The article misses a fundamental point ... the real point of arms sales is to enrich arms-markers in this country. Now that we've outsourced so many other things, we have to fall back on what we have left. The arms industry. And the prison industry.

And Saudi Arabia fits the pattern of relationships with dictators and despots. The USA has a very sad history of embracing dictators and being extremely fearful of democracies.

P.S. In case you haven't sung it lately, get out your old Country Joe albums and sing along to the "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die-­Rag." "There's plenty of good money to be made, selling the Army the tools of the trade."

While arms makers have a lot of pull in these deals, I think the "real" point was indeed to give a carrot to Saudi Arabia in a time of crisis. We've lost allies left and right, and Bush has resorted to the lowest tactics to keep them around.