Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Bigger than Blackwater: Arming the UAE

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Bigger than Blackwater: Arming the UAE

Click here to access article by Hannah Gurman from Foreign Policy in Focus.

One sector of the US economy is thriving: US weapons firms are doing big business in the Middle East.

To learn what kind of governments the Empire really supports, take a close look at one of the their favorite satraps of the region--United Arab Emirates:

The rapid expansion of the UAE military has the tacit support, if not outright blessing, of the U.S. government.

...There are at least two reasons for the administration’s position. First and foremost, it regards the UAE as one of its most important allies in the region. The Emirates supported both Iraq Wars, and it currently is involved in cracking down on the protest movement in Bahrain — it sent 500 police officers to suppress the revolt in the tiny Gulf kingdom. In the midst of the crackdown, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed was welcomed by the White House with open arms.