Diplomatic clash looms with US over BAE arms sale investigation

[Kagemusha]

Source: The Guardian (UK)

A potential diplomatic collision with the US is looming over the corruption allegations against the arms company BAE. The department of justice in Washington has formally demanded that Britain hand over all evidence of secret payments the company made to members of the Saudi royal family to secure huge arms deals.

The department has taken over the corruption investigation after British prosecutors were forced by the then prime minister, Tony Blair, to halt it late last year on alleged grounds of national security.

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The Saudis and BAE say the payments were all above board. But Mr Blair said the Saudi royals privately made threats to cut off intelligence links unless the investigations were halted. He claimed this might increase the risk of British citizens being murdered in al-Qaida terrorist attacks "on British streets".

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If British ministers defy the justice department, this could go on to endanger reciprocal cooperation and intelligence-sharing with the US. Britain depends far more heavily on Washington than it does on Saudi Arabia. One senior source close to the US department of justice told the Guardian: "Britain's definition of national security might have to change under these circumstances."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles/story/0,,2127191,00.html

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For everyone on DU who has been asking about the status of this investigation. Hell, for members of the House and Senate who've been asking and who haven't been given any direct answers by the administration.

[MasonJar]

1. The Saudi royals...oh, boy, will the Justice Dept be all over that...NOT.

[Kagemusha]

2. So why provoke a major intelligence crisis with a key ally, the UK?

As the alliance goes, it is the intelligence which constitutes the crown jewels, not the UK's pigmy military. Threatening to cut that off is to gut the strategic relationship rather severely.

So I wonder what's really going on here, or if this is a case of over-reporting. I didn't even expect the formal request, let alone the "threat" of a cut-off.