Though this is true of military equipment once it has been made, given the opportunity cost of making them in the first place (consumer/capital goods that actually make us wealthier), it would have been preferable if it had not been made at all, which would have been true had Saudi Arabia not placed an order.
| What will the Arab public think? |
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WikiLeaks ‘Embassy Files’ reveal gulf between Arab leaders and their constituencies. |
Most Arab leaders want the US to tackle Iran, even to wage a war against the country, but evidently do not say so publicly for fear of Arab public opinion and reaction.
Confidential cables by American diplomats in the region, revealed by WikiLeaks, expose weak and fearful Arab leaders who are dependent on US protection against real and imagined fears over Iran’s potential possession of nuclear arms and its influence in the Arab world.
Although the hostility of Arab leaders towards Iran is not a secret, the documents published by a number of Western newspapers show that some Arab governments appear more concerned with Iran than Israel; for while Israel is seen as an enemy that occupies Arab land and may cause instability in the region, Iran is feared as a country that could mobilise Arab public support against their leaders.
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http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/11/20101129223858642223.html