George W. Bush Plan’s to Sell Weapons to Saudi Arabia

January 12, 2008

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Well the saying “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” is not one the Bush administration gives much thought to, as today they announced that on Monday they would be alerting Congress on their plans to sell $20 Billion dollars worth of weaponry to Saudi Arabia. Included will be precision guided bombs and other high tech weapons that the United States is currently using in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Weapon sales to middle eastern countries is nothing new for the United States, if you remember correctly we have chosen to arm both Osama Bin Laden during the Soviet attempt to take over Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein when the beloved Ronald Reagan was in office. History clearly shows that our decisions to supply middle eastern countries with weapons ultimately backfires resulting in catastrophic results for America.

However it just wouldn’t be in George W. Bush’s character to take history into account when making a decision now would it. A White House official said the timing was “appropriate” and “symbolic” as it would come within hours of Bush’s arrival in Saudi Arabia, the penultimate stop on his current Middle East trip. Air Force One is scheduled to land in Riyadh on Monday after a stop in Dubai. This resolve is not being felt by all in Washington:

In a letter to Bush sent last fall after plans for the sale first became public, 186 House members expressed serious reservations about the plan and at least one, Re. Anthony Weiner D-NY, has said he plans to introduce a resolution to block the sale. His resolution has nearly three dozen co-sponsors.

Even with opposition to the sale there remains little doubt whether or not Bush’s plan to sell the weaponry will in fact go through. Just as every backwards decision this President has made the arming of another oil rich middle eastern country will remain unscathed even though multiple instances of the practice have blown up in the United State’s face.

The Bush administration claims that this is just another step in helping protect middle eastern allies from our favorite enemy; Iran. This strikes me as bizarre in a couple different ways. First how does the Bush administration expect to convince Iran to step down militarily while at the same time shipping arsenals of high tech weapons to their neighbors. And moreover how will this sale resonate in the minds of every other middle eastern country who already disagree with the unwavering support the U.S. consistently gives Israel. George W. Bush is once again placing America in a situation where we are likely to make more enemies in the middle east and sadly there is no one stopping him.