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SAUDI ARABIA: Do What We Say - Or We Will "Make It Easier For Terrorists To Attack" (no shit!)

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kpete Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:26 AM
Original message
SAUDI ARABIA: Do What We Say - Or We Will "Make It Easier For Terrorists To Attack" (no shit!)
Edited on Fri Feb-15-08 10:38 AM by kpete
Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack !

BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince
Spectre of 'another 7/7' led Tony Blair to block bribes inquiry, high court told

David Leigh and Rob Evans The Guardian, Friday February 15 2008

Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.

He was accused in yesterday's high court hearings of flying to London in December 2006 and uttering threats which made the prime minister, Tony Blair, force an end to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery allegations involving Bandar and his family.

more at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/15/bae.armstrade

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lazyriver Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:37 AM
Response to Original message
1. But but but...the terrorists are in Iraq, right?
I don't really need a sarcasm tag, do I?
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The Backlash Cometh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:37 AM
Response to Original message
2. I suspect that this kind of talk is behind the reason that our national
security efforts have been so ineffective. We are being controlled by business machinations.
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indepat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 07:41 PM
Response to Reply #2
13. So the homeland of Osama and most of the 19 9-11 hijackers threatens our WWII allies:
with friends like this we (fill in the blank).
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sicksicksick_N_tired Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
3. Bush and Bandar sittin' in a tree, ripping off both you and me. nt
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flvegan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:44 AM
Response to Original message
4. Bush's bro and potential LIHOP? Naaahhhh...never happen.
Besides the Saudis aren't part of the Axis of Evil. They must be okay.
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sicksicksick_N_tired Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 05:37 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. Were ANY of the 9/11 hijackers Iraqi or mostly Saudi? Why not nuke Saudi Arabia?
:shrug:

Who "produced" terrorists and terrorism and WHO financed them? SA and USA, you say?

It's all about GREED AND POWER. It's so insane that so-called 'conservatives' or 'christians' ADVOCATE BUYING the same ole' money-changing shit by the same ole' AMORAL (UNLAWFUL & OPPRESSIVE) crowd of shit-hats.
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Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:52 AM
Response to Original message
5. The true face of our enemy
The Saudi Royal Family exists as the rulers of Saudi Arabia as long as the oil holds out. No oil money for bribery, and they would be kicked to the curb in a heartbeat by their own people.
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Oilwellian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:55 AM
Response to Original message
6. George & Bandar


Long time friends.
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blondeatlast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 10:59 AM
Response to Original message
7. Evil just oozes from that picture; it almost chills.
:scared:
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bullwinkle428 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 05:51 PM
Response to Original message
9. Countdown to * detouring his Africa trip to go over there and kiss his ring...
:puke:
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kitty1 Donating Member (772 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 06:30 PM
Response to Original message
10. Here's an extraordinary claim by Bandar given just after the attacks...
in New York on 9/11 and following the London explosion on July 7th.

Bandar’s accusations that the U.S. government could have stopped 9/11, had they pursued leads provided by Saudi intelligence, were met with skepticism by some U.S. intelligence officials consulted by EIR. They pointed to EIR’s own June 29, 2007 revelations, drawn from the 9/11 Commission Report and other sources, that then-Saudi Ambassador Bandar had funnelled more than $50,000 through two Saudi intelligence operatives, to some of the 9/11 hijackers. One source emphasized that the Bandar payments were so controversial that a 28-page segment of the 9/11 Commission report, dealing with this incident, was classified and blocked, to this day, from publication. But the Prince’s charges of U.S. failures, leading to the 9/11 attacks, could signal a rift between the Saudi prince and his “war party” ally Dick Cheney, that could set back the Vice President’s schemes to build up a Sunni versus Shi’ite confrontation in the Persian Gulf—a scheme he launched with his November 2006 trip to Riyadh, arranged by Bandar personally.
Whether legitimate or not, Prince Bandar’s extraordinary claims mirrored comments made by King Abdullah on Oct. 29, in an interview with the BBC on the eve of his state visit to London. King Abdullah claimed that British authorities also failed to listen to Saudi intelligence warnings about terror plots in England; and the July 7, 2005 London subway bombings, which killed 52 people, could have been prevented, if British authorities had acted on specific warnings passed from Riyadh in advance of the attacks.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/911-truth/will-911-and-bae-derail-cheneys-plan-to-bomb-iran/1717/

Oh they got specific warnings alright. More like threats probably that transpired into a suicide attack with Abdullah's authorization.
I'm sure the U.S. and Britain are going to take security advise from the enemy.
We'll allow the coyotes to guard the sheep for sure.


