i have mentioned my opinion that the brits are very willing to kiss anybody's ass if they have money. they are doing that in bucketloads to arabs and other mohammedans now.
also, there was a time when they genuflected to mahathir mohammed when the latter (thug, racist and bigot, but pretty clever nevertheless) threatened to cancel all brit contracts unless they basically crawled. and so they did.
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From: Shahryar
UK's 'banana politics' on BAE
By Mark Tran / UK politics 03:06pm
Britain has been accused of behaving like a banana republic over the controversial decision to drop a fraud investigation into BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia, a story the Guardian has investigated over several years.
The accusation is all the more pointed because it comes from Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy Malaysian prime minister turned anti-corruption campaigner.
Mr Ibrahim, now the president of AccountAbility, a UK-based group promoting good governance, told Guardian Unlimited: "To say that it was in the national interest to stop the Serious Fraud Office [SFO] investigation was shocking. It reminds me of the modus operandi of a banana republic."
Mr Ibrahim thought long and hard about criticising the British government because he is on good terms with the chancellor, Gordon Brown, and strongly supports his initiatives on Africa, debt cancellation and more aid.
He is also grateful for Tony Blair's support when he was jailed by the Malaysian government on trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy in 1998.
However, Mr Ibrahim - who fell out with the former Mahathir government over his campaign against corruption in Malaysia - felt compelled to speak out because he believes the BAE episode not only undermines Britain's leadership position on development issues, but also damages all those campaigning against corruption.
"What better reference point and benchmark for corrupt politicians and business people alike around the world to be able to speak of the case of 'Britain's national interests' in justifying cronyism, nepotism or straightforward, arms-length bribery," Mr Ibrahim said in a statement.
Larry Elliott, the Guardian's economics editor, made the same point, arguing that it will be that much harder for Britain to make the case to an African leader to crack down on corruption in return for aid - because he will simply respond by saying: BAE.
Mr Ibrahim feels the attorney general's decision to drop the SFO case on the advice of the prime minister on grounds of national interest pulls the rug from under Mr Brown (lots of fodder for conspiracy theorists here).
For the past 10 years, Mr Brown has staked out a leadership role on international development issues, linking debt cancellation and aid with good governance and anti-corruption measures.
Mr Ibrahim argues that Britain has forfeited a position built up - mainly by the chancellor - over the years.
"Your commission on Africa is as dead as if it were never born," he said, "and efforts to persuade companies and governments to sign up to important accountability innovations such as the Extractive Industry Transparency initiative just became a whole lot harder, if not impossible."
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