Comment by hajile
The Saudis are handing over their own money rather than using US taxpayer money. That's a very different situation. Likewise, most of the maintenance and training is done by ex-military working as contractors.
You don't understand the broken window fallacy.
Further, that stuff isn't actually surplus. Russia had way more "surplus" than we do, but the Ukraine war showed just how quickly that equipment gets used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window
Fact is that this pager attack is something like the second or third largest terrorist attack in modern history by number of casualties.
Everything else here is trying to eliminate all nuance and create a bunch of whataboutism to defend terrorism.
> The Saudis are handing over their own money rather than using US taxpayer money
Sure if you pretend billateral multi decade trade agreements that have made the country insanely rich are in no way benefited from american taxpayer dollars specially in military then yeah, they get none of your tax dollars.
> most of the maintenance and training is done by ex-military working as contractors.
That is easily verifibly untrue. Part of the 110 billion dollar buy in 2018 was using american corps for training. That is part of what they bought.
> You don't understand the broken window fallacy.
I do, but this is not a case of broken windows. Its the case of the american industrial military complex needing to be active even during non war times. Countries cannot stop and start the military industry, similar to a big furnace. Its expensive to get going, its not cheap to mantain but it is impossible to stop and start it at a whim. Therefore a on going level of fire is needed, for america that is military spending, and military aid for partners. In the case of Saudi that is military orders in exchange for many many benefits. In the case of Israel is repleneshing the Iron Dome which america has access to the technology for. Seeing them as distinct things is rhetoric, when the material effect is the same. American jobs are paid, military companies produce goods and america holds bilateral benefitial relationships with right wing countries in the middle east.
Pretending they are extremely different based on payment method is looking for an excuse to morally only condemn one relationship.
> Fact is that this pager attack is something like the second or third largest terrorist attack in modern history by number of casualties.
How is it terrorism? Terrorism is using fear for political goals. Disrupting enemy comms is a military goal, not a political one. And its effect, making the enemy unable to talk, plus potentially hurting people who use those comms is not intended to cause fear but actual damage.
I grew up around terrorism think Ireland in the 80s. The effects of terrosim are fear, are people unable to say certain things, are people being killed for pushing political ideas.
Bombing a military radio tower in Russia is not terrorism, neither is destroying walkie talkies from Hezbollah members. The fact it was a crazy operation does not make it more terrorism than Russia launching a 400kg payload against a Ukrainian data center