Documents unsealed in a British court allege that Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s long time US ambassador and a close family friend of president George W. Bush, threatened to withhold terrorism intelligence from the UK if former prime minister Tony Blair failed to subvert a bribery inquiry into payments to the prince from mammoth British defense firm BAE. Although previous Guardian stories noted that Blair had claimed the BAE probe imperiled British national security interests, the specific allegation from British security officials that Bandar had threatened the government is new and, according to the presiding judge at the hearings during which the new evidence was revealed, suggests that the prince and Blair government officials may have violated British obstruction of justice statutes. The US justice department opened a parallel investigation of the affair in June of last year.
Bandar, dubbed “Bandar Bush” by the president’s family in honor of their close relationship, is now the Saudi national security minister but was for two decades the Saudi royal family’s Washington fixer. The British investigation of BAE centered on payments made to Bandar, amounting to more than $1 billion—$30 million every three months for ten years—during his tenure in Washington. Bandar and BAE say the payments were simply a legitimate part of the contract for a massive 1984 warplane deal between the manufacturer and the Saudis.
BAE’s American holdings also do considerable business in the Middle East, including with Saudi Arabia, and the company is an increasingly significant player in the American defense industry, providing weapons, vehicles, electronics and services for naval, air and ground forces. The company purchased Bradley Fighting Vehicle manufacturer United Defense Industries in 2005, and in May of last year bought Armor Holdings, which manufactures a number of military vehicles including uparmored Humvees. BAE is the largest foreign-owned supplier to the Pentagon and derives almost half its worldwide revenue from US contracts. Since 2005, the Pentagon has awarded the firm more than $12 billion in contracts and contract modifications: more than $600 million in 2005, $2.4 billion in 2006, and $9.75 billion in 2007 (the 2008 total to date is a paltry $300 million, but the year is young).
Much of BAE’s success is Iraq related. Among the contracts is a $445 million order for light armored vehicles purchased by the Iraqi government through the Pentagon and more than $2 billion for repairing and remanufacturing Bradleys.
Given the growth of BAE’s US business and the sensitivity of a situation in which one close personal friend, ally and advisor of the US president was blackmailing another close personal friend, ally and advisor of the US president in the arena of terrorism-related intelligence, it’s not much of a leap to think that the US may have been aware of the circumstances. It would be nice if some enterprising reporter would ask whether or not the White House was aware of the discussions between Bandar and Blair and whether or not the president weighed in on the issue.
The Prince is the guy, after all, whom the first president Bush asked to tutor his son on foreign policy when the latter began seriously considering a White House bid. Shouldn’t we know whether or not President George knew what Uncle Bandar was up to with the Brits, and if he did, how he responded?
