MAGA Jobs!: Trump Inks Weapons Deal with the Clown Prince

According to RT this morning:

“US President Donald Trump brought several pictures of American weapons to a meeting with visiting Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. He boasted of multibillion-dollar sales of arms to the kingdom.

Showing a sign to journalists at the meeting that read “12.5 billion in finalized sales to Saudi Arabia,” Trump boasted about all the money that US defense contractors would be getting for their products.

Three billion dollars, 533… million dollars, 525… million dollars,” Trump said as he pointed at the pictures. Then he turned to the crown prince and added: “That’s peanuts for you!” The Saudi de facto ruler burst in laughter.

Trump criticized his predecessor, Barack Obama, for the poor state of relations between the US and Saudi Arabia under his tenure. He noted the economic impact of such policies on jobs and sales in America.”

Of course those weapons will be used to keep bombing the shit out of the Houthis and civilians in Yemen and anywhere else in the ME the Clown Prince chooses.  What do another 13,000 deaths, millions more dying of hunger or disease matter, anyway?

But  along the way, please do remember this history:

‘The Obama Administration Has Brokered More Weapons Sales Than Any Other Administration Since World War II; The world may be in turmoil, but the American arms industry is cashing in’  William D. Hartung, July 26, 2016, thenation.com

This #MAGA ‘moar jobs deal’ was inked as the Senate bill to block weapons sales to the KSA was tabled (killed) 55-44.  The D team Senators who helped down the bill were:

Menendez (NJ), Nelson (FL), Whitehouse (RI), Coons (DE), Heitkamp (ND), Reed (RI), Donnelly (IN), Jones (AL); McCain (R-AZ) didn’t vote.

Now similar bills such as Ted Lieu’s 2016 (H.J. RES 90) asking provide limitations on the transfer of air-to-ground munitions from the United States to Saudi Arabia, and the Senate companion bill S. J. Res. 32, which was introduced by Senators Chris Murphy (CT) and Rand Paul (KY) didn’t go anywhere, and in fact:

From AP via Fox News Sept. 21, 2016: ‘Senate votes to back $1 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia’

The Senate on Wednesday backed the Obama administration’s plan to sell more than $1 billion worth of American-made tanks and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, soundly defeating a bid to derail the deal pushed by lawmakers critical of the kingdom’s role in Yemen’s civil war.

Although a resolution against the sale failed to advance on a vote of 71-27, the measure’s sponsors said the debate demonstrated that congressional support for arms sales — even to a longtime and important Middle East ally — isn’t automatic. They also used the time to insist that Congress play a larger role in foreign policy decisions, especially those involving the use of military force.

The United States is supporting the Saudi-led coalition with intelligence and logistical support, including refueling aircraft, according to senators opposed to the sale. Most Americans are unaware of how involved their military is in Yemen, they said, adding that lawmakers never have fully discussed whether the participation advances U.S. national security interests.”

But hell, maybe they’d thunk that with this New Bill, they’d win because: Trump.

Meanwhile, the Guardian writes on his epic charm offensive tour that:

“During his visit to Washington, the Saudi prince will meet the CIA director – and nominee to be the next US secretary of state – Mike Pompeo, as well as Vice-President Mike Pence, Trump’s embattled national security adviser, HR McMaster, and defence secretary, James Mattis.

Prince Mohammed is expected to meet senior leaders of corporations such as Google, Apple, General Electric and Uber while in the US, as well as Hollywood producers.

After Washington, Prince Mohammed is due to fly to Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston. At the last stop he is hoping to lure more of the US oil sector to Saudi Arabia, doubling down on Trump’s pivot away from clean energy towards fossil fuels.

Briefing reporters in Washington, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said the kingdom was in discussion with the US about contracts to build nuclear reactors for the energy sector, but was assessing cooperation with Russia, China, France, South Korea and Japan.”

‘Seattle’ being code for ‘Bill Gates’ as I understand it, because: history with another Crown Prince.

(Please forgive any typos; I'm in a bit of a tear today,as is my proof-reader, mr. wd.) (cross-posted from Café Babylon)

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Big Al's picture

https://uawire.org/news/russia-and-saudi-arabia-reach-10-billion-arms-deal

Saudi Arabia buys from everybody, Russia, Germany, France, U.K., India, Taiwan, and especially the U.S. It's what I've noticed for some time now, there's a global military industrial complex and it's getting bigger by the year. And things have to be done to keep it all going because it can never end and it can't get smaller, it can only keep getting bigger.

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@Big Al

for saying this. You have pretty much summed up the reality of our foreign and domestic policies.

