Saudi Arabia is an objectionable regime. If we want to stop them bring an objectionable regime, we can damn well invade them, persuade, repress or kill anyone who wants to keep it an objectionable regime, and let them grow in a humane culture.
Why on earth should we pussyfoot around and not sell them electroshock batons and fighter jets when there are dozens of other countries willing to flog them electroshock batons and fighter jets? Why should we kid ourselves that in not taking their money we're doing something wonderfully virtuous? Unless enough of the rest of the world joins in, it's a meaningless gesture that loses us lots of money. I don't honestly believe that turning a blind eye to evil, which is essentially what is proposed, is an improvement worth the bother.
Britain can use that money in reverse to advance a worldwide humane agenda and maybe put an end to the whole abusive shebang. Otherwise nations like Saudi Arabia can buy their armaments off the likes of Russia and China (with their enviable human rights records) so that the less good nations of the world can feed off each other whilst we twiddle our fingers and think about ourselves piously.
In an ideal world, such items of repression would never be used. But whilst they are, I'd rather the beneficiaries of such sales aren't other dire regimes who make *no* effort to consider the repercussions of their actions on individuals.
And for the record, we're not talking about £6billion. The sum, for numerous contracts over many years, is much, much higher. Secondly, advocating throwing away "tens of thousands of jobs" is a much easier proposition when one's job is not one of those to go.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 10:05 pm (UTC)Saudi Arabia is an objectionable regime. If we want to stop them bring an objectionable regime, we can damn well invade them, persuade, repress or kill anyone who wants to keep it an objectionable regime, and let them grow in a humane culture.
Why on earth should we pussyfoot around and not sell them electroshock batons and fighter jets when there are dozens of other countries willing to flog them electroshock batons and fighter jets? Why should we kid ourselves that in not taking their money we're doing something wonderfully virtuous? Unless enough of the rest of the world joins in, it's a meaningless gesture that loses us lots of money. I don't honestly believe that turning a blind eye to evil, which is essentially what is proposed, is an improvement worth the bother.
Britain can use that money in reverse to advance a worldwide humane agenda and maybe put an end to the whole abusive shebang. Otherwise nations like Saudi Arabia can buy their armaments off the likes of Russia and China (with their enviable human rights records) so that the less good nations of the world can feed off each other whilst we twiddle our fingers and think about ourselves piously.
In an ideal world, such items of repression would never be used. But whilst they are, I'd rather the beneficiaries of such sales aren't other dire regimes who make *no* effort to consider the repercussions of their actions on individuals.
And for the record, we're not talking about £6billion. The sum, for numerous contracts over many years, is much, much higher. Secondly, advocating throwing away "tens of thousands of jobs" is a much easier proposition when one's job is not one of those to go.