Trump inflated importance of Saudi arms sales to US job market, report says

[DonViejo]

Source: The Guardian



Saudi Arabia needs the US far more than the other way round, report argues amid crisis over murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Julian Borger in Washington

Tue 20 Nov 2018 02.51 EST

US arms sales to Saudi Arabia give Washington extensive leverage on Riyadh, while accounting for fewer than 20,000 US jobs a year – less than a twentieth of the employment boost Donald Trump has claimed – according to a new report.

Trump has repeatedly cited the importance of Saudi arms sales to the US economy as a reason not to cut the supply of weapons in response to the murder of the Saudi writer and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.

The president has frequently estimated the total extent of defence sales to the Saudi regime at $110bn, and variously said they would generate 450,000, 500,000 or 600,000 jobs.

According to a report by the Centre for International Policy thinktank in Washington, those figures are hugely inflated. The report, US military support for Saudi Arabia and the War in Yemen, argues that Saudi Arabia needs the US far more than the other way round, and the administration is underplaying its hand, if it wants to rein in Riyadh in Yemen – or punish the monarchy for Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/20/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-jamal-khashoggi

[hibbing]

1. "inflated" lied n/t

[Dave Starsky]

6. I swear, they've used every euphemism in Roget's Thesaurus.

He fucking lied. It's just that simple.

[area51]

8. +1 n/t

[exboyfil]

2. Which should open a Congressional investigation

of why including any potential quid pro quo related to Trump's and his family and friends' personal finances.

[UpInArms]

3. If the Orange Menace spewed it

You know it was a lie

[Roy Rolling]

4. Fu*k those Jobs

Making bombs to sell to violent government dictators is terrible economics. Let them find work elsewhere, lest we all are consumed by their products.

[Freethinker65]

5. The arms sale IS important to increasing Trump's fortune

why else would Trump's kids tweet about their support

[NOMOGOP]

7. It is NOT the...

arms sales/jobs that is Trumps motivator. It is $ piled into pockets of Trump family is why he is so amenable to Saudi indiscretion.

[SWBTATTReg]

9. Arms sales have been the mantra preached by many over the years, and I've never seen...

anything come out of any of these so called critical sales of arms...never. So, it's a blatant lie that arms sales are essential/critical.

[ck4829]

10. Kick

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. "if it wants to rein in Riyadh in Yemen - or punish the monarchy for Khashoggi's murder"

Obviously, it wants neither of those. It wants the Saudis fighting Iranian proxies (or, ideally for Trump, Iranians). Trump is smearing Khashoggi rather than using his murder to rein in the Saudi royal familiy in any way. Being an arms dealer is Trump's dream come true. Especially when his arms might kill Iranians, or, failing that, other Muslims.

[Scurrilous]

12. K&R