubt the suprime terrorist country in the world..
http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp
Actually you don't need to judgement. Racist people are not seaching for the truth. Just crawl back to where you come from.
Just out of curiosity.
I wonder what kind of rate the administration got from China for all that cash we are giving to Israel & Egypt. Since they are throwing our money down that Iraqi shit hole. Wait a minute. Maybe the can borrow it from Exxon.
Hey Nathan-
"Things will change.
They always do."
Have to agree with you there-things are changing for the worse. Even Feingold has emerged as more of a half empty glass as of late.
Wonder what today's assault will be.
"..the real danger is in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
The real danger is in Washington DC.
Don't go jumping on Obomba's idiotic quest to prove he is just as stupid and blundering as BillaryBush.
Oh PLEASE,
If you want to criticize this administration, PLEASE get your facts right FIRST.
US is not giving anything to the Arab nations, It is GIVING THEM PERMISSION TO BUY OVERPRICED JUNK.
I call it Junk, because these so called weapons are useless if those governments EVER become enemies of the US. And they will NEVER be able to use those weapons without the help of US "advisers".
There is a HUGE difference in what the Arabs receive and what the Israelis receive.
Israelis receive $30 billion dollars of US money to buy products that are partially made in Israel (the old agreement that the Israelis could only buy American made military equipment was take off the table long time ago).
This is just a simple note in the whole thing, these idiots are giving fuel to a burning fire to make the ME even more unstable and dangerous while the real danger is in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On a positive note, there is no way in hell more than half of the reported 63 billion would escape greedy politician's hands. Their theft in this case would actually prevent billions of dollars worth of weaponry being used to kill. Praise political greed and larceny. Save us from ourselves!
'We' let this happen, as the ad goes: "you fix it now or you fix it later." It is now later.
The law of unintended consequences is still operational, is it not?
"The New York Times reported in November that the Bush administration and American military contractors doubled arms sales from $10.6 billion to $21 billion from September 2005 to September 2006. Berrigan estimates that the latest proposal will increase military aid and weaponry by another 25 percent."
The "Arms Trade" seems to be the only industry we have left in this country. Communist China and India now have our U.S. manufacturing plants.....and their citizens have our jobs.
If our children and grandchildren don't have an aptitude for the sciences to continue developing new weapons of mass destruction for the U.S., they'll be stuck for the rest of their lives in service jobs that pay nothing.
If our government officials don't see the potential turmoil and d-anger this situation will create, then they are absolute fools!
If the neocons like cheney have their way, America will be manipulated into attacking Iran or even possibly Pakistan. This would precipitate WW3. Now if you happened to want WW3 and were planning a WW3 then certain steps, such as arming nearby allies would necessary. Bush's exception for india on nuclear proliferation came first, this arms deal weeks later, and it looks like the creation of alliances for a world war. You may say steps like these do not necessarily constitute proof that a wider conflict is planned. But you must say it is ominous that such steps have been taken as would be necessary to take...for world war 3. And bush played with fire with india and the world will long have to deal with bush having opened that door unnecessarily. That step was a rash and desperate act which helps further destabilize the world. Why have we seen india be given this green light on nuclear weaponization at this time but to buy an ally. Bush mess spreads.
This sounds like Archie Bunker's solution to airplane hijacking, "Arm all the passengers".
This will work even better!
vets--
When you say "We" I assume you mean the US. Are you implying than the US is less terrorist then Israel? Or would you save all your wrath to tiny Israel alone?
Israel has never and will never paid one red cent of principle or interest on ANY multi billion $$ "LOAN" the parasites weaseled out of the USA.
Yes I mean the US. With the control Israel has on Bush etal,
tiny Israel is without a doubt the supreme terrotist country in the world.
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/bushlist.htm
http://www.ihr.org/main/search.shtml
Evening Land, you ask is China lending us the money on purpose? That is an excellent question, or an observation if you already know the answer.