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CJCRANE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-19-08 08:32 AM
Response to Reply #10
27. The attacks benefitted Bush & Blair.
The elites co-operate to attack the rest of us for their own personal and political gain.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that Bush works for the best interests of America or Blair for the UK.
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iamthebandfanman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 06:32 PM
Response to Original message
11. could they make it much more easier?
i mean , whos he fooling ? lol


last time i checked, most of the terrorists already came outa saudi arabia ;)
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seemslikeadream Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 06:35 PM
Response to Original message
12. FBI investigating Prince Bandar so he hires former FBI director Freeh and Stanley Sporkin
While the BAE investigation apparently ran aground in Britain, it has gained enough interest in the United States to cause some of those in the middle of it to secure high-profile legal advisers. Prince Bandar, a confidant of the Bush family, recently retained the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Louis J. Freeh, as well as one of the fathers of the F.C.P.A., the retired federal judge Stanley Sporkin, to represent him.


http://www.whereisthemoney.org/hotseat/stanleysporkin.htm
UnAnswered Questions for Stanley Sporkin






http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2346218

http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles/story/0,,2217144,00.html

US obtains Swiss records and flies in British witness in BAE investigation

US corruption investigators have gone behind the back of Downing Street to fly a British witness to Washington to testify about Saudi arms deals with the UK arms firm BAE Systems, the Guardian can disclose. In a hitherto secret move, Swiss federal prosecutors have also agreed to hand over to Washington financial records linked to the Saudi royal family.

The US is seeking - but has so far been refused - more than a million pages of documents seized from BAE, its bankers, Lloyds TSB, and the Ministry of Defence during an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

Prince Bandar, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, who says there was no impropriety about a £1bn payment he received for brokering arms deals with BAE, has hired a former head of the FBI and a retired British high court judge to defend his position. The British government has been attempting to block all investigations into payments from BAE to members of the Saudi regime.

British ministers are refusing to grant a six-month-old official request from the US department of justice for mutual legal assistance, in defiance of the UK's anti-bribery treaty obligations. This follows the suppression of Britain's own Serious Fraud Office investigation, which was abandoned last year on the grounds that the inquiry might jeopardise national security. The move, following Tony Blair's intervention, infuriated anti-corruption campaigners.



Stench of conspiracy at BAE Systems


http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2192611,00.html
Stench of conspiracy at BAE Systems


Nils Pratley
Wednesday October 17, 2007
The Guardian


The boardroom dynamics of BAE Systems are hard to read at the best of times, but the natural reading of chief executive Mike Turner's departure seems clear: he was pushed.
The killer quote was provided by Turner in June, when he seemed to pitch publicly for an extension. "I'm a fairly young guy," he said. "I've been through some difficult times a few years ago, but the company is in great shape. Why would I want to stop now?"


Why indeed? He is 59, has worked at the company since his teenage years, and retirement age at BAE is 65. Turner himself says he will now look for a job elsewhere, albeit in a non-executive role. It's not as if shareholders were demanding change. The shares have performed wonderfully in recent years, a fact that usually baffles those who only associate BAE with allegations of bribery.
On the business front, Turner did well. He weathered the rows with the Ministry of Defence over the costs of the Nimrod aircraft and Astute submarine programmes. His single-minded vision for expansion - more American assets - was controversial, but successful. Becoming the world's biggest builder of armoured vehicles, from an American base, has paid off handsomely thanks to conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So why's he going? It looks as if winds of change are blowing through BAE. Chris Geoghegan and Steve Mogford, co-chief operating officers, have already resigned this year, so Turner's exit next August means members of BAE's old guard are becoming harder to spot.

New faces might be deemed desirable at this point: the US department of justice is still investigating allegations that BAE paid bribes to Saudi officials. BAE says its relationship with the US government is unaffected, but it's also its job to ensure that's always the case.

Was chairman Dick Olver behind Turner's departure? Was it a boardroom coup? There is sometimes danger in smelling conspiracy at BAE. On this occasion, the stench is powerful.




http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1692996

BAE brings in a pair of Army contracts


http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/08/27/daily5.html

A New Hampshire-based defense contractor reports it has won an $8 million federal research grant to develop a power amplifier for the U.S. Army.

