Posted on 01/26/2015 2:38:06 AM PST by Olog-hai
Germany has decided to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia because of “instability in the region,” German daily Bild reported on Sunday.
Weapons orders from Saudi Arabia have either been “rejected, pure and simple,” or deferred for further consideration, the newspaper said, adding that the information has not been officially confirmed.
The decision was taken on Wednesday by the national security council, a government body that includes Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and seven other ministers, it said. …
(Excerpt) Read more at thelocal.de ...
Yeah, that should help. /s
It says two things. First, they are correct, and likely assuming that ISIS will cross the border at some point...and these weapons that the Saudis hold will become ISIS weapons. Just to have forty German tanks fall into the hands of ISIS is a big deal.
Second thing...it’s sending a message to radical Saudis...they can deal with you. Sidestepping Germany and using France to buy the hardware? I doubt that the French are eager to get into the episode....same for Spain and a host of European countries. Maybe Brazil will make up for the sales loss.
I would prepare myself for a coup of some type in Saudi Arabia for 2015. Oil might be stopped for a couple of months, and this might flip the price back to a hundred.
The Germans sold off a lot of assets after the end of the Cold War, including a number of Patriot Batteries to South Korea and the Emirates. Wonder if they are just looking for a pretext to keep their powder dry in the face of Putin?
I think this decision is probably just a feel good leftist reaction to the flogging, likely for domestic consumption.
Whatever, it is stunningly shortsighted.
I am sure the Iranians are going to keep arming the shias in the area. German/UN disarmament schemes have always been a disaster.
Siemens sells centrifuges to Iran, IIRC.
Germany’s siding with Iran...
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