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adenovir · 5 years

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It’s not just Trump-Russia...

(THREAD) Pre-election Russia collusion may take down Trump. It's equally possible the Trumps' pre- and post-election collusion with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel will do it—a course of collusion also connected to the Kremlin. I explain here. I hope you'll read on and share.

1/ I must stress how unbelievably complex the "Grand Bargain" theory of the Trump-Russia case is—a different thing from saying it's not substantiated. It's substantiated in *almost every single particular*—it just *also* happens to be very confusing. Not byzantine—just confusing.

2/ The basics: Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the UAE all view Iran as their chief regional enemy. Iran is propped up by Russia. Therefore the Saudis, Israelis, and Emiratis all need a US government willing to find a way to get the Kremlin to *stop* supporting Iran in the Middle East.

3/ The best way to get Russia to stop supporting Iran—or reduce support—was/is to drop all sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, as that'd be worth *trillions* to the Kremlin over the next decade. Everyone knew that Clinton wouldn't do this—and that Trump would.

4/ Per the NYT, on August 3, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. met secretly at Trump Tower with a Saudi and Emirati emissary, George Nader, as well as an Israeli intelligence expert, Joel Zamel, with *significant* ties to both Israeli intelligence *and* Russian oligarchs allied with Putin.

5/ Per the NYT, Nader and Zamel both—effectively on behalf of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Russia—offered the Trumps clandestine collusive assistance to win the 2016 election. Jr. reacted favorably to this offer—which got into the specifics of how the collusion would work.

6/ Zamel specifically offered a domestic disinformation campaign in the United States that would use fake social media accounts to sway "micro-targeted" U.S. voters toward Trump—basically *exactly* what ended up happening. Zamel has been connected to Bannon's Cambridge Analytica.

7/ Nader was an emissary from the Saudi Crown Prince ("MBS") and the Emirati Crown Prince ("MBZ"), while Zamel was connected to a Trump-linked Russian oligarch (Rybolovlev), Israeli intel, and Cambridge Analytica. Together they had money, microtargeting, and "dark" intel methods.

8/ Jesus... this is where it gets insane. I'm going to post five articles now that are absolutely necessary to what I'm about to say. This is... serious stuff, and it needs to be right. Please take a look at the following five articles:

9/ KEY ARTICLE 1:

Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election

https://www.nytimes.com/…/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-z…

10/ KEY ARTICLE 2:

Saudis Close to Crown Prince Discussed Killing Other Enemies a Year Before Khashoggi’s Death

https://www.nytimes.com/…/saudi-iran-assassinations-mohamme…

11/ KEY ARTICLE 3:

Top Cheney Aide in Muellers Sights as Probe Expands

https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-cheney-aide-in-muellers-s…

12/ KEY ARTICLE 4:

Abbas rival hired American mercenaries to kill in Yemen for UAE: report

https://www.i24news.tv/…/186610-181018-abbas-rival-hired-is…

13/ KEY ARTICLE 5:

Dahlan ‘cover-up team’ from Lebanon helps hide traces of Khashoggi murder

https://www.yenisafak.com/…/dahlan-cover-up-team-from-leban…

14/ Upshot: the Saudis and Emiratis formed a plot in 2015 to systematically assassinate Iranians and Iranian allies they considered a threat. To do this they needed the help of US mercenaries and quality intel—two things it now appears the Trumps and their allies helped provide.

15/ In other words, the Saudis, Emiratis, Israelis, and Russians didn't offer the Trumps pre-election collusive assistance for free—indeed they asked for a lot. The Russians would get trillions once the 2014 sanctions were dropped, and the other nations would get... other things.

16/ Trump adviser Erik Prince—who was *also* at the secret meeting with Nader, Zamel, and Don Jr. at Trump Tower in August '16—ran a mercenary army. Elliott Broidy, who had enormous access to Trump as a lobbyist and RNC finance co-chair, also was connected to a mercenary company.

17/ Jared Kushner—who wasn't at the August '16 meeting but *would* attend a followup in December with MBZ (who secretly entered the US for the meeting), Bannon, and the Zamel-connected Mike Flynn—struck up a very close "friendship" with MBS (the other Crown Prince) post-election.

