Posted on 11/30/2006 10:10:33 PM PST by xtinct
Saudi Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract.
The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to France.
The Saudi government is on the verge of cancelling the contract - an extension of one brokered by Margaret Thatcher 20 year ago - because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of a slush fund for members of the Saudi royal family, according to authoritative sources.
Tony Blair has been told that the deal faces the axe in 10 days unless he intervenes to bring the two-year investigation to a close.
The Saudis are said to be "outraged" by the probe into the activities of companies linked to BAE Systems. The investigation concerns alleged illegal payments made to members of the Saudi royal family and their agents.
The Saudi government is on the verge of cancelling the contract
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Just issue the redacted version...works well in the US.
We should have toppled the House of Saud before Hussein.
L
The Daily Telegraph has learned that President Jacques Chirac has been to Saudi Arabia twice in recent months to offer full French co-operation on such a deal.
Well we all know the virtuous Chirac would never overlook illegal activity just to make a few billion now don't we? /s
I give this threat 100% chance of success.
Well now, this sure doesn't sound nice.
It's hard to believe our friends and allies would
really say this. (Sighing, rolling eyes.)
FTB. "T" stands for "the" or "them". The french planes' cockpits must have two large buttons: one pops out the white flag, and another ejects the pilot. Or maybe it is the same button, but acting sequentially [it is the latest, updated model, after all]. So let the Saudis fly those - much good would it do them, anyway.
Those French jets have state of the art screen doors.
bump for 10 day followup!
Blackmail? Nah. Just politics, ask the democrats.
"The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to France."
Ditto.
I'd hope republicans know how to play ball as well. If they don't, then they are in even bigger trouble than I would have thought.
we all know the virtuous Chirac would never overlook illegal activity just to make a few billion now don't we? /s
bump
If the Saudis cancel an ongoing contract I would expect there would be substantial penalties they would have to pay. A contract is a contract.
This will be a good test of British integrity... I hope they do the right thing.
Lawernce Wright's "The Leaning Tower"
www.amazon.com/Looming-Tower-Al-Qaeda-Road-11/dp/037541486X/sr=8-1/qid=1164957369/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8924408-1599301?ie=UTF8&s=books
is a superb read which analyzes and details the rise of Islamofascism including the Saudi complicity and facilitation. The current "royal" regime is awful. Unfortunately, the alternative would likely be worse.
The west needs to open its eyes. This nightmare aint going away. Keep the military strong and the strategic oil reserve full.
oops Leaning Tower should be Looming Tower.
Not my alternative.
Just whack 'em all. Then let Standard Oil back in to run the oil fields and Marriot can run the now drastically reduced tourist traffic into what's left of Mecca.
Everyones a winner. Well everyone I give a damn about anyway.
L
--Well we all know the virtuous Chirac would never overlook illegal activity just to make a few billion now don't we? /s--
Oil for Food, anyone? Nuke technology for Saddam since 1979? That's why I call him Chiraq.
Blackmail, pure and simple.
I wish I could say that we will not give in to it, but knowing this government, we will.
France is not involved in the Eurofighter project. The main producing countries are Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany.
I love simple, elegant solutions.
My Dear British Cousins
Please remember it is British Lion not Kitty.
Were here and will be happy to help.
W
L
To keep them pesky gnats and mosquitoes out, eh.
Too late...
Britain is getting extorted. The saudis have them by the balls and the oil rich muzzie's know it.The french will be all to willing to stick a finger in the eye of the UK,as they have zero moral clarity. We need hydrogen fuel cell cars ASAP. Let them eat their oil.
I'm more interested in how the Eurofighter compares to our F-16.
Yes, topple the house of Saud. Replace it with a Sunni version of Iran. Good choice.
It´s said that the Typhoon ranks 2nd only to the Raptor.
"One of these days, the Saudi royals will be confronted by the fundamentalist idiot collective..."
And they are so fat, dumb, and happy, they'll lose.
This is along the same lines as the Sand-maggot's "don't say we are violent, or we will kill you" approach.
Yep.
Replace it with a Sunni version of Iran
I say replace it with Americans. I wouldn't leave enough of 'em to do much of anything.
No muslims....no muslim worries.
L
I'd say what they have is about the best that the culture is going to do.
Let's see...virulent anti-semitism, virulent anti-Christianity...a 'religion' which demands total submission from every other faith on the planet, women held as chattel slaves...have I missed anything?
I say it has to be wiped out.
Let's get cracking.
L
They've insulted our Christian God, I say let's invade Saudi Arabia for their oil and wipe them off the face of the earth- then we'll offer the contract back to Britain- http://sacredscoop.com
God can take care of himself. I'm still pretty pissed about the 3,000 Americans the Saudi government helped murder.
I say let's invade Saudi Arabia for their oil and wipe them off the face of the earth-
Sounds like a plan to me.
then we'll offer the contract back to Britain-
We'll work out the split later. We can't leave the Aussies and the Poles out.
L
Yes God can, and He uses His people to carry out His plans- so the issue is still a go. They've insulted God, & seeing how muslims like to murder htose who insult muhammed, I thought we'd return the favor. But seriously- it may come to that in the very near future- Mahmouds letter to the U.S. was NOT sincere, it was a fulfilment of Muslim obligation to offer the enemy a chance to unconditionally surrender before all out war is raged- Mahmoud fulfilled his duty by writing that letter- you can guess what comes next- We'll HAVE to take the war to them if he carries out the next steps.
The Brits will cave. The planes will be sold.
My thought is that the Frogs were allowed to bid to keep the Brit price under control. I don't think the Frogs actually get along well with the Saudis. They have tried to screw the Saudis before and were hung out to dry.
Let the House of Saud buy from France. The frog-built planes will be that much easier to splash than the EF Typhoon.
It not extortion by any stretch of the imagination, its simple the way the House of Saud has always done defense contracts. The US plays this game better than anyone.
I am surprised we let the Brits in on the scam.
Read “Sleeping with the Devil”, “How America sold its sole for Saudi Oil”.
I like the way you think.
because Islam under the Sauds is a sick, sick ideology.
L
Yeah. You'll replace it with a Sunni Iran. A benevolent dictatorship is what they can manage best. Any popularly elected government would shake out along tribal lines and end up extreme.
Do you mean more extreme than:
Refusing to allow a single Christian church to be built in their country?
Confiscating any Bible brought into their country?
Refusing to allow jews into their country?
Openly calling for the destruction of Israel?
Funding Hamas?
Funding Hezbollah?
Refusing women the right to vote?
Refusing women the right to drive?
Stoning 'adulterers' to death?
Funding every single wahabbi mosque on the planet?
Do you mean more extreme than that?
L
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