Part of British bribes from the biggest arms deal in history ended up into the accounts of two 9/11 hijackers
Andrew
Feinstein, anti arms trade campaigner and author of the book "Shadow
World: Inside the Global Arms Trade" which has also been turned
into a full-length film, spoke to The Real News about the issue. He
revealed that some of the money from Al-Yamamah deal, the biggest
arms deal in history, ended up into the accounts of two of the 9/11
hijackers.
He also
spoke about DSEI, one of the world's largest arms fairs, and the fact
that more and more protesters stand against it.
Some key
points:
The biggest
arms deal in history was something called Al-Yamamah deal, a deal
between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. It was a deal worth
about 43 billion pounds in which over 6 billion pounds of bribes were
paid, primarily to members of the Saudi royal family. This was the
most corrupt commercial transaction in commercial history of all
time. It was sanctioned by Margaret Thatcher, whose son Mark Thatcher
was paid 12 million pounds as a bribe on the deal.
The greatest
irony of all though is that the son of the Saudi defence minister,
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who was the Saudi ambassador to the
United States at the time was paid over a billion pounds into his
accounts which were held in Riggs bank opposite the White House in
Washington, D.C. Some of that money found its way into his wife's
account, and inadvertently he claims, into the accounts of two of the
9/11 hijackers.
It was only
at that point that American authorities became at all interested in
the deal. Other than that, they were quite happy with the bribes, as
were the British.
And it
should also be borne in mine that, in addition to the over 1 billion
pounds, Prince Bandar was also gifted by BAE an airbus for his
private and personal use painted in the colours of his favourite
American football team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Until at
least the end of 2007, the British taxpayer was paying for the
running and maintenance of that birthday gift. This transaction
became the subject of a massive investigation by the serious fraud
office, at the point in which they were ready to charge senior
executives of BAE and the company itself with corruption. Tony
Blair's government stepped in and closed down the investigation. That
deal, more than any other, reflects the true nature of the British
arms export industry.
DSEI is one
of the world's largest arms fairs. Most of the world's arms companies
will exhibit at DSEI. Most of the world's governments, from
democratic through autocratic to despotic, will be at DSEI concluding
orders for weaponry. Weaponry that might be used against their own
people, weaponry that might be used against innocent civilians in
other part of the world, weaponry that might wind up being used
against British citizens.
DSEI
reflects the true, corrupt and uncaring reality of the global arms
trade brought together in a corner of London. It is a stain, as our
Mayor has said, on London itself and on the United Kingdom. Every
year as DSEI gets bigger, so too have the protests.
There is
absolutely no doubt that these protests have not only raised
awareness about what DSEI is, about the nature of the arms trade in
which the United Kingdom plays such a large part, but that it has
also created a greater awareness about issues of British foreign
policy and how they might not be in Britain's best interests.
Watch
Feinstein's interview on RT's Watching the Hawks, about the
documentary version of “Shadow World”:
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