18/ Numerous reports say Kushner got intel from his father-in-law's Presidential Daily Briefing—which only Trump could permit him to take—and gave it to MBS. The intel—a list of MBS' enemies—allowed MBS to target his domestic enemies and kill some of them.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Saudi-crown-prince-brags-Jare…

19/ MBS subsequently told friends that Kushner was "in his pocket." And why would he think otherwise? Trump had (apparently) declassified intel for MBS' use as part of his program of domestic and international assassination. It was that very program that targeted Jamal Khashoggi.

20/ So *no one* was surprised when—despite the CIA concluding that MBS ordered Khashoggi killed—Trump gave his "I'm colluding with this guy" response, saying (as he had of Putin) that he believed MBS wasn't involved in the killing because... wait for it... MBS told him he wasn't.

21/ This five-party collusion explains why Trump went to Saudi Arabia first on his first trip abroad and immediately sold them weapons; why Kushner uses WhatsApp for all his MBS communications (it frustrates oversight); why Prince was Trump's envoy to Russia in the Seychelles...

22/ ...why Broidy was given $1 billion in business by Nader; why Nader met with White House officials repeatedly in the first 60 days of Trump's administration; why Mueller originally suspected Papadopoulos as an Israeli spy; why Flynn, Barrack, Gates, and other Trump allies...

23/ ...began lobbying Trump as soon as he was elected to send nuclear tech to Saudi Arabia (partly to build new nuclear reactors, but with a longer-term goal of letting Saudi Arabia and the UAE develop nuclear weapons as a deterrence of Iran); why Trump ripped up the Iran deal...

24/ ...even though Iran was in compliance; and more. Look: we know Trump's top aides were willing to assist foreign nations in assassinating people living in the U.S., because that's *exactly* what Mike Flynn was caught trying to do—extradite a Turkish cleric to be killed abroad.

25/ The reason this is all so confusing is that *some* of the motives in play may have been reasonable. Iran *is* a state sponsor of terrorism—so it's not so far out of bounds to think that a U.S. government might want to assist Iran's many enemies in the Middle East if possible.

26/ But many of the motives involved were *illegal*, too. Namely—as was the case with Russia—the Trumps (plus Kushner) are *easily* bribed, and willing to set U.S. policy on the basis of bribes. With Putin, it was billions in real estate deals in Moscow that easily bribed Trump.

27/ With Saudi Arabia, Trump and Jared being the *only* people in the White House who supported the Saudi blockade of Qatar suggests that—when Qatar shortly thereafter turned around and "loaned" Jared $1 billion—they were being strong-armed by secret Trump-Saudi Arabia collusion.

28/ Just so, the Trumps are trying to expand (and *have* expanded) their real estate empire into the UAE, which makes pleasing the Emiratis important as a business proposition. And since Trump doesn't care how many people the Saudis or Emiratis assassinate, why not help them out?

29/ This sort of Bribery—a federal crime—is of course impeachable under the Constitution. But if a story that just came out in the Middle East Eye—which has been *very* accurate on the Khashoggi case—is correct, the Trumps may have just crossed the line into something far darker.

30/ If this BREAKING NEWS is accurate, the Trumps *actively* participated in the Saudi-Emirati-Israeli assassination scheme—which, remember, per the links in this thread, both Nader and Zamel were part of—in order to get financial benefits on the back end.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/…/saudis-using-pompeos-plan-s…

31/ Simply put, under circumstances in which you know MBS is criminally responsible for the murder of a Washington Post journalist, you *can't* assist him in escaping detection by delivering to him a plan to do just that. That'd be Accessory After the Fact to First-Degree Murder.

32/ *Obviously* I want to see the Middle East Eye story reported elsewhere also, but again, the Middle East Eye has repeatedly broken news in the Khashoggi case. Plus, their scoop fits with *all the other evidence* we have of this plot dating back (at least) to early August 2016.

33/ I can't help but recall, now, how Pompeo was the CIA director, and then Tillerson was pushed out at State so Pompeo could replace him, and then Trump started singing his praises in terms of his *loyalty*. Well, it'd take that sort of "loyal" person to do something like this.

34/ There are too many angles here to count: for instance, one wouldn't normally think Bannon would be at all the planning meetings for Trump-Russia-Saudi-Emirati-Israeli collusion—but it makes sense when you understand that Zamel and Cambridge Analytica were crucial to the plan.

