Because it’s not everyday they threaten to cut off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom over an investigation of the Blair government’s perfidy:
SAUDI ARABIA is threatening to suspend diplomatic ties with Britain unless Downing Street intervenes to block an investigation into a £60m “slush fund” allegedly set up for some members of its royal family.
A senior Saudi diplomat in London has delivered an ultimatum to Tony Blair that unless the inquiry into an allegedly corrupt defence deal is dropped, diplomatic links between Britain and Saudi Arabia will be severed, a defence source has disclosed.
The Saudis, key allies in the Middle East, have also threatened to cut intelligence co-operation with Britain over Al-Qaeda.
They have repeated their threat that they will terminate payments on a defence contract that could be worth £40 billion and safeguard at least 10,000 British jobs.
The Saudis are furious about the criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into allegations that BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence company, set up the “slush fund” to support the extravagant lifestyle of members of the Saudi royal family. […]
You see, the Saudi Royal family thought they had come to an “understanding” with Blair about this probe months ago:
(Cont.)
The Saudi royal family, which effectively controls the government, instructed a senior diplomat, said to be Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, its London ambassador, to visit Downing Street. He held a meeting with Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff, according to the sources.
The diplomat is said to have delivered a 12-page letter drawn up by a Saudi law firm demanding a detailed explanation of why the investigation was still continuing.
The Saudis had been given the impression during a meeting with Blair in July last year that the inquiry would be stopped, say the sources.
“The Saudis are claiming in this letter that the British government has broken its undertaking to keep details of the Al-Yamamah deal confidential,” said a source who has read the document.
I’d be pissed to if my friend had gone back on his word, and allowed an investigation into the people helping to subsidize my lifestyle to continue. Tony Blair is obviously not a man of his word!
Makes you wonder which US defence firms are doing the same thing; and whether anyone in the Bush administration has come to a similar understanding with the Saudis to keep it quiet. Because I seriously doubt that the Saudi Royal Family’s graft was limited to one company in Britain. Certainly one has to wonder about the ties between the Carlyle Group and the Royal Family at the very least. Something else for House Democrats House to pursue, don’t you think?
Thanks for highlighting this one Steven.
The Saudi’s are the dirtiest of the dirty and we’ve been in bed with them too long.
Interesting Factoid of the Day:
Currently, Carlyle manages more than $44 billion in 42 different investment funds, which is an interesting fact in and of itself: Carlyle could lay claim to only a meager $12 billion in funds in December of 2001. Thanks to their ownership of United Defense Industries, a major military contractor that sells a whole galaxy of weapons systems to the Pentagon, Carlyle’s profits skyrocketed after the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
I wish my investments had sone so well over the last 4 years. By my calculation that’s a gain of over 325%.
As we all know, SA is one of the countries who are as guilty of terrorism and they remain so to this day.
If, and only if, they were called on their dirty deeds, they would be less likes int he world as any country ever!
All I can see is the bush’s holding their hand both perverbially and realisticly and that bothers me!
I have learned a very valuable lesson in my life and that is be careful who you become friends with for they could stab you in the back if they need to, to get their way on things.
Sure we need their oil, but do we need to be bedfellows!!?? I do not think so. The bush’s holding of their hands during the 9/11 time, and during the time of need for their oil is just a fact that we are all in deep doo doo with this family of evil doooooooers…;o)
They want our security ppl and our educated ppl to help them get off the ground in thier medical fields and such, but they do not ever intend to compromise their standing with their hiarchy to become trusted leaders in that area of the world. They will never change….
The bush’s are just like them…in every aspect. They minuplate and threaten others to get their way. It is just that simple. We must face the fact that we are living in a time with ppl who are the biggest and worst gangs ever on earth. Gangs with lots and lots of money to get their way…$$$$ can get what you want….it is that simple….
We have got to figure out a way to get this power from them and keep it from them from henseforth on out.
** Steven, how is your wife doing? HOpe the children are doing well in their studies, etc. hugs…you are still the best reporter on line….
My wife is doing well. She is on her second round of chemo and it is far less debilitating than her first round of combination radiation/chemo. She should be returning to work soon (mostly because she is bored out of her skull spending time at home with me – lol).
Thanks for asking Brenda.
I’m certain that this practice must be going on with other companies. The Saudi Royal family could rip through $6O million in one trip to Harrad’s or Asprey and Garrard’s.
I sometimes fantasize what I could do with 60 million or so, but than I realize I’m never going to hit the lottery and I put that dollar bill back in my pocket.
😉
Why? $60 million, or even $960 million, is chump change for the Saudi Royal family. Why would they need to have slush funds set up within their deals when they could just increase (or decrease) the value of the contracts and pay out of their own immense pockets? And why would they threaten to cut off diplomatic relations over investigations into such a small amount of money? It can’t just be over lost honor or face or somesuch, there has to be more to this story.
Exactly
Ya think this is the kindof off the books money that would work in an “Iran-Contra” type scheme and it might just be Bin Laden bound? (or some other subversive group, like Kurdish efforts to destablize Iran? lol Or maybe to help keep Iraq unstable?)
Who me? A conspiracy nut? Nooooo! Tin foil is just the fashion rage in Connecticut, don’t ya know?