Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Big Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia


Saudi Arabia is up to its neck in funding of Sunni insurgents in Iraq who have and continue to kill our troops. They also do a lot to fund terrorism around the globe.

The real threat is the existence of conditions which allow terrorism to grow within third world countries, such as poverty, ignorance, lack of adequate health care and human rights.

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Those are the conditions which exist under the rule of self-serving dictators. The seeds of terrorism are sown in this environment and gradually grow to maturity. The mistake we make is that once terrorism rears its ugly head in a country, we support the dictatorship even more, thereby losing the trust and respect of the average citizens in that country. Someone in the United States might say, “How can anyone choose an extremist form of Islam over democracy?” But if America supports your leader and you’re living on a dirt floor while your baby is dying and your brother is rotting in prison because he spoke his mind, you might think, “How could radical Islam be any worse than the way I have it now?”

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If we wish to stop the rising tide of terrorism we must stop supporting or tolerating dictators and let the people of the country know this. At the same time we must encourage and help growth in the economy, education and human rights of these countries and not the military weaponry of tyrants.

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War is a poor answer to a human problem; a diplomatic problem. Don’t let the militaristic neoconservatives lead you to believe the only road to peace is by the gun. They are wrong.

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The threat and fear of radical fundamentalist Islam is morphing into a paranoid dread of all Islam.

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An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
Mahatma Gandhi



U.S. plans big arms sale to Saudi Arabia-report
28 Jul 2007 03:27:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27335578.htm

Are we now picking a side?

Will it be the Sunnis?

If we align with the Sunnis are we unwittingly siding with those tolerant to supportive of Al-Qaeda? It seems we may be doing exactly that.

Are we seeking support from both Saudi Arabia and radical elements among the Sunnis, loyal to Al Qaeda, for an attack against Iran?

Are we doing the bidding of Saudi Arabia?

Are we going to attempt to replay the old Iran-Iraq war? It sure seems we may be heading in that general direction.

Where is the national debate?

Where is the congressional authorization?

Where is the Bush administration credibility on intelligence leading to military adventurism?

NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

Saudis reportedly funding Iraqi Sunni insurgents

Updated 12/8/2006 7:29 AM ETCAIRO (AP) —

Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.

More…

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-12-08-saudis-sunnis_x.htm

Hersh: U.S. Funds Being Secretly Funneled To Violent Al Qaeda-Linked Groups

New Yorker columnist Sy Hersh says the “single most explosive” element of his latest article involves an effort by the Bush administration to stem the growth of Shiite influence in the Middle East (specifically the Iranian government and Hezbollah in Lebanon) by funding violent Sunni groups.

More…

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/25/hersh-qaeda

US confirms it is arming Sunni insurgents

John Byrne Published: Sunday June 10, 2007

The U.S. military has confirmed that it is arming Sunni insurgent factions to try to contain al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, according to a report in Monday's New York Times by veteran Iraq correspondent John Burns."With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight militants linked with Al Qaeda who have been their allies in the past."

more...

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_confirms_it_arming_Sunni

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US has been covertly arming Gulf States since 2004, officials say
Larisa AlexandrovnaPublished: Wednesday August 1, 2007
US has been covertly arming Gulf States since 2004, officials say'

$20b arms sale to Saudi Arabia ‘done deal’
A recently disclosed US agreement with Saudi Arabia for a 10-year, $20 billion dollar arms sale is a “done deal,” according to intelligence officials and experts familiar with the negotiations.

more...

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_has_been_covertly_arming_Gulf_0801.html

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Saudi Time Bomb
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/

from Amnesty International…
Human Rights Concerns: Saudi Arabia
http://www.amnestyusa.org/Saudi_Arabia/Human_Rights_Concerns/page.do?id=1101942&n1=3&n2=30&n3=980

from Human Rights Watch…
Saudi Arabia
http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=saudia


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