What better way to bring a nation down, than to ruin it financially?__ No war necessary. Some believe that China would suffer also if we went belly up. That's correct, they would, but the Chinese have a very long history of being very patient. They may suffer, but they know how to do it and survive. If there is another depression, the United States will not survive.___ Not the next one.
There will be anarchy here and the fast fall of a nation. China will get over it and be here to pick up the pieces when the dust and smoke settles.
We owe our next three generation's finances to China already, it will be next to impossible to pay off that debt and it is not the only large debt we have. Bush did it in six and a half years,___ and one and a half to go.___ Maybe more,__ maybe a lot more?
Don't you think all the money will eventually be route to the American Military industrial complex?
Nope it wont, because everyone knows that America is owned by Israel.
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."
-- Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001.
Go to nogw.com and see what other atrocities are caused by Isramerica.
urthsong - It's not madness. It is a well calculated wealth transfer from the American public, to Energy and Military corporations.
We will hit the $9 trillion national debt limit in October. The pressure is on to raise the limit AGAIN. Sheer madness!
oldtimer - "How about the multi BILLIONS we GIVE terrorist Israel year after year?????"
When you say "We" I assume you mean the US. Are you implying than the US is less terrorist that Israel? Or would you save all your wrath to tiny Israel alone?
Also, out of these $30 Billions, how much do you think it will be given to Israel's citizens as a personal check? Don't you think all the money will eventually be route to the American Military industrial complex?
topainca----
How about the multi BILLIONS we GIVE terrorist Israel year after year?????
When is the bottom ever going to fall out?
When are the Chinese going to stop giving
BushCo credit?
Are they doing it intentionally?
Increase the debt limit first. Advance to go, collect 200 dollars. Or 200 billion dollars.
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States wants to send $63 billion in military aid and weapons to the Middle East to "bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran.""
63 BILLION! shame on these horrible villians. we need that money HERE. OUR MONEY!
Just another $63 billion for the military-industrial complex.
Borrowed, of course, from the Chinese.
GET THESE SLIMY WAR CRIMINALS O U T ! ! !
"There is no hint of a coherent policy."
Actually, the "policy" is clear as day: steal as much money as humanly possible while supplying ALL sides with enough death toys to wipe each other out. Then America will declare the last despot standing is the new Mid East Freedom God and it'll all start over again...
Soon, Condi-liar will be denying her last name is Rice. Not only is she a worse SecState than she was National Security Warmonger, she is the worst liar of them all. Watch her close for her "tells": when she's lying, her head shakes "no" unconsciously. And whenever she injects "I think" in the middle of a thought, the following words are notoriously total bullsh*t.
NMBill asks where this money will come from?
I just read a top secret Pentagon memo. My buddy Sneaky Pete gets them from Rummy's new secretary, a Monica Lewin__ something. The memo reads, that Bush has made a deal with the North Korean dictator, to purchase two trillion, U.S. counterfit hundred dollar bills from them for ten cents on the dollar.
We have also promised, that we will not nuke them if they decide to break the truce agreement and invade South Korea again. We can't lose, Bush is not stupid.
He's long passed that stage of intellect.
We Will Never Forget the Bush administrations/Republican crimes!
I think the Republicans believe it is a good idea to sell military arms to the Saudis. This way the next time a group of Saudis attack us they do need to steal our corporate airplanes creating such an egregious financial burden on our brave corporations/insurance companies.
It used to be that 90% of the arms sales to the middle east (except Israel) came from the Soviet Union (then Russia) and its satellites. This is apparently changeing. Now we can look forward to those countries duking it out with f-22's, M1's and
M-16's and Patriots. Does not look like progress to me.
So a gang of malicious thugs is stealing money, lots and lots of money, out of our bank accounts to buy murderous weapons from their friends, who manufacture such for exhorbitant profits, in order to give the weapons to other thugs so they can murder people to maintain control over subjugated populations.
