The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Treasury Holdings • Hacker News Board

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

#151

Post by dforrestwilson1 » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 4:19 PM UTC

hackuser wrote: post #97

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…

> There is no reason the U.S. should be allies with the House of Saud. There is a very good reason: 1) The US needs a stable oil supply 2) The US needs global stability, for which the world needs a stable oil supply. 3) A stable oil supply requires a stable Persian Gulf region. 4) Leverage and influence with the most powerful nation in the Persian Gulf (with the possible exception of Iran, an enemy of the U.S.), is v…

Except we don't need a stable global oil supply. We WANT a higher oil price so we can sell our supply outside of the U.S. Following Neocon logic, the best outcome for us is a war that closes off access to Middle Eastern oil, forcing more countries to purchase energy from us.

The old Neocon argument is no longer relevant.

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

#152

Post by s_q_b » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 11:56 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #72

at-fates-hands wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 prov…

And France's African adventurism is... You guessed it. Made possible by massive security guarantees from the United States, as well as the US troops on European soil.

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

#153

Post by int_19h » Sun, Jun 05, 2016, 7:41 AM UTC

ionised wrote: post #150

int_19h wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And why is Iran an enemy of US?

The US toppled their democratically elected government a while back and the Iranians (rightly) hold a grudge and are highly suspicious of any US foreign policy.

Yes, but that was many decades ago.

For comparison, in the same time frame, US has actually invaded a different country outright, with a total death toll for its residents being on the order of hundreds of thousands even for the most conservative estimates.

And these days, said country manufactures a lot of goods for sale in US, and has recently signed a weapons deal.

I'm talking about Vietnam, of course.

The primary reason why Iran is the enemy of US today, is because US actively supplies its regional enemies - Sunni monarchies like Saudi Arabia, for example. Stop doing that for a decade, and I bet you that things will change significantly.

The problem is that it is a self-fulfilling prophecy loop - US supports KSA and others to counter Iran, which Iran [justifiably] interprets as hostile, and acts accordingly, justifying more US backing of its enemies etc.

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

#154

Post by int_19h » Sun, Jun 05, 2016, 7:45 AM UTC

travmatt wrote: post #148

int_19h wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And why is Iran an enemy of US?

I can't tell if you're genuinely asking, but Iran is widely considered one of the largest sponsors of state-funded terrorism in the world. Lots of self-flagellating Americans like to ask about the US/Saudi Arabia, but Iran's IRGC and esp. Quds Force are famous for their successes in cultivating and logistically supplying terror groups (think Hamas, Hezbollah) - if the US took such an intense and long-term view of the…

Any such assessment largely depends on your definition of "state-funded terrorism". Saudis, for example, fund a massive network of Salafi religious schools all over the world, that has a very impressive record of radicalizing their students. Said students then end up running organizations like Caucasus Emirate or Daesh, or just blowing up local targets of opportunity (including moderate Muslim clergy that is trying to actively counter Salafi propaganda in their area, thereby preventing or at least limiting further radicalization).

But most importantly, I was asking about US. How many terrorist groups in US does Iran fund, and what damage have they done to date?