BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia sign £1.9bn Hawk jet deal

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

I'd much prefer if they used the weaponry to defend themselves from the likes of Iran, which is what I suspect is the reality.

It is self-deception to differe ntiate military equipment for riot control and self-defence. a tank is wonderful for riot control. Especially a tank that is specialisded for urban warfare, like the Leo-2 PSO/A7.

Anyhow, it is Saudi Arabia, and I do not care a damn for that barbaric dirtholoe of a dark place being overthrown or not by somebody. Saudi Arabia, Iran, they both are our enemies, they both are Islamic, they both claimn global ranks and world diominance for Islam, they both foster terrorism and infiltrtation of Wetsenr socieites and industries (the latter regarding SA, not so mjuch Iran, obviously).

The Arab Spring in my view is a Nightmare, and SA has used military forces to send them to that tiny little neighbour in its north-East to help them cracking down on protestors.

If Iran and SA would find a way to vaporize each other in total annihilation without nuking other palces as well, I would say:" Okay, leave them alone, do not disturb them before their task is completed".

What interest must I have to appease or defend Saudi Arabia? It's onwe of th worst barbars on the globe!

Oh, wait, I forgot it for a moment. Oil. So yes, you are right, let'S defend them.

An the German hypocrisy there. In the early 90s, we delivered plenty of IFVs and APC from former Eastgerman army stocks to Turkey, BMPs, BTRs and stuff like that. We negotiated a treaty that ruled that the Turklish army shall be forbiodden to use any of this equipement in its operations against Kurds. Two or three years later video evidence showed up in TV magazionbes showing how vehicles that got identified beyond doubt to be part opf these deliveries were operating in combat operations against the Kurds. How stupid have the Germans been there that they seriously thought that this part of the treaty would have any meaning and would be followed by the Turks?

We are naive bureaucrats, we compare to somebody solving high crime rates by declaring it illegal to be criminal, fixing it on paper, and put an official stamp on it so that the rule becomes valid. Problem solved.