This content was created by David Oualaalou. This content was uploaded by David Oualaalou. This is a YouTube video titled "US Binds Hungary in Arms Sale Standoff! A Dangerous Game of Political Retribution?" (uploaded August 8, 2023) presented by geopolitical analyst David Oualaalou. The clip is a single-speaker commentary in English in which Oualaalou examines U.S. actions toward Hungary — specifically a reported decision by a U.S. senator to block a roughly $735 million arms sale (including HIMARS systems) — and ties that move to Hungary’s delay in ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession. He reviews relevant statements from the Hungarian Defense Ministry and opposition figures, raises questions about parliamentary sovereignty and EU–NATO tensions under Prime Minister Orbán, and asks viewers whether Hungary might leave the EU or NATO. The video ends with a call to comment, like, subscribe, and an invitation to continue the discussion in a livestream.
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Hello everyone and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. My name is David Oualaalou. So good to be with you as always. As a geopolitical analyst, I ask, why is the United States punishing a NATO member, Hungary? How odd that is. In this video, I am going to not only provide you the answer to this question but also my assessments as to where relations among NATO members are headed, given the division that exists from within over the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. Let's jump in into these fascinating developments. By the way, the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he was blocking a $735 million arms sales to Hungary because its government Hungarian government, that is, has refused to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO. So here's the thing: under our laws, major arm deals are reviewed by the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. So they regularly, both parties, they regularly ask questions or raise concerns over, here we go, human rights or diplomatic issues that can delay or stop weapons sales. Interesting enough, we don't do that for Israel. We don't do that for some other countries like Saudi Arabia. So I find it very, very interesting. So Rich, his name is Rich, the senator, decision to block the deal was first reported by the Washington Post, okay, which said the sale included 24 HIMARS rocket launchers batteries and more than 100 rockets and pods along with associated parts and support. Well, that's what they said. The Hungarian Defense Ministry released a statement via the state news agency MTI saying it did not intend to buy the HIMARS systems anyway. So during the provision, or the previous rather, government's terms, the governor, the government commissioner in, in charge of procurement, requested information about HIMARS missile system in a letter dated back in March 2022 deadline. And guess what? There was never a response from the US. Therefore, the ministry, the Ministry of Defense, considered that the matter closed, which makes more sense. They're not gonna be waiting for the US to respond whenever it wants. So, so what's at the heart of this? Really, what's at the heart of it, or of this retaliation of the United States against Hungary? Well, apparently the Hungarian, uh, Hungary stems from Hungary's parliament's decision that it will not ratify Sweden's NATO membership before the summer recess. As it has not included the votes in the agenda of next week's session. So what Senator Jim Ridge is saying, and I quote here, given promises that were made to me and others last year that this vote will be done, and the fact that it is now June, or even August now, and still not done, I decided the sale of the new US military equipment to Hungary will be on hold. End of quote. Well, here is the problem. If you remember, the quote started with "given promises that were made to me." How about when we break our promises to other countries? So why isn't he talking about that? So that's— we give our promise to other countries and we break it. We make agreements with countries and we break them. So, so in a Facebook post, leftist opposition lawmaker in Hungary, his name is Agnes Vady, said Orbán, the prime minister, would not put the vote on Sweden's NATO accession— or accession, rather, on next week's agenda. The Swedish Foreign Ministry did not respond to sort of some news media requests for comments because they knew something was up. So Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment in the wake of the current Ukraine and Russia's conflict. So, and of course, as you may know, uh, uh, you, Finland end up joining, uh, uh, NATO, becoming the 31st, and they're waiting now on Sweden to become the 32nd. So with Hungary's ratification process stranded in parliament since last month, Prime Minister Orbán aired concerns about Sweden and Finland's NATO membership back in February. He wasn't sort of on board with that. So the key question is, isn't, isn't the parliamentary process in Hungary or any country considered an internal matter? So it will be interesting to see how Hungary will proceed given already the tense relations it has with the EU. And here is the question for you guys: do you think Hungary will leave the EU and NATO? What do you think? Just leave me some comments, and if you like, we can further this conversation on a live stream for more details. If you guys like the content of this video, please hit that like button and subscribe. I will really appreciate your support. And as always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.
