[New York Sun] Youssef Ibrahim - Between 1990 and 2004, Saudi Arabia spent $268.6 billion on arms. Why is it that Saudi Arabia and the other oil-rich Gulf Arab states - Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates - spend billions on state-of-the-art arms that they are unwilling and in all likelihood unable to use? The primary purpose of such weapons expenditures is to generate billions of dollars of commissions for the ruling families. The secondary purpose is to win favors with the countries from which the weapons were purchased by supporting their military industries so they can come to the royals' defense. Had it not been for Uncle Sam in 1990-1991, Saddam, who had Kuwait for breakfast, would have had Saudi Arabia for dinner.
2006-12-27 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive