WH regarding ME trip: "These folks.. Are on board with the freedom agenda and are pursuing it"

[sabra]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/on_board_the_freedom_agenda_in.html#more

<snip>

Bush will be discussing his "freedome agenda'' with the king, according to a senior Bush administration official. Bush "will urge his majesty…to continue to do what he did in Lebanon…to make a strategic investment in the future of a region that would not be dominated by extremists."

...

"That is the overwhelming story here," Hadley ininsisted, and when asked about the other story -- the administration's case against Iran and the pursuit of support for the administration's policy toward Irn, Hadley said everyone knows where Bush stands. ""They all agreed that it's a difficult situation that has to be addressed and will be dealt with in a diplomatic fashion."

"These folks.. Are on board with the freedom agenda and are pursuing it," he said.

Asked about the arms package sent up to Capitol Hll, Hadley said this is something they've been talking abo for some time -- a "pretty big package, lots of pieces.''

[alarimer]

1. Is that Saudi Arabia?

THEY are the ones behind 9-11, not Iraq. And we are selling arms to them. They are also an extremely repressive regime. Just ask the women.

[sabra]

3. it is... n/t

[rodeodance]

5. -bush goes to see a Cement oasis.

[butterfly77]

2. I just heard a report..

that bush is selling the saudis 20 billion in weapons..

[rodeodance]

4. Peace agenda??=--I read that this trip was initially planned to whip-up

support for an attack
on Iran; the Israel/Palestine issue and others were added on later for PR
and so as not to look completely beaten down if the Arabs didn't get on
board for an attack on Iran. Remember when cheney toured the ME before the
Iraq invasion to whip up support and came back empty handed...

[thereismore]

6. * is getting married! nt

[sabra]

7. such a lovely couple - and their love of oil is what brought them together :-)

[Solly Mack]

8. dumb dumb dee dumb

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Another headline, Bush delivers arms sale to Saudi Arabia (AP)

Alert the morticians for another Freedom Loving Liberation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080114/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bush_mideast_294;_ylt=AvtNzqnMYyyh3yd4bdia6MQE1vAI

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - President Bush, on his first visit to this oil-rich kingdom, delivered a major arms sale Monday to a key ally in a region where the U.S. casts neighboring Iran as a menace to stability.

Bush's talks with Saudi King Abdullah, which began over dinner and were continuing with late-night meetings, also were expected to cover peace between Israelis and Palestinians and democracy in the Middle East.

Coinciding with Bush's trip, the Bush administration in Washington notified Congress on Monday that it will offer Saudi Arabia the chance to buy sophisticated Joint Direct Attack Munitions — or "smart bomb" — technology and related equipment, the State Department said. The administration envisions the transfer of 900 of the precision-guided bomb kits, worth $123 million, that would give the kingdom's armed forces highly accurate targeting abilities.

The sale is part of an overall $20 billion weapons package for Saudi Arabia, administration officials say.

The arms packages are an important part of the U.S. strategy to bolster the defenses of oil-producing Gulf nations, such as Saudi Arabia, against threats from Iran. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, which have majority Sunni Muslim populations, harbor deep suspicions about Shiite Iran's apparent designs to establish itself as a major power. They have reacted skeptically to the conclusions of a new U.S. intelligence estimate about Iran.

[AzDar]

10. " Ready...Aim.... Fire!! "

(I keed, I keed..)

[shain from kane]

11. A gazebo wedding for the Chimp and his new bride - he went to Saudi Arabia where it's permitted.