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The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

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Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#71

Post by Chris2048 »

adventured wrote: post #49
jonstokes wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago I read a good book on the collapse of the USSR (can't remember the title, too lazy to go back and find it right now). One of the major factors that the author identified was glasnost ("transparency"), which I'm old enough to remember being talked about on the news at the time. Basically, his thesis was that it was the transparency, after a generation of buildup of really nasty official secrets, that u…

> What if a lot of crazy stuff that many people suspect has gone on actually turns out to be true, or what if it's even worse than some of the tinfoil hatters think, and we suddenly start finding out about it all. What if that premise is mostly or entirely wrong. It's absurd, and entirely empty speculation at best. Extreme edge case scenarios very rarely actually occur. Most of the world has a very large vested inter…

> global poverty and inequality has plunged rapidly during that time

Can you show that this is the case (for some measure of inequality), and that the US is responsible?

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#72

Post by dragonwriter »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #67
pjc50 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

having bases in countries that have more than sufficient GDP to protect themselves As in Germany, the bases aren't there for the US to protect that country but the other way round: to ensure that country remains US-aligned.

Actually most of these bases are there because when there's trouble in those parts of the world, we need a place to be able to get troops, equipment and supplies into a given theater in a fast, efficient manner. The countries reap the economic benefits for sure, so it's a win/win situation for both countries. Not so much when the US starts cutting back on its military: City officials in Heidelberg expect annual finan…

> I'd love for us to pull back from a lot of these areas, but let's face it, when one country invades another, they don't call France, Ireland, or Norway to help them do they?

1. This makes it sound like you are talking about the invading country calling for help. Which is probably not what you intend.

2. In point of fact, if its in Africa, the boots on the ground for any call for help (whether the problem which provoked it is internal fighting or international conflict) are more likely to be French than American.

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#73

Post by digi_owl »

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #66
api wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The student debt indenture system is the same thing in the microcosm.

Was does the debt force you to do other than hold a job? Heaven forbid. Nobody forced you to take money. If anything it's a coup for politicians who want to push debt forgiveness as one of their platforms. Get everyone into debt and then offer forgiveness for votes.

When your life depends on holding a job, you are less likely to question the system that provides said job.

Similarly, "homeowners" are less likely to riot...

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#74

Post by yardie »

thekid314 wrote: post #62
advertising wrote: post #36

There's a book called confessions of an economic hit man - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit... Essentially U.S. helps impoverished nations with infrastructure and other aid, but saddles them with debt in order to control them politically or otherwise. The interesting part was when it came to Saudi Arabia, which had so much money it didn't need to take on debt to develop their infrastructur…

I'd love to hear more. Where you married? What was it like for you spouse? If not, what was the dating scene like in 82? Did you travel around any? What are the most interesting parts of the country? Did you ever make it to Mecca? How good are you at recognizing family names and power connections? Did that come with time? How did people in different parts of the country view each other? I just returned from a week in…

Think about that, the jihadists get the nice jail, because they are rehabilitatable

This is infinitely more humane than the current US strategy of drone strikes, "kills terrorists" never mind the collateral damage and disruption it causes. Hell our DOC could learn a few things. Here, if you are ever once a criminal, you're a criminal for life.

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#75

Post by cmurf »

maze-le wrote: post #29
knodi123 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no reason the U.S. should be allies with the House of Saud. We have almost no aligned interests and very different views on human rights and Wahhabism. Well, in isolation, sure. But in the broader geopolitical sense, it really does make sense to have at least one close ally in that region.

> But in the broader geopolitical sense, it really does make sense to have at least one close ally in that region. What about Israel, Turkey, Egypt?

Really? You think their moral positions are significantly better than Saudi Arabia? And they have essentially zero to offer economically? Their governments aren't any more sane or stable, in the enduring sense, than Saudi Arabia.

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#76

Post by digi_owl »

arethuza wrote: post #15
Cyph0n wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the links. I've added Bitter Lake to my watchlist.

FYI Bitter Lake is probably the best thing I've watched in the last couple of years - not sure I completely agree with all of it, but the format and approach is breathtaking.

Check out the rest of Curtis' documentaries as well.

One eyeopener was part of his Pandora's Box series, A is for Atom, where he looks into the buildup of nuclear reactors on both sides of the cold war.

In particular how said reactors, at least in the US, were basically (massively) scaled up submarine reactors.

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#77

Post by moomin »

s_q_b wrote: post #16
dforrestwilson1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps we should be demanding heads on pikes. This has very real implications for Hillary Clinton's election chances as well. The Clintons have been supporters of the Saudis for some time now and have accepted Saudi government money through the Clinton Foundation. https://www.clintonfoundation.org/contributors?category=%241... http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/hillary-clinton-... There is no reason the U.S…

Swinging the election toward a hawkish demagogue with no knowledge of foreign policy does not seem like a desirable outcome for the United States either. It's worth noting that for now the Saudis still retain a bit of leverage. They could potentially start a kamikaze run on the dollar. They are our largest regional ally, and in very close proximity to Israel. We have very little knowledge of their nuclear program. Fi…

> a hawkish demagogue with no knowledge of foreign policy and a high opinion of Putin

enlarged on that for you :)

Re: The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings

#78

Post by digi_owl »

FrojoS wrote: post #53

I have a stupid question that is a bit more general than the Saudi case. What's the advantage of selling oil and the using the dollars to buy treasuries or other conservative investment assets? Wouldn't it make much more sense for a country like Saudi Arabia to limit their oil production and finance their deficit of the sales directly instead of using royalties? This assumes that the value of oil will rather rise ove…

To some degree they have the big dog of international politics by the balls...
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