Posted on 12/08/2002 9:00:16 PM PST by swarthyguy
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has acknowledged that Saudi Arabia has acquired intermediate-range missile capability.
But U.S. officials said the Defense Department does not regard the Saudi missile capability as a threat to American interests in the Gulf region.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was believed to have been the first U.S. senior official to publicly address the Saudi intermediate-range missile capability. In an address to a Washington audience on Oct. 24. Wolfowitz said Riyad acquired the missiles from China in a development that stunned Washington.
"I believe in the 1980s when Saudi Arabia acquired long-range ballistic missiles from the People's Republic of China it took us completely by surprise," Wolfowitz told Frontiers for Freedom. "We think a relatively harmless surprise, but nonetheless a surprise."
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DefenseLINK.mil: "Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz , Frontiers of Freedom, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, Thursday, October 24, 2002." (SPEECH Question & Answer Session SNIPPET: "DepSec Wolfowitz: I think what it points out, and I think it should be a reminder to people on every side -- I was about to say both sides of this debate, but I find it a multi-sided debate. Whatever position one holds, one I think should recognize the potential for things to develop in ways that we don't anticipate, and the fact that if you stop and think about it, that concern that I mentioned which is a real one -- As I said, we demonstrated it in 1947 and we aren't the only ones who have thought about it, is something that requires thinking about missile defense in yet another difficult way. One could build the best possible defenses against intercontinental ballistic missiles and miss that possibility. I think as long as there are countries out there -- and there are -- who are as clearly determined as they are and they evidence it among other things, I mentioned the amount of resources they devote to being able to attack us. We need to be thinking ahead of them. We need to be thinking out of the box. We need to remember that there was a time when we said, I believe it was March of 1962, that it was inconceivable the Soviet Union would put missiles in Cuba. I believe in the 1980s when Saudi Arabia acquired long-range ballistic missiles from the Peoples Republic of China it took us completely by surprise. We think a relatively harmless surprise, but nonetheless a surprise.")
But I almost forgot our president is the first 'honorary muslem president.'
Why shouldn't it be??? We depend on that resource for our lifes blood.
So we should be willing to defend it. Unfortunately, it creates this nasty hypocracy in our relationship with the Saudi's.
Such is world politics.
MARCH 1988 : (CHINA SELLS MISSILES TO SAUDI ARABIA) Reports reveal that China has transferred approximately 36 CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia. This is first transfer of missiles of this range and capability within the developing world; the missiles were originally part of China's strategic arsenal, but Saudi and Chinese officials assure that the missiles will not be nuclear-armed. - "U.S.-China Techonology Transfer: Annotated Timeline 1980-January 1998," by Bates Gill, GlobalBeat, NYU.edu, June 22, 1998
Around this time there was also the ABSCAM sting which netted several political figures when an agent posing as an Arab shiekh bribed them and they were caught on film.
The sting took place in January 1980; the Abscam story broke in February 1980.
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