35/ Flynn's involvement might also be a mystery, until you learn that Zamel had previously tried to recruit him for *his* intel outfit (Flynn had one too), and Flynn thereafter became an *energy lobbyist* trying to bring nuclear energy (thus, eventually, weapons) to Saudi Arabia.

36/ A list of the people relevant to this plot:

Trump Sr. Trump Jr. Kushner Bannon Flynn Nader Broidy Prince Zamel MBS MBZ Rybolovlev* Barrack Gates McFarlane Dmitriev + others

*There's credible evidence Rybolovlev had two secret meetings with Trump in the 10 days pre-election.

37/ My point in writing this thread *isn't* thinking I can explain every aspect of this to all of you on Twitter—the 5- (really 6-) nation "Grand Bargain" requires, literally, an entire book to explain properly. And—as importantly—to document with reliable, major-media reporting.

38/ The important thing to understand is that all the major-media reporting you've read saying that Mueller is looking at *multi-state collusion*—not just a "bipolar" collusion between the Trumps and Russia—is not just correct but *richly* supported by reams of *public* evidence.

39/ This also means that when you see continued reporting on the Khashoggi case, you shouldn't see it as merely the tail-end of a story from weeks ago that is losing steam... but quite possibly the *beginning* of a story that will ultimately lead to the end of Trump's presidency.

40/ I've been saying forever that "Trump-Russia"—which is now the catch-all term for all pre- and post-election collusive activities orchestrated by the Trumps and their allies—is about *greed*. These are really *really* bad people, folks—and we'll soon learn just *how* bad. /end

UPDATE/ This thread continues, with additional *significant* evidence of the "Grand Bargain," here:

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1064904175761403906

(THE GRAND BARGAIN) If the "grand bargain" theory of the Russia case is accurate—and it is—we'd expect to see MBS pay Rybolovlev hundreds of millions in laundered money to pay Russia for the social media campaign the Saudis promised Jr. And hey—guess what?

https://www.nytimes.com/…/salvator-mundi-da-vinci-saudi-pri…

2/ That's right:

1. Rybolovlev agent offers Trump Jr. (on 8/3/16) a Russia disinformation campaign in the presence of an MBS agent. MBS apparently offers to bankroll it. 2. Trump Jr. says yes. 3. A year later, an MBS agent overpays Rybolovlev by $300 MILLION PLUS for a painting.

3/ The only plausible reason Nader—the MBS agent—offers collusive assistance to the Trumps at *the same secret Trump Tower meeting* at which Zamel (a Rybolovlev agent) pitches a disinformation campaign mirroring Russia's is if the Saudis can bankroll it. So MBS *owed* Rybolovlev.

4/ Below is info on Zamel as Rybolovlev agent. Note: Rybolovlev a) apparently held two secret tarmac meetings with Trump himself in the 10 days before the 2016 election (Charlotte/Las Vegas), b) previously overpaid Trump by tens of millions for a property.

https://www.haaretz.com/…/.premium-who-is-joel-zamel-austra…

5/ But wait! you say. Did Zamel have the sort of micro-targeting data needed to coordinate a Russian pre-election propaganda campaign in the U.S.? Well, almost the very day after the election Zamel *publicly* announced a partnership with... Trump's data-firm, Cambridge Analytica.

6/ And once Trump won, Kushner and Bannon (Trump's data guys) started showing up at secret transition meetings with... MBZ (the other Crown Prince behind the August '16 collusion offer) and Flynn (a former Zamel associate and fellow intel guy) and George Nader (representing MBS).

7/ But why make Don Jr. the first point man in receiving offers of a digital campaign to hurt Clinton? I don't know, was Don Jr. in contact with WikiLeaks to try to find out how to help his dad during the *same 2-week period* he accepted a digital collusion offer from Zamel? Yep.

8/ Can I just repeat that a Saudi prince who's a top ally of MBS overpaid a Trump-linked Russian oligarch for a *painting* by... OVER 300 MILLION? (Re-read multiple times.) Per the NYT, Christie's—the auction house—and everyone else was like, uh, where did this guy get the money?

