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Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#61

Post by europeanguy »

credit_guy wrote: post #3

Well, they are free people, not slaves. If they want to take a job in the private sector, they should have the freedom to do it, including working for a sovereign state that is not an enemy. Of course, they have knowledge of classified stuff, but I'm sure there are protocols around that, and they are aware of it. It would be more scandalous if they were to take jobs with Russia, or Iran. But Saudi Arable is a US ally…

Saudi Arabia hasn't really been a us ally since about 2016 when Saudi Arabia tried dumping oil price to ruin the us shale industry. Ever since the USA has been preparing to strike back. Look up the NOPEC bill. It looks like the USA plan is to charge Saudi Arabia with manipulating oil prices (being a cartel is literally the stated goal of OPEC). SA knows this and they're aligning themselves with Russia and China (with whom they're ideologically closer anyway).

Also just a comment, the dichotomy "they are free not slaves" is entirely useless to this discussion. There are countless examples from elsewhere in society of where a person isn't a slave but still has constraints on how they can earn money.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#63

Post by lern_too_spel »

basementcat wrote: post #15
hef19898 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back the day Napoleon, from Corsica, actually whantedbto join the British Army before he settled to become an Artillery Officer in the French Army. The rest is, quite literally, history. We don't live in the 19th century anymore so.

Fidel Castro wanted to play for the Washington Senators baseball team but wasn’t signed due to an underwhelming tryout. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/fidel-castro-and-baseball/

TLDR; he didn't try out for the Senators. The story is a myth.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#64

Post by mbostleman »

markvdb wrote: post #41

Working for the butcher prince. We don't need that kind of people near any NATO army. Let's hope they stay in Saudi Arabia. In other news, this is just another symptom of a shrinking US empire. Pax americana is starting to crumble.

Crumbling for sure. But incredible turn arounds have happened before. Consider the US posture at the end of the 1970s vs only a decade later.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#65

Post by padraic7a »

edgefield wrote: post #14
basementcat wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperial Russian Navy after he retired from the US Navy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones

Perhaps not unusual, but ethical? That’s a different matter. A former US general working for a theocratic, monarchy with a deeply concerning history on human rights raises some serious red flags in my mind.

It could be worse. He could be a US general working for a country with a deeply concerning history of human rights, a lingering racial apartheid problem, and a history of violating the independence and sovereignty of many other countries : the United States.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#66

Post by JasonFruit »

TechBro8615 wrote: post #18

How else will they retire? It's not like CNN and MSNBC can hire all of them!

I don't know, they seem pretty determined to. I'm surprised at the complete breakdown of journalistic independence, right when news outlets are in a financial position where they should be trumpeting that sort of justification for their existence.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#67

Post by google234123 »

marshray wrote: post #49
credit_guy wrote: post #3

Well, they are free people, not slaves. If they want to take a job in the private sector, they should have the freedom to do it, including working for a sovereign state that is not an enemy. Of course, they have knowledge of classified stuff, but I'm sure there are protocols around that, and they are aware of it. It would be more scandalous if they were to take jobs with Russia, or Iran. But Saudi Arable is a US ally…

My dim understanding is that once you are enrolled in General- and Admiral-level security clearances, you are not quite free free to freelance your experience globally without significant limitations. The key questions raised would seem to be: did they in fact obtain the required signoffs, and are the current requirements sufficient or do they need some adjustment?

The saudis are allies and we sell them many of our top weapon systems.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#69

Post by whywhywhydude »

dendrite9 wrote: post #50
whywhywhydude wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

Like this? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/technology/twitter-saudi-... A former Twitter employee was convicted on Tuesday by a jury in federal court of six charges related to accusations that he spied on the company’s users for Saudi Arabia. While at Twitter, Ahmad Abouammo, 44, managed media partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa. He developed relationships with prominent individuals in the region, rec…

That is really scary. They probably have insiders in their payroll in every major tech company.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#70

Post by bigbacaloa »

credit_guy wrote: post #3

Well, they are free people, not slaves. If they want to take a job in the private sector, they should have the freedom to do it, including working for a sovereign state that is not an enemy. Of course, they have knowledge of classified stuff, but I'm sure there are protocols around that, and they are aware of it. It would be more scandalous if they were to take jobs with Russia, or Iran. But Saudi Arable is a US ally…

Sure, no one has any responsibility for what his employer does or where the cash comes from. Mafia mentality has taken over the tech world apparently.
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