Secret Saudi Arms Deal in the U.K.

Democracies are supposed to be open, transparent. Democratic governments do not operate in secret. Democracies are built on the people's right to know.

It's true that there are "national security" issues that need to be kept under wraps. Unfortunately, in the U.S. in recent years, the words, "national security," have been used to hide from the public not just government espionage operations but all sorts of illegal Bushite shenanigans.

The United Kingdom deals with many of the same problems that the U.S. does. A current controversy is whether or not papers having to do with Britain's biggest arms export deal to the Saudis back in the 1980's should be made public.

CAAT, the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, has requested some of the documents involved in this deal under the UK's 2005 Freedom of Information Act.

The government has refused to release these papers, claiming that would not be in the public interest, that it would be a "breach of confidentiality, and that the Saudis wouldn't like it.

William Patey, representing the British government, said that "The Saudis put a great deal of trust in our discretion. They put trust in us that we can keep a secret. That is the basis on which we do business. Letting them down is something that they remember."

The British ambassador to Riyadh said that the Saudi government trusts the British government to keeps its mouth shut about their business dealings.

Why?

This Saudi deal has been under investigation before by the SFO (Serious Fraud Office). The SFO was trying to determine whether BAE, Britain's largest defense group, gave money to Saudi officials as a bribe to secure contracts for the 43 billion pound sale in 1985.

But in December of 2006, that investigation was dropped. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the investigation threatened the United Kingdom's national security.

Good god, this all sounds so familiar.

Question: Why is the UK selling arms to the Saudis anyway? [Why is the U.S. selling arms to the Saudis?] Saudi Arabia is a notorious dictatorship that knows not human freedom or human rights. Saudi Arabia is a training ground for a continuing string of fanatic Islamists dedicated to destroying the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, and other democratic nations.

And the Saudis do not have a Freedom of Information Act!

Question: Why would an arms sale to Saudi have anything to do with "national security?" Were government officials bought off and therefore their "security" is in jeopardy?

Question: Since when does Saudi Arabia define the terms of a deal and ultimately the character of a country?

Question: What kind of a country aquiesces to extortion?