Isn't this wonderful? yea!!!

Those "nice" people in the House of Saud are going to be getting guided missles.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/12/wbush412.xml)

US president George W. Bush is to promise $20 billion in advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia as he travels through the Gulf states to garner support for further sanctions against Iran.

Yeah, hows that going anyway?

There is also growing tolerance of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, who was last month formally invited by Saudi Arabia - a key US ally - to attend the hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-12/09/xin_09120209085431640602.jpg

The weapons deal, which is to include precision-guided missiles, first surfaced last autumn but was postponed over opposition in the US Congress.

Now the Bush administration is to notify Congress on Monday of its intent to conclude the deal, as Mr Bush lands in Riyadh.

The only problem with that is George Bush does not have the power to make that deal.

Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives that power to the Legislature, not the executive.

Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

And Bush's power to sign treaties is subject to the consent of the Senate. (And he needs a 2/3rd majority to boot!)

Article 2 - The Executive Branch
Section 2 - Civilian Power Over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur

If he did "conclude the deal", he was committing a crime against the Constitution.

Hee hee hee.

When a head of state makes assurances to allies that he intends to sell them arms, he is not 'illegally selling' anything.

He's simply doing what all of the US Presidents in your lifetime have done.
Which is to say, playing the diplomacy game.

If and when the Saudi's submit their letter of request for the arms (through the US Department of State), the very-public & nicely-supervised Foreign Military Sales process will proceed. In that process (and you are correct in that regard) there must be Congressional approval for the sale, if it meets certain minimum dollar figures. This is known as a '36b Congressional Notification' in the arms export game.

Don't worry, Dh. You'll be able to track the entire process through publicly-viewable websites, from the initial heads-up of the Javits Report, through the 36b notification, all the way to either a Congressional declination or an approval and subsequent sale.


PM me, and I'll hook you up with the appropriate Government websites, so you can stay on top of this.
;)

Please post the websites right here Sparky.

Thank you.

:thumbs:

He's simply doing what all of the US Presidents in your lifetime have done.


Sucking up to the Saudis for their oil?
(with the exception of Jimmy Carter)

I know, and it makes me sick.

Don't you feel the same way?

Sucking up to the Saudis for their oil?
(with the exception of Jimmy Carter)

I know, and it makes me sick.

Don't you feel the same way?

Eh, it might be best for me to keep my feelings about all the various US allies, (close allies and arms-length allies) to myself.

Gimme a second to take care of some other business, and I'll dig up those web sites.

These two links offer a pretty good primer on the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) process. They are hosted in the interest of Latin American entities, but the laws and the processes are the same for any foreign customer purchasing arms, spare parts, services, and training from the United States.

http://www.ciponline.org/facts/fms.htm
http://www.ciponline.org/facts/dcs.htm


OK, next is the link to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
They are the DoD-level overseer of all arms sales to foreign countries, and they handle the 36b Congressional Notification process on behalf of the various US Armed Forces who actually manage the cases.

On this site, you can stay up to date on all pending and approved major arms sales. It’s very public knowledge, and everything is out in the open.

http://www.dsca.mil/

I'm headed out now, but later on I'll try to find a link to the February 07 and February 06 Javits Reports, if they're published somewhere. (The 2008 report, obviously, won't be out until next month.)

Its unfortunate that so many American jobs rely on weapons manufacturer and/or export.

Its also unfortunate that if America hadnt made a deal with the Saudi dictatorship then Russia China or one of several EU nations would have stepped in, its a sad world :(

Its unfortunate that so many American jobs rely on weapons manufacturer and/or export.

Its also unfortunate that if America hadnt made a deal with the Saudi dictatorship then Russia China or one of several EU nations would have stepped in, its a sad world

It is especially ironic considering we already have the technology to end our dependence on brutal dictatorships like Saudi Arabia.

What we have lacked thus far is the political will.

I think that is changing.