Arms-Deal Diplomacy

In yet another cheerful and reassuring meeting between nations, talks last week between Defense Secretary Gates, State Secretary Rice and Saudi envoy Saud al Faisal broke down over US allegations that Saudi Arabia is providing financial and logistical support to Iraq’s Sunni insurgency.

This, of course, comes on the heels of a State Department announcement that the US will (contingent upon Congressional approval) pledge $20 million in arms sales to Gulf States including Saudi Arabia as a posturing maneuver designed at deterring Iranian aggression in the region.

Right. Because if we learned anything from the Cold War, it’s that giving weapons to people we don’t trust is an effective way to get back at people we don’t like without any threat of future reprisal.

(Obviously, one shouldn't include the 1953 overthrow of the Iranian Shah, the US support of Saddam Hussein’s regime in the ’70s and ’80s, or the CIA training of Osama bin Laden so that he could fight off those pesky Reds in Afghanistan because these events constitute isolated incidents of “blowback” that have no bearing on current world affairs whatsoever. Besides, stringing them together coherently would undermine the Cold War argument completely and make this arm deal look like the US is trying to stop gang warfare by giving Uzis to the Crips and telling them to take care of the Bloods. So I’m not even gonna go there.)

Deterrence in a situation like this is bad policy. Weapons deals don’t work, especially if you’re giving guns and ammunition to people who you think might be giving guns and ammunition to people you know are trying to kill you.

Saudi Arabia has historically been skittish about cracking down on internal elements hostile to the United States, such as wealthy businessmen who fund organizations such as al-Qaeda. Until the Saudis clean up their act, why would we even think of giving them assets that could very well be used against us?

Besides, the general idea is that we’re trying to promote peace in the Middle East, last time I checked. “Drowning the Middle East in arms,” as one Egyptian commentator noted, “seems a peculiar way to promote peace.”