The £1.6 Trillion Saudi Cash Machine:

The Real Reason Behind May’s Iran Bashing

Rasa - It is no longer that difficult to learn the truth about the goals and activities of the British government, about the quality or value of its foreign policies, or about the reason behind its strong ties with Saudi Arabia.

News ID: 428717

Date: 06 April 2017 - 23:58

RNA - For all its talk about War on Terror, freedom and democracy, human rights and International Law, or regional security and peace, there are few choices that the British government is free to make. What would be the point, for example, if the British military forces decided to stop supporting the Saudi-led war on Yemen or to leave the Persian Gulf?

Here, the great enemy of the British government is the alignment of political power with International Law and ethics, and the alignment of foreign policy with United Nations Charter. This alignment destroys its pretext for massive weapons sales to the oil sheikhs and permanent military presence in the Persian Gulf, and so destroys its anti-Iran animus, of which military presence and Saudi cash is the foundation and practical means.

Consider this: Prime Minister May is in talks with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company to use the London Stock Exchange for the biggest share flotation in history. Saudi Aramco is expected to be valued at £1.6 trillion when it sells five percent of its shares on the open market. The flotation will be hugely lucrative to the city that hosts it, when shares worth billions of pounds will change hands, which is expected to happen in 2019.

You get the idea. May’s Iran bashing has nothing to do with what she alleges as “Iran creating tensions and insecurity in the region by interfering in the affairs of Arab nations,” and everything to do with Saudi cash - £1.6 trillion to be exact. To this end, London is seeking to become a leading partner of the Saudi regime in its Vision 2030 program, under which Riyadh seeks to reform its war machine, diversify its economy, and reduce its reliance on oil.

In the words of May, “These new partnerships, on defense and security, trade and the economy, evidence the breadth and depth of the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.” It is also evidence that the Downing Street has no “hard issues” with Riyadh. It means May’s plans to extend ties with Riyadh would make Britain an accomplice in Saudi war crimes in Yemen. She has turned a blind eye to the epic tragedy of destruction and starvation in Yemen and the promotion of Wahhabism/terrorism across the world for the sake of her country’s economic future. She has based the future of her country on regional instability, Wahhabism and terrorism, violation of human rights and International Law, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The idea has become a commonplace that Saudi Arabia’s export of the rigid, bigoted, patriarchal, fundamentalist strain of Islam known as Wahhabism has fueled global extremism and contributed to terrorism. It is the world's largest source of funds for terrorist groups such as the Afghan Taliban, AL-Qaeda, and ISIL. According to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “The Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money. Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Salafi/Takfiri terrorist groups worldwide.”

What is not contested, even in Britain, is that Saudi elites in the business community and even segments of the royal family also support extremist groups like Al-Qaeda. US government cables leaked by WikiLeaks admit “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Salafi/Takfiri terrorist groups worldwide.” Saudi Arabia is also a close UK ally. This contradiction, although responsible for a lot of human suffering, is frequently ignored.

Prime Minister May should take note: The oil sheikhs’ cash cannot buy her government or her country inner peace, integrity, character, respect, morals, trust, common sense, and dignity. If she thinks Saudi Arabia’s money does everything, she is going to end up doing everything for Saudi Arabia’s money, including support for state-sponsored terrorism and genocide in Yemen. If she wants to know what Riyadh thinks of the oil money, she just needs to look at the ISIL and Al-Qaeda militants that the oil sheikhs gave it to in Syria and Iraq. The same terrorists who have disturbed security in Europe through terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere. Britain stands atop the list of the European states whose citizens have gone to Syria to fight among the ranks of Al-Qaeda and ISIL, and many of these citizens of the Western states are now returning home. Hence, May is putting the security of her own country at stake by rendering support for the world's No. 1 state sponsoring terrorism.

Until and unless the British prime minister acknowledges that the £1.6 Trillion Saudi cash machine contributes a major share to all human suffering in the Middle East, and that by doing business the British government is helping the autocratic monarchy to come clean on funding terrorism and violent fundamentalism, she asks for her own country’s destruction. The counsel may sound simple and intuitive - that’s because it is. But when it comes to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister May ignores it.

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