9/ The key point: this *isn't* a theory of the case that exists only on Twitter. This appears to be *Mueller's theory of the case* with respect to Trump-Russia: that it's a Bribery, Money Laundering, Fraud, and Conspiracy case involving *multiple* nations.

https://newrepublic.com/…/mueller-probe-going-beyond-russia…

10/ Another point about that painting: as NYT notes, many think it's a) not good work, and b) even worse, *fake*. So that transaction is *suspicious as hell*—and it's effectively between the two people in the *world* you'd most suspect of needing to launder money over collusion.

— Seth Abramson, the author of "Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America"

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presssorg · 5 years

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Abu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism

WAbu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates’ yearslong war in Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia bled into the start of a biennial Abu Dhabi arms fair Sunday, which saw the Emirates sign $1.3 billion in weapons deals. One manufacturer displayed a model of a machine-gun on sale that’s now in the hands of Emirati-backed militiamen in Yemen, while the

armoured personnel carriers and tanks used in the war in the Arab world’s poorest country also could be seen at the show. Even the military show that began the fair included troops raiding a militant hideout equipped with both mobile and land-based ballistic missiles, just like those in the possession of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. While Emirati officials avoided discussing Yemen, allied American officials linked arms smuggling there to what they described as the wider malign activities of Iran across the greater Middle East. “My assumption is there are still things going into Yemen that I need to stop. . There is nothing good happening by arms being illegally shipped into Yemen,” said Vice Adm. James Malloy, the head of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet command that oversees the region. “It is destabilizing. It delays peace there. It exacerbates the disastrous humanitarian crisis that we’re facing in Yemen and delays humanitarian efforts coming in.” Discussing the Houthis, Malloy added: “We see the world trying to end this thing and one group doing nothing to end it — probably the opposite.” The UAE entered Yemen’s war in March 2015 alongside Saudi Arabia to back Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which the Houthis had pushed out of the capital, Sanaa. The Emirates largely has handled ground operations in the conflict while the Saudis have bombed from the air. The war has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and killed more than 60,000 people since 2016, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, which tracks the conflict. Atrocities have been common in the war. Saudi airstrikes have hit markets and hospitals, killing civilians. Associated Press investigations have shown how the UAE negotiated secret deals with al-Qaida in Yemen fighters and that coalition forces tortured and sexually abused detainees. Meanwhile, the Houthis have indiscriminately laid land mines, employed child soldiers and tortured political opponents. The U.S. had backed the Saudi-led coalition with midair refuelling and targeting information. American lawmakers, angered by the Oct. 2 assassination and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, have been pushing to withdraw U.S. support. The Houthis also have fired over 150 ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, some even reaching as far as its capital, Riyadh. The West, United Nations experts and the Saudi-led coalition say Iran has helped supply the Shiite rebels with the missiles, something Iran denies. That preoccupation with ballistic missiles fueled the opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference. The unnamed militia threatened to launch ballistic missiles, leading to an all-out assault by troops in armoured vehicles, tanks, helicopters and jets. The demonstration’s climax saw a fake ballistic missile slowly emerge from an underground silo, only to be destroyed by an airstrike. That worry also saw the Emirates sign a $355-million deal Sunday with Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts, for surface-to-air Patriot missiles to protect against such launches. Drones and other weaponry have been recovered from the Houthis and appear to be Iranian, experts say. Meanwhile, Western-made arms like those on display Sunday have ended up in the hands of militiamen in Yemen. Rights group Amnesty International criticized Belgium’s FN Herstal for displaying its 5.56 mm Minimi machine-gun at the arms fair as it has been seen in the hands of Emirati-aligned militiamen. FN Herstal officials at the fair declined to comment. The military buildup in the Emirates and elsewhere in the region has come amid concerns about Iran’s influence after the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers. While Iran continues to abide by its promise to limit its enrichment of uranium, the U.S. under President Donald Trump has pulled out of the accord. Malloy, the head of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, didn’t hesitate to describe Iran’s actions in the region as “destabilizing,” citing its renewed threats about cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded by sea passes. “The activities and the exercises that they engage in are inherently offensive in nature,” the vice-admiral said. Iran, however, didn’t represent the only ongoing geopolitical challenge seen at the arms fair. Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who often attends the arms fair, was a no-show amid the ongoing protests challenging his rule though his country displayed some of its weapons for sale. Bangladesh Prime Minsiter Sheikh Hasina attended the fair’s opening ceremony, as did Guinea’s prime minister and Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Meanwhile, China displayed weapons for sale ranging from missile launchers to drones. Already, China has sold armed drones to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Emiratis in particularly had wanted American-made armed drones, but the Obama administration opposed the sales over the Missile Technology Control Regime, a 30-year-old agreement that aims to limit the spread of missile technology. Under Trump, the U.S. has permitted U.S. manufacturers to directly market and sell drones, including armed versions. The government still must approve and license the sales. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, the director of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, acknowledged those efforts Sunday. “We do understand that it’s a very competitive world out there and we want to ensure that we’re doing everything in our power to provide us systems the best in the world to our partners,” Hooper said. Published at Sun, 17 Feb 2019 16:31:50 +0000 Read the full article