Why doesn't the corporate media tell this to us straight?
Those of you who are "shocked" "outraged" and "puzzled" need to spend less time reading CommonDreams and more time reading your local newspaper's opinion page... and try listening to Rush Limbaugh once in a while.
You'll quickly learn that our fellow citizens are being subject to a propaganda campaign unlike anything in American History.
Despite BushCo's low approval ratings, most Americans don't have a clue what to do about them. They don't want to be denounced as "defeatocrats" or they think politics is "too complicated". They don't believe that their opinion is important enough to change anything, or they are simply scared of change.
Some really do believe that if we flinch even once, Al-Qaeda will keep dropping airliners on us until we disband Congress and replace it with a council of Muslim clerics. Some of these are loudmouth bullies who intimidate the more sensible ones.
We need to share our outrage with our neighbors, not our fellow progressives. One letter to your congressman is good... but a petition with a hundred names on it will really get his attention.
At the time she became Secretary of State Condi's net worth was the lowest of any Bush cabinet member. Promoting a military-industrial welfare program like this should result in some "goodwill" from the miltary equipment "vendors" to remedy that problem. Heck, Colin Powell even got a V-12 Jaguar from one of the vendors when he was Secretary of State.
No war is too expensive for the American taxpayer!
This all boils down to basic greed and corruption.
American military contractors make billions off of these deals, paid for by the rest of us. In turn, they line the pockets of politicians (both Rep and Dem), who then approve more such deals. That it fuels more war, which then requires replenishment of arms, is all part of the business plan.
SEE:
WAR IS A RACKET
by Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient: Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC [Retired]
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
Hi Vern:
Maybe I am spoiled because Feingold is my Senator.
Democrats in power means Feingold has a stronger voice.
Democrats in power means Kucinich becomes a chairman.
Democrats in power means oversight where there used to be none.
Things will change.
They always do.
Filling some planes with a few billion dollars and dumping them over Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Palestine and other wartorn countries would be bring them the peace that arms, invasions and killing them won't. In fact, we could buy their oil instead of trying to steal it and save a trillion or two that would otherwise go to an oligarchy that doesn't need it. Yeah, but it's more complicated than that... or so we believe. We need politicians to decide these things for us... but do we really? http://www.gravel2008.us/national_initiative
US geopolitics aka the Middle East = Grand Larceny's and Slaughter of the Innocents on a almost unimaginable scale. Kissinger et al's influence in world politics is totally abominable and evil. The American / Zionist Nomenclature exists. Waken up.
Maybe lots of good things happened on 6th July 1946, I dunno.
But one terrible thing certainly occurred back then. It was on that date George and Barbara Bush had a son, -little realising that he would grow up to become one of the nastiest pieces of work the world had seen.
How can a nation of some 301,140,000 people stand to have this malevolent ignoramus as their leader? Why isn't he in gaol, alongside many other felons, -they who have committed *much lesser crimes* than he??
What does it take to end the atrocious mess this warped individual has made of things? Are 300,000,000 people so insensate as to not notice that this person is just the devil's wrecking ball towards anything resembling rational human life and 'civilisation'?
I'm puzzled. Very, very puzzled, - as to how such an evil menace ever got his maniacal talons on even a shred of power, -let alone be sitting at the head of a government.
Please someone, if there's a trash can anywhere near you, DO dispose of this pile of dung before he causes any more damage to the world?
:(
What a deceptive article intermixing the words give and sell, not unexpected that it is coming from an American source. Nobody is giving any money to the Saudis. They are spending their own money to buy these useless weapons. Arming themselves to the teeth with nobody to fight. At least with the Israelis, with their perpetual war on their neighbors, constantly uses up every one of the weapon that's given to them.
All the dumb posters that is fuming at the $63 billion giveaway will at least be glad that the giveaway is $43 billion. The only $63 billion out there is the money to be made by the arms manufactures.