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

but my larger point is that this is not just a Trump thing, it's an Obomba thing, and that this time the vote was quite different because: Orange Julius Cheeser. as a side note, the aforementioned is exactly why i wanted to post this 'news' first here. as in: warmongering fascists are warmongering fascists. Herr Drumpf's nuclear arsenal upgrade was just following in O's footsteps as well.

heh; i got on wm. hartung's (in the OP) twitter, and he's bought into the 'Trump's worse' koolaid on this issue. ah well, and so it goes...

ha: you're (at)#1 here, big al, ain't that great?

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Big Al's picture

@wendy davis are fucking hypocrites. Trump is just carrying on, which escapes his supporters like it did Obama's. I remember early on under the Obama regime pointing out to true believers his hypocrisy in supporting and aiding Saudi Arabia and Apartheid Israel while they believed the lies about the wars in Libya and Syria. Trump is doing the same.

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

prosecute even one big bank (just a few lower level menials for show), his fealty to clapper and brennan, bailing out wall street, never main street, not once putting on those 'walking shoes' for union strikes, deporting millions of brown people, classifying millions of documents still hidden from us, and the evil beat goes on....and on.

how many of those 13,000 were killed by HIS billion plus in weapons sales to saudi arabia? how many in syria? yeah, investing in weapons: the gift that keeps on giving, like depleted uranium on 'conventional' bombs.

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Big Al's picture

@wendy davis was giving him the Nobel peace prize, or at least not taking it back. Well, it's all the same which is why the only solution is revolution.

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

now there's a thought i hadn't ever thunk of. but then: "It has been expressed that the Peace Prize has been awarded in politically motivated ways for more recent or immediate achievements,[20] or with the intention of encouraging future achievements. Some commentators have suggested that to award a peace prize on the basis of unquantifiable contemporary opinion is unjust or possibly erroneous, especially as many of the judges cannot themselves be said to be impartial observers." (da wiki)

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snoopydawg's picture

@Big Al

when he said that he was going "to kill ISIS and their families" while Obama's supporters ignored the fact that he helped create ISIS and his warmongering ways. I'm sure that they are now back to being against war, but I haven't seen much sign of it on the new Orange tabloid.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

for having the courage to watch this subject and to report on it. It is my country showing itself for what it is.

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wendy davis's picture

@Linda Wood

but it really didn't take courage, not even w/ the 'new boss looks like the old boss' on FP, weapons sales, nukes, and so on theme. O just smiled purty, the anti-war movement, such as it was...died, and i'm almost glad that herr T is such a racist loudmouth no-nothing, as at least there's some pushback on some of his policies and executive orders, even if...just for show from the D team. the D's shouldda been banned in boston, imo.

dunno whether to bring this or not, but i will, and OMG, tom hall at wsws.org watched a livestream of a Big Event on bernie's facebook page and narrates (if polemically) what he saw.

'Sanders town hall in DC promotes illusions in the Democrats and trade unions', and he called it a ruse, esp. for two of the panelists, including:

"The presence of Estrada on the panel discussion deserves special attention. Estrada is widely hated among autoworkers for her role in enforcing the UAW’s concessions contract in 2015 against a rebellion by the rank and file. Since then, Estrada has been implicated in the FBI’s investigation into bribery and kickbacks given to UAW officials by the American auto companies. There are few figures within the American trade union bureaucracy who personify more directly the character of the trade unions as a corrupt, management-controlled industrial police force."

and their (sanders, moore?) having touted the big wins for teachers when...they were sold out for nickels by the heads of their unions.

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@wendy davis

and I also am thrilled with Mark's essay this morning about Bernie's outreach. How is that possible? Because at least Sanders is moving the discussion in the direction we hope it to go in, and he's raising the issues. I do hear you, though, and I agree with your position.

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wendy davis's picture

@Linda Wood

but yes, an outreach to dems in anticipation of 'a dem tsunami' in 2018, and trying to appeal to the working class along the way. for me, false hope by con job is far worse than no hope at all. but i do try to respect that you see it vastly differently than i do.

but as bern's at heart a military exceptionalist, and sees russia, syria, and iirc, ukraine as 'our enemies', i just can't go there.

peace to you,
wd

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Big Al's picture

@wendy davis I read some time back someone from the dem party leadership describing Bernie as the unofficial dem party outreach coordinator. That's a nicer term than sheepdog.
It's the same as when he ran for pres, "we must defeat Trump and the republicans". The same old game. Or is it the old Same game?

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

but yanno, i got to musing about the various 'peace marches' slated for april (one's a Women's March), and hoping against hope that they won't be 'al sharptoned' w/ D voter registration drives.

yeah, revolution (i forgot about that above), but i dunno what that really looks like, although at some time in the past you'd indicated you might know. i know voting is just an exercise in futility given 50 different institutional reasons, the main one being that the oligarchs in congress and their deeper state homies don't give a rat's ass what the people want. so we have a 'managed democracy™' w/ gatekeepers of every stripe galore to keep us from rebelling, or at least...too much.

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Big Al's picture

@wendy davis "The Old Same Place".

