More arms for more war

The U.S. government has decided to sell billions of dollars worth of arms to its so-called allies in the Middle East. Zionists and Sunni Arab states will be armed to the teeth to counter what the U.S. perceives as an emerging Shia alliance of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and its Sunni Hamas ally. Saudi Arabia will get 20 billion dollars worth of armaments in the coming decade. That is how Bush is spreading “democracy” in the Middle East, arming one of the most brutal royal dictatorships, where there are no elections worth the name and where women are prohibited to drive a car. Never mind that the majority of 9/11 hijackers had a Saudi passport and the U.S. must reluctantly agree that Saudi Arabia is playing a counterproductive role in Iraq. (The New York Times: "U.S. Arms Plan for Mideast Aims to Counter Iranian Power") (Time: "Slow Going for Rice in Jerusalem")

If Saudi Arabia gets the goodies, Israel must also be rewarded with an increase in military aid from USD9.1 billion in the past decade to USD30.4 billion in the coming decade. Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states also get their share. What is the U.S. trying to achieve? It is preparing a war on Iran to completely destabilize the whole of the Middle East and wants its allies to be well armed to lend a hand.

The U.S. may very well be arming the governments of the Arab states, but they have forgotten that the real power is in the hands of the peoples of the Middle East. The U.S. could rather easily drive Saddam Hussein from power but is now mired in an unwinnable war in Iraq because the Iraqi people is resisting the occupation.

Selling more weapons to its client states in the Middle East will not save the U.S. from utter defeat. Bombs and fighter jets can rain destruction on the innocent but will never be able to win the war. Power comes out of the barrel of a gun – and in the 21st century also out of roadside bombs. These simple weapons of the people can defeat the most expensive hardware the U.S. can deliver. The U.S. is working itself into deeper trouble from which it will not be able to extricate itself.