Nathan:
Then. Don't expect anything to ever change.
And don't complain when it doesn't.
I am not exactly sure what the answer is, but I sure as hell know that this ain't working.
I still prefer the "Empire Light" of the Democrats as compared to the fully loaded "Empire" of the Republicans.
We all need to work hard to restore democratic values to our political process, but while we work for those ends, I don't want to hand more power to the Republicans by staying home on election day or by voting for a third party with no chance of victory in our corrupt two party system.
As I said yesterday, I want good candidates in the election, but if it comes down to Tweedledee vs. Tweedledumb, I definately prefer Dee rather than Dumb.
Undoubtedly, the lenders & guarantors (Federal Reserve?) see war to be a better investment than people?
Where is all this money coming from? Remember the 90s when we couldn't get money to improve health care or education?
But, we will dump a trillion dollars into a war where 5 years later thing are worse than before!
It makes sense because it will give the economy a boost. And the US economy increasingly measures the worth of global corporations whose association with the US is in name only- or to take advantage of deregulated corporate welfare and tax write-offs.
And weapons is our speciality. Its good for the business.
As citizens our only worth is as consumers or suckers who foot the bill.
Hate to throw a stick into the spokes but... where are they going to get the 63 billion? Ok, stupid question.
And now the Sunni's quit the Iraqi government... maybe they're hoping for a Saudi Iraqia...
This is wayyyy beyond international War Crimes orchestrated by Bu$h/Cheney etal....
This is just pure evil....
The ongoing Human Tragedy that is Iraq, continues to prove the callousness of US foreign policy....
Adding more weapons of mass destruction into this genocidal mix is counter productive and a totally scandalous misuse of US consolidated revenue....
Oh... I forgot M3 money supply is now increasing at 13-14%...hence Treasuries willingness to monetize new War debt....The American dollar will shortly be in the TOILET!!!!!!!!!!!
And some might still wonder who the Bush/Cheney combo are working for.
Vets is right, and what's more, the weapons will be used against the residents of the Middle East should they challenge the regimes that misrule them.
This money will not be given to the residence people of the middle east.
It will be given, eventually, to US Weapon Industrial complex.
"She also denied that the United States was relaxing its standards for democracy and human rights."
Since when did the american empire have any standards for democracy and human rights in the first place?
C'mon people!!!!
Do the arithmetic( I never say do the math because I SUCK AT MATH that is to say ALGEBRA Geometry Calculus, but ahm purdy durn good at cifurin an anglish)
4 million inhabitants 30 billion dollars, 10 more years ,hmmmmmmmm
have a look at Israel, even with its swiming pools next to dying "natives" and buldozed olive trees, it doesn't look that good!
Fair Trade? Even Playing field?
You get what you pay for when you give them guys your money.
"And some might still wonder who the Bush/Cheney combo are working for."
I would venture to guess the Carlyle Group, Halliburton, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc...
I don't see the American people anywhere in their top 20.
They would be a lot better off spending 63 billion dollars on renewable energy resources and preparing themselves for the day ther oil runs out.
"We want to give $20 billion to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates."
Do they really mean "give" $20 billion to oil rich countries? It must be nice to have the US president as a salesman for your product. Especially if he pays for the purchase with taxpayer money.
Nathan Andover--Did you happen to notice the...bipartisan effort?
"This is a bipartisan craziness that never ended despite the end of the Cold War. Under the dual guise of national security and protecting American jobs, the first President Bush and President Clinton aggressively promoted US arms sales to more than twice their level of the last years of the Cold War."
Bipartisan ALWAYS means Dems succumbing to Republican dictates--and the Dems are ALWAYS more than happy to comply--in the bipartisan spirit. The demand is ALWAYS on the Democrats--NEVER on the Republicans to be less partisan.
BushClintonBush(Clinton now Pappy's best pal)Clinton.
You were saying?