I tend to try to boil things down to it's simplest. Like, Trump and Obama killed children, therefore they're war criminals that should go to prison for the rest of their lives. Nothing else really matters, they're child killers. Most people can't get a grip around that. I think that's the way it has to be.

Or, in the case of revolution, I interpret it as a change in power. We're slaves, we're being ruled by the rich, and some of them are committing immense crimes against humanity and the planet. They have the power, we have to take it from them. That's a revolution. What's happened in the past can be helpful information but we're facing a monster of a situation on planet earth.

I've pointed out many times the quotes from W.E.B. Dubois, Eugene Debs, Sinclair Upton, Mark Twain, and some of the so called founding fathers, from times past about this two party system. It's always been the same so it just seems ridiculous to me at this point to think it's going to change. I believe this two party system and all the tentacles from and into it are what keeps the rich bastards in power, therefore we need to change the system in order to gain the power.
There's that literal thing again.

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

yes to change in power, more along the latin 'revoutio' as in 'Revolution is from the Latin, revolutio, a “turn around” of political power' according to carl herman. remember zeese and flowers and the oct.2011 movement? they hoped that enough of us showed up, the government would sortta give up...bloodlessly. hmmmm.

but then those pesky kids occupied zucotti park earlier and upstaged them. (grin)

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@Big Al

You and wendy are making the case, and you have stated it perfectly here, Al, that

Trump and Obama killed children, therefore they're war criminals that should go to prison for the rest of their lives. Nothing else really matters, they're child killers.

You're both absolutely right. This is what the Democratic party is. They can brand themselves as the women's party or the children's party or the LGBT party or the immigrant's party, but they're not. They're the party of killing innocent men, women, and children.

If Bernie is supporting war, he's breathing methane, or he's not thinking. He's lost his mind.

Is this misogynistic?

https://theintercept.imgix.net/wp-uploads/sites/1/2017/07/civilians-mosu...

http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/25/children-of-mosul-the-gruelling-hardship-f...

http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/11/581cab064/unhcr-opens-new-camp-...

https://voiceofpeopletoday.com/iraq-11-thousand-civilians-still-missing-...

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Big Al's picture

@Linda Wood abstract sense instead of a literal sense. That's how people excuse war and war crimes, by rationalizing that the rules of war are different, that the killing of children is somehow different because of the purpose of war. They leave out the lies and the illusions and consider it as just the way it is. The parents of the dead children are certainly looking at it in a literal sense.

I don't know what's in Sanders' mind but he's dead wrong on this and it makes the rest of his spiel wreak of hypocrisy to me, because he should know better.

If Sanders' supporters were really serious this time, they would make him change his tune on U.S. imperialism instead of rationalizing that at least he's bringing up wealth inequality when few other politicians are.

Sometimes when I think I'm being too hard, too literal, too "pure", I see those pictures and it brings me back.

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wendy davis's picture

@Linda Wood

war drums. as for bernie, i'd ask the room how far can have he truly stance evolved from this as he began to campaign for the presidency?

'Bernie Hearts Drone Assassinations, but with One Proviso', September 7, 2015, café babylon

i was told at naked capitalism by friends i'd admired for a long time that he'd be sooo busy enacting decent domestic policy that he wouldn't have time for foreign misadventures. seriously.

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wendy davis's picture

machine yesterday re: an exposé he'd written on facebook in 2011. he seriously had nailed both that rubbish and google ('google is not what it seems' from his book) way back in the day.

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Lookout's picture

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21415:Trump-Boasts-of-Killer-Arms-Sales-...

President Donald Trump has removed the mask on U.S. foreign policy and dispelled any illusions that it is based on human rights, rather than economic interests.

Trump then pulled out another cardboard chart, this one showing the U.S. states that are manufacturing these weapons. The map makes it clear that Trump is using these massive arms sales to gain support in what the chart describes as "key states" — those that will be important in the 2020 election, including the Rust Belt states and swing states like Florida.

What Trump did not acknowledge is that these billions of dollars of U.S. weapons are being used to massacre Yemeni civilians. In fact his meeting with the Saudi crown prince came in the same week marking the third anniversary of the Saudi war on Yemen.

Sadly Res. 54 to require congress to approve the Yemen conflict went down this week, 55-44.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

wendy davis's picture

@Lookout

and had even gotten on the senate roll call site to name the D 'nays' and linked to it.

but yes, i'd seen norton on trnn this a.m., and read the transcript. once again, no mention of trump's just following in obomba's footsteps, but it's not polite to remind listeners and readers of that these days of #assHole trump. i will say that norton takes a hella lot of grief on twitter for his earlier condemnation of Evil Assad and other amerikan FP debacles, though, lol. dinnae like him when he posted at the FDL readers diaries, don't much care for him now, although he's better than he used to be, and gets a lotta gigs on trnn and democracy now.

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