Air of Superiority

On the other side of the Atlantic, a mini-scandal is brewing over the decision by British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to call off a bribery inquiry that would likely have implicated the Saudi royal family. According to the BBC, the Serious Fraud Office was investigating allegations that executives at the British defense firm BAE had bribed Saudi officials in order “to secure an arms deal with Saudi Arabia in the 1980s.” Lord Goldsmith assured the House of Lords that “no weight [had] been given to commercial interests or to the national economic interest,” but the decision came just days after Saudi Arabia canceled talks over a $19 billion deal with the same firm for as many as 72 Eurofighter aircraft–and gave Tony Blair’s government an ultimatum to end the long-running investigation. It’s interesting to note the different approach taken by Britain’s political parties to the controversy. Lord Goodhart of the Liberal Democrats, which might best be compared to “the Democratic wing of the Democratic party,” was critical of the decision and called Saudi Arabia’s actions “blackmail.” Lord Kingsland of the Conservative party, which was in power when the sale of fighters to the Saudis first started, was content with the decision, saying that “there the matter should rest.” And Blair’s decision can best be described as pragmatic–billions of dollars and thousands of jobs were at stake, and very little was to be gained from pursuing the matter.