The British Royal
family is sold to the British public as some sort of benign
institution with a spin off that it helps our GDP by bringing
tourists to this country. A friendly, if somewhat bumbling family,
that brings a bit of colour and splendour into our lives. However we
all know that it is far from benign, it is the foundation of the
power structure that is the establishment, the bedrock of our class
system. What we should also be aware of is that it is also the arms
industry's best sales team. Flying princes around the world opens
doors to the heads of state for our ever hungry arms manufacturers,
allowing billion pound deals to be done. This is also a sales team that is
paid for by the British public and not by the arms industry.
Extract from Scottish LEFT Review:
ann arky's home.With a tightening of military budgets in the UK and much of the western world, the arms industry aggressively mines old and new export markets. The largest and fastest growing are in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. It is for this latter region that Prince Andrew, with his royal connections and military background, best fits the UKTI DSO agenda. His personal presence opens the doors of the kings, princes, emirs and sheikhs of the Gulf kingdoms to the arms company executives who negotiate the export deals.A Buckingham Palace spokesman was quoted in the Guardian (9/3/12): “Middle East potentates like meeting princes. He comes in as the son of the Queen and that opens doors that otherwise would remain closed. He can raise problems with a crown prince and four or five weeks later we discover that the difficulties have been overcome and the contract can be signed. He brings immeasurable value in smoothing the path for British companies. We don’t send him to developed countries like France and Sweden, where a member of the royal family would not make a difference, but in developing countries, or the far east, a prince can get in because of who he is.”But it is not just royals but quasi-royals such as dictators and their family members where Andrew’s presence works wonders. He supposedly had a close friendship with Saif Gaddafi, son of Colonial Gaddafi, and hosted a lunch at Buckingham Palace for Sakher el Materi, son-in-law of Tunisian dictator, Ben Ali, despite being warned of his corrupt activities by the British Embassy in Tunis. Both dynasties have now fallen.---
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