U.S. proposes weapons sale to UAE

[slipslidingaway]

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/11/11/3090247/us-proposes-weapons-sale-to-uae

"The Obama administration reportedly is planning to sell thousands of advanced munitions to the United Arab Emirates.

The proposed sale would include 4,900 joint direct attack munitions -- including so-called "bunker-buster" bombs -- and is expected to be presented to Congress within the week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sale is said to be part of an American effort to strengthen a regional coalition to counter Iran.

The munitions would expand the capabilities of the UAE air force to target fixed structures, including bunkers and tunnels, of the type in which Iran is believed to be developing nuclear weapons. The proposal comes on the heels of a U.N. report which found credible evidence that Iran's nuclear program has a military dimension.

The UAE has had strong trade relations with Iran, but the ruling al Nahyan family is considered hawkish towards Iran and has expressed fear of the country going nuclear."



http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-usa-uae-bombs-idUSTRE7AA0VT20111111


"Recent arms deals approved by the administration include a record $60 billion plan to sell Saudi Arabia advanced F-15 aircraft, some 2,000-pound (907-kg) JDAMs and other powerful munitions.

The U.S. government also approved the sale of a $7 billion terminal missile defense program to UAE that would be built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Washington has also sought to build up missile-defense systems across the region, with the goal of building an integrated network to defend against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles from Iran.

The UAE has a fleet of advanced U.S.-made F-16 fighters, also built by Lockheed, that could carry the JDAMs..."

[Old and In the Way]

1. because there just aren't enough weapon systems in the ME.

And the UAE will always be a valued partner in the region.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Sometimes you just have to laugh at the absurdity, while knowing... ...

it is no laughing matter.

Guess all those arms sales to Iran in the 70's backfired when the Shah was spending about 40% of the budget buying arms while many people lived in poverty.

[Angry Dragon]

7. and all the missles that raygun traded for hostages in the 1980's

[EFerrari]

3. Lest we forget why people are out in the streets

facing off with swat teams and riot police.

[slipslidingaway]

4. Yes, so many reasons for people to say ... Enough. n/t

[JCMach1]

5. The UAE buying JDAMS is absurd on so many levels

It would take the Rhode Island National Guard about 8hrs. to secure the country...

If it is for an offensive capability, who would they be invading, Qatar?

[slipslidingaway]

6. Good question, wonder if anyone in Congress will ask ...

we sure seem to be sending lots of weapons to the Mideast.

:(

[JCMach1]

8. The only reason why is something along the lines of Clinton's recent comments

about turning the GCC into a security organization along with the US.

But still :wtf:

[slipslidingaway]

10. Thanks - Clinton Renews US Commitment To GCC Security

http://www.eurasiareview.com/20032011-clinton-renews-us-commitment-to-gcc-security/

March 20, 2011

"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed here Saturday the US commitment to protect the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, accusing Iran of being a factor of instability in the region.

“Iran pursues a private agenda to destabilize neighboring countries and undermine peace and stability in the Gulf region,” Clinton said.

...“It’s a priority for the US administration to work with partners in the Gulf region against the concern over the behavior of Iran,” she said..."



GCC, US top officials discuss security in Gulf

Politics 9/23/2011 9:27:00 PM

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2192230&Language=en

"NEW YORK, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- Foreign Ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta here Friday and discussed coordination regarding security and stability in the Arab Gulf region.
The meeting, attended by Kuwait's Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, was the regular annual one between both sides, but this year featured participation of Panetta for the first time, Kuwait Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Sabah told KUNA.

He said discussions were mainly about security in the Gulf region, cooperation between the six GCC countries and the US to reserve security and stability in the region..."

[Capitalocracy]

9. So apparently our plan for preventing nuclear proliferation in the Middle East

is to hand out nuclear weapons in the Middle East?

[slipslidingaway]

11. Or just advanced weapons ...

it will not be our fault if they use them.

:shrug:

[Capitalocracy]

12. Bunker busters are tactical nuclear weapons

So we are directly contributing to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

And yeah, isn't it great to have client states that we can hand out weapons to and then tut tut tut when they start using them?

[Pigheaded]

14. "Bunker busters"

That are going to the UAE are NOT nukes.
Where did you get that info?

PH

[Capitalocracy]

16. I'm not a weapons expert

My understanding was that bunker busters are nuclear weapons... but maybe it's a more general term than that. I haven't seen any articles that say they're not nuclear, however. But if you have, thanks for clearing that up.

[slipslidingaway]

15. Thanks for the clarification ...

America's hottest export: Weapons - Full version

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/10/news/international/america_exports_weapons_full.fortune/index.htm

"February 24, 2011: 3:02 PM ET

FORTUNE -- This time last year, Boeing's F-15 production line, which is housed in a beige, dreary building on the outskirts of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, was on the verge of shutting down. The F-15 is an old jet, first designed in the 1970s to outmaneuver Soviet MiGs. It has long been surpassed by more advanced rivals, and the U.S. military hasn't bought a new one since 2001. When production slowed to a trickle a few years ago, a pair of orders from Korea and Singapore kept the line alive, barely, and it has been churning out about one F-15 a month since then. Local politicians fretted that Boeing would have to close the production line, eliminating hundreds of jobs and delivering a blow to the struggling regional economy.

Then, last summer, rumors surfaced about a deal -- a big one. The workers at the plant followed the news online, where defense publications reported on the details of the sale. The would-be buyer, they learned, was Saudi Arabia, and the proposed order was massive -- 84 planes, as well as upgrades to older jets. In October the Department of Defense, which administers sales to foreign countries, finally announced an arms package worth some $60 billion, including 70 Apache attack helicopters, also made by Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), and the fleet of F-15s.

It was the biggest overseas arms sale in recent memory, and it extended the life of the production line through 2018. The F-15 may live even longer -- a Boeing executive says there are two other overseas buyers waiting in the wings. Dale Lauer, a 52-year-old flight mechanic, smiled slightly when I asked him what he thought about the news. "People thought this program was dead a long time ago."

Far from it. Thanks to a surge in overseas demand, the F-15 and other aging U.S. weapons systems are hotter than they've been in years. The Department of Defense last year told Congress of plans to sell up to $103 billion in weapons to overseas buyers, a staggering rise from an average of $13 billion a year between 1995 and 2005, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Myles Walton. Signed agreements have tripled since 2000..."

[Pigheaded]

13. Huh??