W's Saudi arms deal

Bush says committed to Saudi arms deal
Reuters
By Matt Spetalnick and Tabassum Zakaria
Mon Jan 14 2008
RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush, trying to counter Iran's growing military clout, made clear his commitment on Monday to go ahead with a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia as he began his first visit to the Islamic kingdom.
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The sale appeared to be part of Bush's effort to persuade Saudi Arabia, one of the Arab world's most influential states, to help contain Iran and offset what he has branded a danger to the oil-rich region and to the world's security.

This seems vaguely familiar... hmmm... I know!

Shaking Hands: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein greets Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983.
[Photo caption]

Following further high-level policy review, Ronald Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 114, dated November 26, 1983, concerned specifically with U.S. policy toward the Iran-Iraq war. The directive reflects the administration's priorities: it calls for heightened regional military cooperation to defend oil facilities, and measures to improve U.S. military capabilities in the Persian Gulf, and directs the secretaries of state and defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take appropriate measures to respond to tensions in the area. It states, "Because of the real and psychological impact of a curtailment in the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf on the international economic system, we must assure our readiness to deal promptly with actions aimed at disrupting that traffic."
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Soon thereafter, Donald Rumsfeld ...was dispatched to the Middle East as a presidential envoy. His December 1983 tour of regional capitals included Baghdad, where he was to establish "direct contact between an envoy of President Reagan and President Saddam Hussein," while emphasizing "his close relationship" with the president.
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Although official U.S. policy still barred the export of U.S. military equipment to Iraq, some was evidently provided on a "don't ask - don't tell" basis.

Okay - not an "official" arms sale, but support for Iraq to counter Iranian influence in the region.

This didn't work out so well before. Of course, Saudi Arabia isn't a brutal dictatorship, but a freedom-loving, open, participatory democracy...

[I get a two-fer with this post: not only are we arming another repressive regime to help contain Iran, but also: the 1980s version of the story was dictated by that GOP hero, Ronald Reagan!]