Saudi arms deal rewards terror 'abetters'

Saudi arms deal rewards terror 'abetters'

A defense policy expert is expressing concern over a proposed U.S.-Saudi Arabia arms deal that would send the Saudis $20 billion in advanced weaponry over the next decade.

The deal, announced yesterday in Washington, DC, purportedly will help secure Iraq and the Persian Gulf while at the same time promote stability and U.S. influence in an area of the world threatened by terrorism and rising Iranian ambitions -- or so says the Bush administration. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the proposed package "will help bolster forces of moderation" and support efforts against what she called "the negative influences of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran." The weapons package for Saudi Arabia reportedly includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighter jets, and new naval vessels.

Frank Gaffney is founder and president of the Center for Security Policy and a former assistant defense secretary in the Reagan administration. He says he is concerned about what he calls the "offensive potential" of the weapons, and fears the government being sold the weapons may not ultimately be the one wielding them.

"Arming the Saudis perpetuates what I believe has been one of the serious flaws of American national security policy for some time" -- which is, says Gaffney, "turning a blind eye to what the government of Saudi Arabia is doing that is promoting the very Islamofascist ideology that we are confronting around the world, not least in the Middle East but here at home as well."

Gaffney believes it is foolish to arm a country that is abetting terrorism. "If we continue to turn a blind eye to that -- let alone seemingly reward it through arms sales -- we may or may not be making Saudi Arabia more secure from what is admittedly a real and growing danger from Iran," he says. "But we will, I'm afraid, signal that the continuing support for terror can go unchallenged, let alone unchecked."

Gaffney advises the U.S. to be very cautious about the idea of "trying to buy more influence and better relationships" with Middle Eastern regimes, including Egypt, which is also slated to get $13 billion in new arms over the next ten years. Israel is slated to receive a total of $30 billion in U.S. military assistance during the same period of time.