A Merrimack, N.H., BAE Systems Inc. site is scheduled to develop a 160-watt gallium nitride amplifier to power communications and radar systems. The grant was awarded to BAE by the Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, based in Fort Monmouth, N.J. BAE is expected to share the grant with Virginia-based materials science company Rohm and Haas Co. and the University of Colorado.


In a separate development, a Massachusetts-based unit of BAE reports it plans to develop night vision goggles for the U.S. Army for an undisclosed contract amount. The Program Executive Office Solider, based at Fort Belvoir, Va., commissioned the work, according to company officials.

BAE Systems Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of United Kingdom-based BAE Systems PLC. BAE Systems Inc. is headquartered in Rockville, Md. BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Inc., a business unit of BAE Systems, is based in Nashua, N.H. BAE Systems PLC employs 88,000 workers worldwide and reported 2006 annual sales of $25 billion. The largest North American BAE operating group is the Electronics & Integrated Solutions group.


BAE already has an order from India for 66 BAE Hawk trainers, 42 of which are being built there.
Posted by seemslikeadream on Wed Aug-29-07 06:07 PM

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aIVNGXZDbsww&refer=india

BAE Systems to Develop Enhanced Night-Vision Goggle For U.S. Army


http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070827005480&newsLang=en


LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BAE Systems will design and develop a digitally enhanced night-vision goggle as part of the U.S. Army’s Enhanced Night Vision Goggle program. This next-generation goggle will use digital imagery to improve soldier mobility and situational awareness under all lighting conditions and in the presence of battlefield obscurants.

The helmet-mounted goggle will digitally combine video imagery from a low-light-level visible sensor and an uncooled long-wave infrared sensor on a single color display located in front of the soldier's eye. This digital technology will provide improved image quality and will enable imagery to be shared among soldiers, improving platoon effectiveness.

“This program will demonstrate the maturity and effectiveness of digital fusion technology and its benefit to the warfighter,” said Margaret Kohin, Advanced Systems program director for BAE Systems in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Applying innovative technology to help our soldiers complete their missions is an objective BAE Systems stands behind every day.”

The contract is managed by the Program Executive Office Soldier at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

BAE Systems will incorporate its uncooled MicroIR® microbolometer sensor technology in the enhanced goggle. This technology also is used in the thermal weapon sights the company supplies to the Army. BAE Systems has two microbolometer foundries and has delivered more than 50,000 microbolometer-based imagers to date.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. BAE Systems, with 96,000 employees worldwide, had 2006 sales that exceeded $27 billion on a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings Inc. for the whole of 2006.

1692661, $519 million deal to supply the U.S. military with 1,170 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles

http://www.thestreet.com/s/merger-bolsters-bae/newsanalysis/general/10375090.html?puc=googlefi

OKLAHOMA CITY -- With its huge buyout of Armor Holdings, U.K. defense contractor BAE Systems (BAESY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) may have very well gotten more than its money's worth.

Notably, just weeks before that transaction closed, Armor landed a surprise $519 million deal to supply the U.S. military with 1,170 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles. With similar MRAP business of its own, BAE has suddenly burst forward as a new leader in the multibillion-dollar MRAP game.

This story is the fourth installment in TheStreet.com's five-part series examining the top players in the multibillion-dollar MRAP bidding.

"In 2007 to date, BAE plus AH have captured ... No. 1 market share -- ahead of Force Protection (FRPT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and International Military and Government," a unit of Navistar (NAVZ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), noted JPMorgan analyst Harry Breach, whose firm has investment banking ties to BAE. Moreover, "we believe that further MRAP awards are likely later this year."

BAE demos DSL-esque military radio protocol
Posted by seemslikeadream on Wed Aug-29-07 06:13 PM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/20/bae_dsl_via_link_16 /

According to BAE, "the demonstration included Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, Voice over IP, mobile ad-hoc networking, streaming video, and imagery."

The share price of BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, has risen 225 per cent.


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article2337229.ece

Symon Hill, a spokesman for the Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “We think that most of the British public will object to the idea that these companies are profiting from war. While Iraqi civilians and British soldiers are dying, there are companies profiting from it.”

Accusations of making money from war are seen as unfair by the businessmen who run Britain’s defence industry. While the industry in the United States is loaded with former generals and admirals, British executives tend to be engineers or entrepreneurs. They are not career soldiers and get frustrated when they are presented as warmongers.