#abudhabi #arabia #armsfair #emirates #GCC #nuclear #uae #war #weapons #worldpeace #yemen

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harrythegreekblr · 5 years

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Prosecutor Gillis and defendant Kian on video talking to each other

Prosecutor James P. Gillis (above)

Cover-ups are his specialty.

Up until today, the biggest cover-up in the history of the country was the 20-year ongoing spy ring in Congress.

https://brassballs.blog/home/imran-awan-receives-immunity-for-allegedly-operating-a-spy-ring-in-congress-for-14-years-selling-state-secrets-to-pakistan-and-stealing-2-million-of-equipment

James P. Gillis was the lead prosecutor.

It involved Imran Awan, his wife, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL).

Judge Tanya Chutkan was in on it too.

https://brassballs.blog/home/mariia-maria-valery-butina-case-is-judge-tanya-chutkan-third-d-c-scandal-case-in-a-year-glenn-simpson-fusion-gps-imran-awan-susan-rice-american-university-professor-james-goldgeier-robert-driscoll-a-j-kramer-public-defender-mcglinchey-com-fox-news

So was the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and 40 Congressman.

Awan pled guilty to falsifying a loan application.

In exchange, he got immunity.

Without serving a day in jail.

https://brassballs.blog/home/imran-awan-and-wife-hina-alvi-to-accept-plea-deal-on-july-3rd

Gillis has topped that with his cover-up of Uranium Two (U2).

Bijan Kian Rafiekian and Mike Flynn are central figures in this fiasco.

They were partners in Flynn Intel Group (FIG).

They are co-defendants in the case of U.S. versus Bijan Rafiekian etal.

Until Monday.

Kian and Flynn sold 45 nuclear reactors and accessories for $150 billion to Saudi Arabia.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-trump-appointees-promoted-selling-nuclear-power-plants-to-saudi-arabia-over-objections-from-national-security-officials-house-democratic-report-says/2019/02/19/6a719762-3456-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.c5ccad1ff017

It is unknown whether the treaty was ever signed.

It was never approved by Congress.

https://brassballs.blog/home/trumps-secret-saudi-arms-deal-is-500-billion-dollars

Gillis is the lead prosecutor in the Kian/Flynn cover-up.

Flynn was to testify against Kian for allegedly falsifying a Justice Department application as foreign agents.

Here is today’s video of Gillis talking to Kian.

A prosecutor talking to a defendant in front of the Weston Hotel, within walking distance of the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

Please advance to 25:50 to watch Prosecutor Gillis talking with defendant, Bijan Kian Rafiekian earlier today

Judge Anthony Trenga said today:

“Well, I guess we are down to one defendant”.

It is anticipated that the judge will dismiss the case.

https://brassballs.blog/home/will-judge-trenga-rule-to-cover-up-flynn-alleged-corruption-by-dismissing-rafiekian-case-on-june-28th-14-fourteen-turkey

The Judge, Prosecution, defendant, and defense attorneys are all in on the cover-up.

And guess who teaches “Legal Ethics” at the law school of George Mason University?

James P. Gillis.

https://cls.gmu.edu/people/jgillis5

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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Abu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates’ yearslong war in Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia bled into the start of a biennial Abu Dhabi arms fair Sunday, which saw the Emirates sign $1.3 billion in weapons deals.

