WOW! This is going to cause some friction...

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JPL

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From Reuters...

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers cheered as the House of Representatives voted on Thursday to strip financial assistance for Saudi Arabia from a foreign aid bill because of criticism that the country has not been sufficiently cooperative in the U.S. war on terror.

The vote was a stinging defeat for the Bush Administration which had strongly opposed the measure saying it would "severely undermine" counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia and U.S. efforts for peace in the Middle East.

The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.

The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.

"I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to the Saudis and I don't want anyone else's to," said Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley.
 
Are those numbers right? They voted to remove a whole $25k? As in the salary of a WHOLE congressional page?

Whoa. That's some statement. Yup. That'll learn em. :scrutiny: :scrutiny: :scrutiny:
 
The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.
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Why on Earth would we give them taxpayer money? Don't they have their own?
 
"Foreign aid" my azz. It's protection/extortion money. I had no idea this was happening. It really chaps my hide.:fire:
 
The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.
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.000025 billion of 19.4 billion? They shoulda cut the other $19.399975 billion while they where at it!
 
Bush. I disagree.

These guys have no choice but to help in the War on Terror. They are being attacked too. Frack em!
Besides aren't these the OPEC members that were instumental in jacking our oil prices into the stratosphere? :fire:

Forget these idiots Saudi is not a friend of ours... Where's Bounty Hunter when you need him? He'd be all over this. I happen to agree with his assesment of the saudi's (SCUM BAGS).:banghead:
 
The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.
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If this is the case then I 100% agree with it. Saudia Arabia has been far too much of a dick to us considering all the the crap we take from protecting them. I'm looking forward to pulling troops out of there asap.
 
In my old humble opinion most countries want to "bleed" us to death via
our pocketbook and then kick the hell out of us when we go down, I could
be wrong.;)
 
Racist hate-mongers!

".000025 billion of 19.4 billion? They shoulda cut the other $19.399975 billion while they where at it!"

What an attitude! Don't you realize how much it costs to support two or three thousand wives each?? And just imagine the cost of appeasing an equal number of mothers-in-law. Not to mention fodder for everybody's camels.

And the bill for the secret police going around and stoning women who let anyone see the color of their eyes is damn high too. Come on, guys. Have a heart!

rr
 
READ THE ARTICLE.

As it states yes, it was only 25K, but it will cost the Saudis millions in discounts on US manufactured hardware.

You're also missing the concept that this is not a hardship for the Saudis.

Far from it.

What it is, however, is a very obvious crack in the "friendship" that has existed between our two nations for many years.

The money is nothing.

The MESSAGE, on the other hand, is everything.
 
wingman wrote:
In my old humble opinion most countries want to "bleed" us to death via our pocketbook and then kick the hell out of us when we go down, I could
be wrong.
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You said it, brother. Don't forget about the UN, though.

Where is Ragnar Danneskjold when we really need him?

316SS
 
Upon re-reading the first post, it doesn't seem entirely clear - is the foreign aid bill designating $19.4 billion for Saudi Arabia, or is the entire foreign aid bill $19.4 billion, with the Saudis only getting a part? :confused:

If it's the former, with the Saudis getting all the money, then costing the Saudis "millions" of dollars in discounts doesn't seem like much if they're still getting $19.4 billion . . . figure it out: a 19.4 million dollar cost increase would only be one tenth of one percent of the total.
 
The Saudi's get 25k. Or, not anymore. That sentence was very poorly written.

My take on this:

The 25k is important because to get any money means they automatically qualify for certain discounts on other things from the US, and possibly it also makes the further acquisition process a bit more streamlined.

don't quote me on this, but I think maybe they will now need some high level of approval to buy anything export-restricted, such as software, computers, automobiles, firearms, helicopters, etc.

which, if they decide they'd rather buy all their stuff somewhere else, will hurt the country much more than 25k worth.
 
This action MIGHT serve as a wake-up call to our Saudi Friends, however don't bet all that muich on it remaining as it seems to be, is, or might be at the moment, for there are many paths yet to be tread re this legislation.

Correction please, should I be in error.

Of course, the foregoing is NOT to say that the Saudi's are without problems of their own. The question that ythen arises is as follows. Neither is anyone else, but what is the source Saudi "problems"
 
First they use our money to blackmail the states into 'getting in line'... and now they are using OUR money to blackmail other countries (well, that's nothing new).

Perhaps it's time to take OUR money back so we can do what WE want with it, instead of letting some money grubbing pols spread it around their special interests.. pork projects..etc....
 
Does anyone NOT see what other friction this may cause?

Saudi Arabia is our largest oil supplier, and they're also the ones who have typically responded to our requests to either increase production or veto actions by OPEC to tighten supplies and increase prices.
 
JPL wrote:
Does anyone NOT see what other friction this may cause?

Saudi Arabia is our largest oil supplier, and they're also the ones who have typically responded to our requests to either increase production or veto actions by OPEC to tighten supplies and increase prices.
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There is some truth in this, however there is also that proverbial BUT, which might be described as follows.

How much does Saudi support, increased production, from time to time, and or it's moderation of OPEC pricing practices end up costing us, the cost being reckoned in increased dependence on Middle East oil, instead of conservation here, and or a realistic and energetic search for sources elsewhere, like here maybe.
 
Saudi Arabis is not our largest oil supplier, far from it. I am pretty sure that the entire mideast accounts for less than 10% of our oil. Most of it comes from Canada, and Latin America.
 
Scott,

Saudi Arabia supplies roughly 17 to 18 percent of our oil.

Canada supplies roughly 15 to 16 percent.

The 4 largest sources for the US, Saudia Arabia, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuala, are all within a few percentage points, and often change from month to month depending on shifts in the economy.

As a weighted average, though, Saudi Arabia supplies our largest percentage of oil.
 
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