Revealed: official passes that give BAE access to the top at the MoD



http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles/story/0,,2149644,00.html

Incestuous' relationship must end, says MP
Lobbyist among 38 given free access to ministry

Rob Evans and David Leigh
Thursday August 16, 2007
The Guardian


The Ministry of Defence has given security passes to 38 employees of the arms giant BAE, allowing them to go in and out of the ministry's headquarters as they please, it has been revealed.
The disclosure has triggered accusations that the relationship between the MoD and BAE is too close and allows the arms company to exert too much political influence over the government. The MoD is refusing to disclose the names of the BAE employees with the official passes, or why they were given them, saying the information would breach their privacy and security. However, it is known that one has been held by BAE's chief lobbyist, Julian Scopes. The pass gave him access to the top levels of the ministry, enabling him to lobby ministers and senior officials and promote BAE's commercial interests.

BAE - $368 million to build and refurbish naval weapon systems,


http://www.epicos.com/epicos/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/default.psml/js_panename/News+Information+Article+View ;jsessionid=1DC948DE7A201E05F88DA8A5F1D73E43.tomcat2?articleid=81859&showfull=false


BAE Systems Receives Navy Basic Ordering Agreement for Weapons and Support Services
(2007-08-24)
By: Copyright Business Wire 2007 , Business Wire

BAE Systems has received a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) from the U.S. Navy for up to $368 million to build and refurbish naval weapon systems, and provide support services over the next five years. Potential orders received under this BOA are expected later this year and will be carried out by BAE Systems' facilities in Minneapolis and Louisville.

"This agreement will give us the opportunity to continue to serve the U.S. Navy and provide our sailors with critical naval weapon systems and support services," said Dennis Morris, BAE Systems' president of Armament Systems.

The BOA covers a wide range of BAE Systems' programs including the transition of production of the Mk 110 57mm naval gun system; the overhaul, manufacture and upgrade of the Mk 45 5-inch naval gun for the Cruiser Modernization program, the Mk 75 76mm gun mount, the Mk 42 extended range guided missile handling mechanism, the Mk 32 surface vessel torpedo tubes (SVTT), and the Mk 36/53 decoy launcher systems (DLS); the manufacture of gun barrels; the overhaul of turbine pump ejection systems (TPES); and work associated with minor caliber guns.

"This BOA demonstrates to us that our employees have been successful in meeting the customer's needs -- and that's our priority - delivering solutions on time and on budget," said Morris.


BAE wins $8m US defense contract to develop GaN amplifier ELECTRONIC WARFARE

http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/NEWS_2007/AUG_07/BAE_230807.htm

BAE wins $8m US defense contract to develop GaN amplifier
UK-based aerospace and defense contractor BAE Systems says that its Electronics & Integrated Solutions (E&IS) business in Merrimack, NH, USA has been awarded an $8m contract from the US Army Communications-Electronics Command to develop a 160 Watt gallium nitride power amplifier for communications, electronic warfare, and radar applications. Partnering BAE Systems on the program are materials supplier Rohm and Haas of Blacksburg, VI, USA and the University of Colorado.

The solid-state technology will replace the older traveling-wave vacuum tubes that are currently used to produce high-power radio frequency signals, and are intended to aid warfighters by more effectively disrupting enemy communications and radar signals, while protecting friendly communications.

“DARPA has identified BAE Systems’ GaN technology as an important material for future military applications in electronic warfare, radar, and air-to-ground, air-to-satellite, and ground-to-ground communications systems,” says Dr John Evans, the manager for DARPA’s Disruptive Manufacturing Technology program (through which it solicits proposals to reduce cost and time for production of military components). BAE Systems was chosen from among 40 bidders.

“Using this technology, we can develop systems that are significantly less expensive, more reliable, and lower in weight,” says Tony Immorlica, program manager of microwave device programs at BAE Systems. The first prototypes could be deployed by the end of the decade

Cannon for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program


http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001/07/14/20070822005666/bae-systems-congressional-community-and-army-leaders-celebrate-inauguration-of-elgi.html

BAE Systems, Congressional, Community and Army Leaders Celebrate Inauguration of Elgin Site
ELGIN, Okla.-(Business Wire)-August 22, 2007 - BAE Systems held a special inaugural ceremony in Elgin, Oklahoma to initiate work on BAE Systems - Elgin Operations, a 150,000 square-foot facility. The BAE Systems - Elgin Operations facility will be built by the city of Elgin in the Ft. Sill Industrial Park, and is scheduled to open in early 2009. Work at the new facility will initially focus on production integration and assembly of the Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) Cannon for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.



