Sunday, May 21, 2017

Bombs And Bucks



Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an arms deal with the Saudis. The deal includes “tanks and helicopters for border security, ships for coastal security, intelligence-gathering aircraft, a missile-defense radar system, and cybersecurity tools,” reports ABC News.

Alex Ward writes that "it forms part of a 10-year, $350 billion agreement in a “strategic vision” between the two countries, reports the Washington Post," and it puts bucks ahead of human rights. Barack Obama offered an even bigger deal to the Saudis back in September. And Justin Trudeau, of course, sold war wagons to the House of Saud.

The problem is that:

The Saudis, with support of the US and several other regional allies, have led a two-year campaign against the Houthis, an Iranian-backed armed group that is trying to dislodge the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. The war has been brutal and has produced a humanitarian catastrophe on a staggering scale: at least 10,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced since the war began in March 2015. Millions more are currently at risk of famine.

Saudi warplanes have targeted hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, farms, livestock, and other civilian targets with zero regard for either the laws prohibiting such tactics in wartime or the horrendous suffering they’re inflicting on innocent civilians.

The Obama administration increasingly tried (although not hard enough to make any noticeable difference) to use its leverage over the Saudis — in particular, US military support and arms sales — to compel the Saudis to stop these sorts of flagrant human rights violations. 

Trump will apply no such pressure. He crowed that the deal was "tremendous" and that it meant "jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs" in the United States. Jared Kushner apparently played a key role in bringing the deal together.

The family business has offered a wide variety of products -- hotel rooms, meat, wine and now bombs. Obviously, they are in a growth cycle. Never mind that the consequences of that growth will be more famine and rape. Growth -- and, as Gordon Gekko said, greed -- are good.

Image: Intergalactic Vault

14 comments:

Hugh said...

If GDP doesn't grow every year, that's seen as seriously bad news.

A stable, non-growing economy is not seen as desirable.

The question is 'why not'?



Owen Gray said...

Good question, Hugh.

the salamander said...

.. I spin Johnny Cash in my head...
'When the Man comes Around'

at the sheer nonsense
the sick boasting & cruelty
the marriage of Trump's faux christianity
twisted around the phony posturing of Kushner's judaism

War & arms sales are PR and glamour
to wallow and roll their snouts in
but.. THE MAN.WILL COME AROUND ..
and pay his dark visit to these scumbags

There's nothing good whatsoever
about such contaminants of our earth
.. nothing nothing nothing.. the empty men ..

An old farmer used to describe such losers to me
as 'men with no bottom' .. I wondered what he meant
.. I understand him perfectly now..

Owen Gray said...

The nineteenth century version of such hollow men was called Mr. Kurtz, salamander.

Steve said...

Nothing changes. He who has the gold makes the rules.

Owen Gray said...

Or at least he thinks he does, Steve.

Anonymous said...

Salamander? Right on. '...then he started in to dealing with slaves n something inside of her died...'.
Beare the Gree, man.

Unknown said...

Apparently the Saudi's were shown the warehouses where the Yemenese people's food was stored and also shown the factories that processed that food. The reason was so the Saudi's would not bomb them. The Saudi's went ahead and bombed them anyway. The needed food supply for the Yemenese people was destroyed, contributing to the famine now happening in Yemen.

The Humanitarian response to this crime by the American government Owen is to give the Saudi's 350 billion dollars to buy more weapons to use to slaughter more yemenese people. The response by the American people to this daily horror that the Yemenese people are living under is complete indifference. They are not alone though, the rest of the world could also care less.

In fact the US western allies including Canada support Saudi Arabia and The US in their destruction of Yemen and their slaughter of its people.

Trudeau's selling of war wagons to the Saudi's should tell us everything we need to know about him. In other words the destroying & pillaging of Yemen along with the rape, murder and starvation of its people is okay with him. If he can make millons of dollars in supporting this apocalypse, so be it.

In Canadian law if you intentionally go along with a person who murders another, then you are also considered guilty.

Does Trudeau really think that he is not guilty for going along with the slaughter of thousands in another country. If we as Canadians keep silent about the violent horror happening in Yemen, what does that make us? At the very least we should make sure that Trudeau and his liberal regime do not get re-elected.

Owen Gray said...

The Wretched Of the Earth are becoming more wretched, Pam.

Anonymous said...

Owen? At the risk of sticking my nose where it don't belong- I'll just say this--
Men gonna sell arms cuz men gotta. (Mak3eMoney&war industry.) It's a complex bidness, non?
Let's just say I don't give a rats be-hind what wargames the manly men are playin' today. As long as results are given in other areas, well, I'll be happy. No I won't. Cuz how many whitetrashmachomen does it take to affect change??? That's right. None. ZippityDooDah. Cuz it ain't about that whole food&shelter&cleanbloodywater thing, is it Owen.
(I'll probably see myself out. I don't need an escort, anyhow...)

Owen Gray said...

Some men -- like Trump -- are going to sell arms, lovingit. Other men -- like Ghandi and Martin Luther king -- didn't.

Anonymous said...

Well, you might just as well throw JPT and the rest of the LPOC's caucus and cabinet in there too, Owen. Seems to be the spirit of the day on these pages. And always goes completely unchallenged. Well, I'm here to ruin your queen victorious birthday wknd AND afflict the comfortable. Get used to it boas, I'm going nowhere fast and I'm standing on Solid Joyceville Rock. This is one Liberal who knows how to stand HER ground..........................cuz it's just--what I do.........AND the wimmenzz
who love'em......................................................................

Owen Gray said...

You can find lots of men with feet of clay, lovingit. But there are some exceptions.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely, Owen.

Have a good day, sir....