$20bn-worth of planes and ships
looks like a last roll of the dice
in the Gulf, writes robert fox |
 |
|
In a surprising twist to the saga of the US standoff with Iran, Washington is reported to be preparing a huge sale of arms and defence supplies to Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies in the Gulf. The deal, amounting to some $20bn worth of planes, surveillance and communication systems, and patrol ships, has been prepared ahead of an imminent joint visit to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
This is the old ploy of fighting by proxy, but in new clothes. The Bush administration hopes to stiffen the resolve of the Saudis to confront Iran as it becomes more active inside Iraq and threatens to destabilise the Gulf states by stirring up Shia minorities. This is quite apart from the issue of Tehran's nuclear ambitions. |
|
 |
 |
|
| The Bush administration hopes to stiffen the resolve of the Saudis to confront Iran |
|
|
The Israelis aren't happy about the new arms deal, nor are the Democrats, who are threatening to block the sale in Congress this autmun. The Israelis have been told that the supplies will persuade Saudi Arabia to be more active in deterring Iran - and Israel has been promised $30bn of US military aid over the next ten years.
The move to arm the Saudis, which Washington has tried to avoid till now, is an admission that the US has not much spare military capacity in addition to its forces currently tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also suggests that the Bush-Cheney presidency is not reckoning on the UK quitting Iraq altogether by next spring.
There seems something of an air of desperation about the move, a last throw of the dice. Not least there is the question of who is going to fly the planes and man the ships and missiles. If the past is anything to go by, the Saudis will have to trawl the guns-for-hire market again, particularly in
Pakistan. 
FIRST POSTED JULY 30, 2007
|