Al Jazeera: Trail of the Dove - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iuFyWX3Rz8

Al Jazeera: Trail of the Dove - Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jIPMQSpiiE
Al Jazeera: Trail of the Dove - Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dclFejuvrwg
An exclusive interview with one of Britain's leading investigative journalists and a former insider, the Trail of the Dove reveals the extent of surcharges, commissions and the $100 millon secret fund used by the UK's leading arms firm, BAE Systems, to grease the wheels of the biggest arms deals in British history.

Al-Yamamah 'The Dove' is the name of a series of massive arms sales by the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia. It is Britain's largest ever export agreement, and the prime contractor has been BAE Systems and its predecessor British Aerospace, which earned £43 billion in 20 years.

Both the UK's National Audit Office (report never released) and The Serious Fraud Office (halted) conducted investigations into corruption allegations. Trail of the Dove has also had access to ministry of defence secret documents and ambassadorial official correspondence that shows the level of corruption in the British arms trade.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWwdJpJkyKg
Former Saudi Ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan received hundreds of millions of pounds in secret payments from Britain's top defence manufacturer with the knowledge of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, according to the BBC.
The payments made by BAE Systems were actually a conduit to Bandar for his role in the multi-billion al-Yamamah arms agreement, Britain's biggest ever export deal signed in 1985, the state-funded broadcaster said it had learned Thursday.
The alleged bribes were said to have been discovered during a year-long inquiry conducted by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), but which was abruptly halted last December after Blair said the investigation was a threat to national security.
The dropping of the investigation also came amid concerns that it might jeopardize a new multi-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia to supply Eurofighters.
The BBC said that the payments, believed to total more than Pnds one billion (Dlrs 1.9 bn), were sent to two Saudi embassy accounts in Washington, were written into the government-to-government arms deal contract in secret annexes.
Allegations previously made in the British press have also suggested that Mark Thatcher, son of the British prime minister at the time, was also involved in the deal.
The al-Yamamah deal included the supply of more than 100 Tornado aircraft and is estimated to have been worth over Pnds 40 billion (Dlrs 78 bn) over more than a decade.
The new claims, to be made in the BBC's current affairs Panorama programme next Monday prompted the head of parliament's committee which investigates strategic exports, Labour MP Roger Berry, to call for a proper investigation into the allegations.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said that if ministers in either the present or previous governments were involved there should be a "major parliamentary inquiry".
"It is one thing for a company to have engaged in alleged corruption overseas. It is another thing if British government ministers have approved it," Cable said. (more) (less)






New Labour - Old sleaze - Saudis and BAE blackmail Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tibaAAS5Zk
New Labour - Old sleaze - Saudis and BAE blackmail Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMnIBMm9HBQ
New Labour - Old sleaze - Saudis and BAE blackmail Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEwJ72VCrzI
NOW WE KNOW WHY:- Tony Blair has defended the government's decision to halt the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) investigation into alleged bribery surrounding BAE Systems' contracts with Saudi Arabia.

The prime minister told the House of Commons continuing the investigation would have damaged the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia.

However, he refuted allegations the attorney general Lord Goldsmith had attempted to block a subsequent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) investigation as "completely and totally unfair and wrong".

It had been alleged Lord Goldsmith had warned officials not to disclose information to the OECD investigation.

Quizzed in prime minister's questions, Mr Blair defended the decision not to pursue an inquiry.

He said: "First of all these allegations are strenuously denied by the Saudi royal family, secondly if we were then going to conduct an investigation then that might last two, three years into these allegations that frankly I think would lead absolutely nowhere.

"What it would lead to is the complete wreckage of a relationship that is of fundamental importance of the security of this country, to the state of the Middle East, and to our relationship with countries in the Middle East."

Mr Blair continued: "I was asked for my advice as to what damage this investigation would do if it continued. I gave that advice because of the huge importance of working with Saudi Arabia on the Middle East peace process, on counter-terrorism, on the situation in the Middle East.




BAE Systems Receives $12.5 Million Contract to Provide Emergency Escape Windows To U.S. Army

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070829005442&newsLang=en

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BAE Systems announced today it received a $12.5 million contract to provide 1000 Vehicle Emergency Escape (VEE) Window kits plus 2,000 spare VEE Window panels to the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) for use on the up-armored M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).

“It’s important that our soldiers have the best equipment available to keep them safe on the battlefield,” said Dennis Morris, president, BAE Systems, Armament Systems. “The VEE Window is a cost-effective, life-saving tool for enhancing the safety of crews riding in up-armored vehicles in dangerous combat zones where rollovers and accidents are a significant threat.”

