And You Know Congress Will Approve It

Question: What's the difference between a novel and real life?

Answer: Novels have to make sense.

Or, as The Gun-Toting Liberal put it, "I couldn't make this up if I tried."

The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.

The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.

But administration officials remained concerned that the size of the package and the advanced weaponry it contains, as well as broader concerns about Saudi Arabia’s role in Iraq, could prompt Saudi critics in Congress to oppose the package when Congress is formally notified about the deal this fall.

In talks about the package, the administration has not sought specific assurances from Saudi Arabia that it would be more supportive of the American effort in Iraq as a condition of receiving the arms package, the officials said.

That was David S. Cloud in today's New York Times.

And here's GTL again:

Makes sense, doesn’t it? Indeed, it DOES. Supplying a country with advanced weaponry; a country who’s given us nothing but oil and dead fellow Americans over the years; makes perfect sense for an oligarchy whose economy is based upon perpetual WAR. Yes, I’m talking about the United States of America, of course.

We sold millions of dollars worth of arms to Saddam Hussein, we also did this with Osama Bin Ladin, and where did this get us? Now, we’re in the process of wheeling and dealing arms to the Saudis without questioning WHY they suddenly wish to have BILLIONS of dollars worth of advanced, sophisticated weaponry. This is a REAL “Bush-ism”. And, folks — this one’s not funny at all…

Cross-posted at Shakespeare's Sister.