Confusion in Washington

More commentary on the Saudi Arabian connection here. It appears that we want to sell $20B worth of high-tech weaponry to our friends the Saudis, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia provided 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers, and are controlled by Sunni fundamentalists (that also swell the ranks of Osama Bin Laden's forces). Taken from the Nation article referenced above: White House officials told the New York Times that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates intend to use the occasion of their joint visit to Saudi Arabia "to press the Saudis to do more to help Iraq's Shiite-dominated government." Huh? Why in the world would the Sunnis, who control Saudi Arabia and are frightened to their bones of Shiites throughout the Gulf, be party to consolidating Shiite power in Iraq? ... White House officials tell reporters that the hope of the latest arms sale program is that the Saudis will be so thrilled with their new weapons that they will stop funding the Sunni insurgents who are currently killing Americans. Say, what now? We expect the Sunni leadership in Saudi Arabia to help the fledgling Shiite power structure in Iraq? Have we learned nothing from the Sunni-Shiite civil war in Iraq? Somehow, giving them MORE weapons is supposed to help? A bit of thinly veiled scarcasm in the Nation article only serves to shed light on the fact that this problem will only be exacerbated by future aid plans: While the $20 billion weapons package will no doubt be supported vigorously by lobbyists for a defense industry that stands to make a financial killing from the deal, it is expected to meet opposition in Congress, particularly from those who fear the impact of this new weaponry on the security of Israel. No problem--"senior officials" in the White House assured the New York Times that the Saudi arms package would be balanced with a $30.4 billion military aid package for Israel. Then, of course, some large amount of military "aid," to the tune of $13 billion, will also have to be extended to Egypt to keep the dictator in Cairo on board. Almost $64B in military aid to fundamentalist Arab and Israeli governments. That's a sure way to reduce the violence in the Middle East...