One manufacturer displayed a model of a machine-gun on sale that’s now in the hands of Emirati-backed militiamen in Yemen, while the armoured personnel carriers and tanks used in the war in the Arab world’s poorest country also could be seen at the show. Even the military show that began the fair included troops raiding a militant hideout equipped with both mobile and land-based ballistic missiles, just like those in the possession of Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

While Emirati officials avoided discussing Yemen, allied American officials linked arms smuggling there to what they described as the wider malign activities of Iran across the greater Middle East.

“My assumption is there are still things going into Yemen that I need to stop. . There is nothing good happening by arms being illegally shipped into Yemen,” said Vice Adm. James Malloy, the head of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet command that oversees the region. “It is destabilizing. It delays peace there. It exacerbates the disastrous humanitarian crisis that we’re facing in Yemen and delays humanitarian efforts coming in.”

Discussing the Houthis, Malloy added: “We see the world trying to end this thing and one group doing nothing to end it — probably the opposite.”

The UAE entered Yemen’s war in March 2015 alongside Saudi Arabia to back Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which the Houthis had pushed out of the capital, Sanaa. The Emirates largely has handled ground operations in the conflict while the Saudis have bombed from the air.

The war has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and killed more than 60,000 people since 2016, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, which tracks the conflict.

Atrocities have been common in the war.

Saudi airstrikes have hit markets and hospitals, killing civilians. Associated Press investigations have shown how the UAE negotiated secret deals with al-Qaida in Yemen fighters and that coalition forces tortured and sexually abused detainees. Meanwhile, the Houthis have indiscriminately laid land mines, employed child soldiers and tortured political opponents.

The U.S. had backed the Saudi-led coalition with midair refuelling and targeting information. American lawmakers, angered by the Oct. 2 assassination and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, have been pushing to withdraw U.S. support.

The Houthis also have fired over 150 ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, some even reaching as far as its capital, Riyadh. The West, United Nations experts and the Saudi-led coalition say Iran has helped supply the Shiite rebels with the missiles, something Iran denies.

That preoccupation with ballistic missiles fueled the opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference. The unnamed militia threatened to launch ballistic missiles, leading to an all-out assault by troops in armoured vehicles, tanks, helicopters and jets. The demonstration’s climax saw a fake ballistic missile slowly emerge from an underground silo, only to be destroyed by an airstrike.

That worry also saw the Emirates sign a $355-million deal Sunday with Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts, for surface-to-air Patriot missiles to protect against such launches.

Drones and other weaponry have been recovered from the Houthis and appear to be Iranian, experts say. Meanwhile, Western-made arms like those on display Sunday have ended up in the hands of militiamen in Yemen.

Rights group Amnesty International criticized Belgium’s FN Herstal for displaying its 5.56 mm Minimi machine-gun at the arms fair as it has been seen in the hands of Emirati-aligned militiamen. FN Herstal officials at the fair declined to comment.

The military buildup in the Emirates and elsewhere in the region has come amid concerns about Iran’s influence after the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers. While Iran continues to abide by its promise to limit its enrichment of uranium, the U.S. under President Donald Trump has pulled out of the accord.

Malloy, the head of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, didn’t hesitate to describe Iran’s actions in the region as “destabilizing,” citing its renewed threats about cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded by sea passes.

“The activities and the exercises that they engage in are inherently offensive in nature,” the vice-admiral said.

Iran, however, didn’t represent the only ongoing geopolitical challenge seen at the arms fair. Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who often attends the arms fair, was a no-show amid the ongoing protests challenging his rule though his country displayed some of its weapons for sale. Bangladesh Prime Minsiter Sheikh Hasina attended the fair’s opening ceremony, as did Guinea’s prime minister and Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Meanwhile, China displayed weapons for sale ranging from missile launchers to drones. Already, China has sold armed drones to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Emiratis in particularly had wanted American-made armed drones, but the Obama administration opposed the sales over the Missile Technology Control Regime, a 30-year-old agreement that aims to limit the spread of missile technology. Under Trump, the U.S. has permitted U.S. manufacturers to directly market and sell drones, including armed versions. The government still must approve and license the sales.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, the director of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, acknowledged those efforts Sunday.

“We do understand that it’s a very competitive world out there and we want to ensure that we’re doing everything in our power to provide us systems the best in the world to our partners,” Hooper said.

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2S4Dfdr via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

#IFTTT #Financial Post

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