Growing Middle East Tensions Incite ‘Weapons Buying Binge’ Among Gulf States

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/20/middle-east-defense-contractors/

Growing Middle East Tensions Incite ‘Weapons Buying Binge’ Among Gulf States

IDEX-2007, touted as the world’s largest military defense exhibition, began yesterday in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The conference — which brings together “key decision-makers from across the world, defense ministers, chiefs of staff and senior officers from army, navy and air force to network” with defense contractors — is attracting a great deal of attention from Persian Gulf states.

The recently-released National Intelligence Estimate assessed that increasing violence and unrest in Iraq “have heightened fears of regional instability and unrest and contributed to a growing polarization between Iran and Syria on the one hand and other Middle East governments on the other.” And Iraq’s neighbors are equipping themselves for potential battle. The AP reports:

Deep fears about the war in Iraq and growing tension between the United States and Iran are driving the wealthy oil states of the Persian Gulf to go on shopping sprees for helicopters, ships and tanks, officials say. …

Helicopters and electronic warning sensors are expected to be hot sellers. For example, seaborne early warning radar can can detect rogue vessels approaching ports or oil terminals. …

In particular, the Saudi military is looking for air defenses and helicopters and perhaps naval frigates. … The Emirates’ shopping list includes ship-to-ship missiles.

States in the Gulf region which have invested little in “rearming” in the “last 15 years,” are now eager to see what others are buying and how they might “defeat those capabilities.” As one analyst said, “The shopping lists are directly correlated to the threat perception.”

Defense contractors attending the summit — including Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing — are more than happy to oblige the Arab nations’ demands. The Gulf states’ “weapons buying binge” is expected to rake in sales that will “soar past” the $2 billion in contracts offered at IDEX in 2005. According to U.S. Ambassador to the UAE, Michele Sisson, U.S. companies are expected to “clinch” a significant portion of the profits.

[Tempest]

1. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

After all, the U.S. is by far the largest arms dealer in the world.

[babylonsister]

2. Makes me feel really sick. So we ARE selling weapons to people who will

turn around and kill us. And what's with 'we're fighting them over there..."? Have weapons will travel.

[Tempest]

4. It's been going on for decades

Reagan is the biggest violator when considering presidents who allowed the selling arms to our enemies, but he's by no means the first.

[Hawkowl]

5. EXACTLY!

War is good for business! Arms and munitions is about the only thing we export today. WE are the merchants of death.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Wow......MIC working overtime, I see.......

:wow:

[welshTerrier2]

6. "money doesn't talk it swears"

well, there you go. Big Oil got their oil deal where they'll walk away with most of Iraq's oil and now this.

the question is, will the Democratic Party have anything to say about it. i'm not holding my breath.

arms merchant to the world. they won't sell to the Cubans so they can get the Cuban vote in Florida; every other place is just fine and dandy. truly, we are diminished by those who operate with the full sanction of our government. and the opposition party? where is it?

see, we'll get protests from Democrats about shoddy work by contractors. but the party, perhaps with an exception or two, won't speak out against this kind of profiteering. sell anything to anyone and let the campaign funds just keep on a-rolling in.

we the people need to take back our government. the first targets are the military-industrial complex and big oil and those who have been complicit with them. we should hang them all from the Washington Monument for their treason against America.

[babylonsister]

7. Dem. Now! today covered the big oil 'deal'. Wait til the Iraqi peons find out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=251594&mesg_id=251594