The VEE Window is a simple technology developed by BAE Systems that allows crews of the HMMWVs to remove the ballistic windshields in less than five seconds and quickly exit the vehicle during an emergency, such as a rollover or accident. The VEE Window meets current M1114 ballistic properties and will be installed by unit maintenance personnel in theater.

The VEE Window was approved for the M1114 HMMWV following a series of performance and safety tests conducted this summer by the Army at its Aberdeen Test Center. The tests evaluated the effectiveness of the device, as well as the window’s overall structural integrity and operational effectiveness in a rollover or accident-like scenario. The VEE Window kits will be delivered to Army personnel in November.

BAE Systems is exploring VEE Window applications for other tactical and armored vehicles, including M1151/1152 HMMWVs, the Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle programs.


BAE brings in a pair of Army contracts
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/08/27/daily5.html
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sicksicksick_N_tired Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 06:37 PM
Response to Reply #12
18. There are those who believe they are playing the game and those controlling it.
Enough, all ready.

It's not going to end until representatives like Kerry are courageous enough to challenge it.

But, hey, face it,...courage is something most love to admire but rarely choose to exercise because sacrifice is involved: a faux sacrifice given the fact that our lives are way too often being led rather directed by our own choices.
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Octafish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 08:15 PM
Response to Original message
14. All he's got to do is pick up the phone and make one call.


The BFEE delivers, too.
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bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-15-08 09:25 PM
Response to Original message
15. Update:"Britain powerless in face of Saudi threats, court told"
by David Leigh and Rob Evans (2-16-2008 Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/16/bae.armstrade

Background links
"US obtains Swiss records and flies in British witness in BAE investigation"
by David Leigh and Rob Evans (11-26-2007 Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/nov/26/bae.armstrade

"BAE faces criminal inquiry in US over #1bn payments to Saudi's Prince Bandar" (archived thread started by babylonsister 6-14-2007)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1110367

"More Evidence of Pre-9/11 Inside Trading: Follow the Money? God forbid.
Why was the cashing out of billions of dollars just before the 9/11 attacks never investigated?"
by Jim Hogue (1-29-2008 Baltimore Chronicle)
http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/012908Hogue.shtml

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seemslikeadream Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 12:14 PM
Response to Original message
16. billions have been paid to the intermediaries, with most of it apparently going to Prince Bandar
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bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 06:28 PM
Response to Original message
17. bttt
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Disturbed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #17
19. Blair should have been charged with War Crimes instead
he makes more $Millions. Justice?
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Liberal In Texas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 06:48 PM
Response to Original message
20. Bush attacked the wrong country.
If he really needed to avenge 9/11 and take out a terrorist sponsor, he should have gone into SA and established his puppet regime there.

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AntiFascist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 08:05 PM
Response to Original message
21. Compare this to the rhetoric of Dick Cheney...

or McCain when he smirkingly says "you KNOW what will happen if Democrats take control."
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GaYellowDawg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 08:10 PM
Response to Original message
22. That's Bush's bosom buddies for you...
Edited on Sat Feb-16-08 08:11 PM by GaYellowDawg
If I was the head of a country like Britain and a Saudi told me that, I'd tell him there was a smart bomb with his fucking name on it if he tried. Fucking bastard.
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bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-18-08 01:20 PM
Response to Reply #22
24. The BFEE sells smart bombs and upgrades to Saudis-and who knows where they really end up
"Saudi Arabia-Joint Direct Attack Munitions" (this is from the Federation of American Scientists website, a copy of the required notice sent to Congress last month about pending high-tech arms deals-in this case JDAM's)
http://fas.org/asmp/resources/110th_2nd_session/Saudi_Arabia_08-18.pdf

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krispos42 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-16-08 08:11 PM
Response to Original message
23. Oh, I can't WAIT....
for use to be energy independent.

"Hey, Saudis, we're off foreign oil, so we're leaving the Middle East. Now, you're China's problem. Have fun with entire army divisions of aethiests running around. And if you think WE'RE imperalist asshole, you're in for a surprise!

"When you renouce theocracy, istitute representative government, and recognize the civil liberties of women, minorities, and homosexuals, give us a call. In the mean time, have fun with Mandarin Chinese!"
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bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-18-08 05:54 PM
Response to Original message
25. k
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bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-19-08 08:13 AM
Response to Original message
26. kick
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