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“Is this the same arms deal we were discussing when Michelle was in Spain?”

Here is the old thread we discussed that on:

“They need 30 Billion dollars of these fighter jets to fight Yemeni rebels? come’on.
Interesting time, don’t ya think?

But, hey they’re not ‘equipped with long-range weapons systems and other arms whose inclusion was strongly opposed by Israel, diplomats and officials said.’

Khash is a convenient guy to know, ‘eh?”

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Interesting timing isn’t it? M.O. goes to Marbella and Khashoggi just ‘happens’ to be visiting at the exact same time there too. He is back in Marbella in March (per Maggief’s post #360) for the first time in 17 years. They are set to attend the same event at the Hotel Villa Padierna when suddenly M.O plays the ‘not tonight I have a headache’ card with the gala crowd. But she would still be accessible to the guests of the gala staying in the same hotel of the gala if need be wouldn’t she? And I’m speculating Mr. Khashoggi would also have access to her, if needed...or predetermined.

The gala was Saturday evening.

The day after, Sunday, M.O. visits the king of Spain for her photo op then promptly returns home.

Sunday, the announcement is made that after months of ‘negotiations’ with the Saudis, an arms agreement has been reached to supply them with:

“The proposed $30 billion, 10-year arms package, which would be one of the biggest single deals of its kind, has been a source of behind-the-scenes tension during months of negotiations. Israeli officials have repeatedly conveyed their concerns in private that the U.S. risks undermining its military advantage by equipping regional rivals with top-flight technologies.”

When was the arms deal with the Saudis secured and by whom? Michelle’s departure from Marbella and the announcement of the deal are more then coincidental.

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More background on Adnan Khashoggi from an article written in 1987.

(snip)
Khashoggi’s problems are in keeping with the way he operates. In an age of ubiquitous M.B.A.s and computer transactions, Adnan Khashoggi is a wily and gracious trader, an exemplar of the Arab-Islamic values of daring, cunning, loyalty and generosity. For him the deal is the thing, the only thing. Business, love, politics, diplomacy — they are all forms of dealmaking.”

(snip)”...When Fahd’s half-brother King Faisal took the Saudi throne in 1964 and set the country on a course of close cooperation with the U.S., Khashoggi positioned himself to be the middleman between American arms manufacturers and the Saudi Defense Ministry. At Khashoggi’s instigation, the Saudis commissioned the U.S. to study their defense needs and make recommendations as to what they should buy. As a result, Khashoggi had the inside track and locked up sales-agency rights with such U.S. firms as Lockheed, Raytheon and Northrop. He eventually won exclusive commissions on 80% of all U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia.

After the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, the Arab states were eager to expand their arsenals. Moreover, the rise in oil prices gave them billions to spend on whatever weapons they desired. “That’s when the middlemen like Khashoggi really started to make their killings,” says one Middle Eastern arms dealer. “It was the gold rush of the 20th century. Every con man in the world was in Arabia.” Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed alone paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions. During this same period, he is said to have collected hundreds of millions from other corporations. Khashoggi, says Max Helzel, then vice president of Lockheed’s international marketing, “became for all practical purposes a marketing arm of Lockheed. Adnan would provide not only an entree but strategy, constant advice, and analysis.” His commissions started at 2.5% + and eventually rose to as much as 15%.

In 1975 a Senate subcommittee investigating foreign payments by American corporations looked into Khashoggi’s dealings. Northrop said it had given him $450,000 in bribes for Saudi generals. Khashoggi denied the allegations that he had asked for bribe money, but the accusations did not endear him to the Saudi ruling family. In 1976 and ‘77 the Securities and Exchange Commission attempted several times to subpoena Khashoggi as part of its investigation into arms companies. Khashoggi stayed away from the U.S. for nearly two years, but later came back to give a voluntary deposition.

By the mid-1980s, the era of cash-and-carry megadeals had wound down as oil prices declined and the oil sheiks became more sophisticated about arms transactions. By then they had reviewed thousands of arms proposals themselves and had sent their sons off to the U.S. to earn M.B.A.s. Khashoggi was no longer essential...”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963261-3,00.html

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August 9, 2010

“Pleasure and Vacation Policy Michelle”

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:444flyer/index?more=71304295