Nothing much to say here (since, I've blogged quite a few times how members of the UN Security Council & developed countries sell weapons & arms to developing countries to keep destabilizing those regions).
The Middle East is destabilizing & turning into a war zone very rapidly, thanks to the developed countries' constant need to sell arms & ammunition to these countries, & when these weapons are used by these countries against each other or against their own public, we in the West decry how "uncivilized" these people in Middle East are.
Canada used to be considered a peaceful nation. Now, "the one Canadian deal alone – to supply Saudi Arabia with light armoured vehicles – will account for 20% of the military vehicles sold globally in years covered by the contract." That's how much Canada has changed in the global weapons market.
Why don't these developed countries sell green energy, for instance, to these developing countries? Wouldn't that be a much better investment to make the world a better place? That move alone, for instance, wouldn't create so many refugees, either, which in itself, is creating another migrant crisis in the developed countries of Europe.
Developed countries have so much modern technology in non-arms area that they could & can easily sell that technology hardware & software to developing countries & regions, & help improve lives for all. It does happen but compared to billions of weapons transactions, these transactions have not much scope & influence.
So, if we want peace in this world, the first step is to stop the developed countries to stop giving weapons to the madmen of developing countries. Who is willing to take this first step? (Per my answer, not even one developed country).
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The Middle East is plunging deeper into an arms race, with an estimated $18 billion expected to be spent on weapons this year, a development that experts warn is fuelling serious tension & conflict in the region.
Given the unprecedented levels of weapon sales by the west (including the US, Canada & the UK) to the mainly Sunni Gulf states, Vladimir Putin’s decision ... to allow the controversial delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran ... seems likely to accelerate the proliferation.
That will see agreed arms sales to the top 5 purchasers in the region - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt & Iraq – surge this year to more than $18 billion, up from $12 billion last year. Among the systems being purchased are jet fighters, missiles, armoured vehicles, drones & helicopters.
The Russian declaration came only 2 days before Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, disclosed that he was seeking arms worth billions of dollars from Washington – with payment deferred – for the battle against Islamic State (Isis).
Last week France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, disclosed progress in talks to sell Rafale fighter jets to the UAE, one of the Middle East’s biggest & most aggressive arms buyers.
With conflicts raging in Syria, Iraq, Libya & Yemen, & with Egypt also battling Islamist extremists in the Sinai, the signs that Russia is preparing to increase its own arms sales – & to the Gulf states’ biggest rival, Iran – are raising fears that tensions will be stoked further still. In particular, Saudi Arabia & Iran are facing off in the conflict in Yemen ... .
According to the New York Times, defence industry officials have notified Congress that they are expecting additional requests from Arab states fighting Isis – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan & Egypt – for thousands of new US-made weapons, including missiles & bombs, to rebuild depleted arms stockpiles.
Ironically, among the key weapons suppliers in the arms race are permanent members of the UN security council who have been at the centre of 2 unconventional arms control initiatives – disarming the Syrian government’s stockpiles of chemical weapons & negotiating for a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The scale of the arms race was revealed this year in reports published by IHS Jane’s Global Defence Trade Report & the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). They showed how Saudi Arabia had become the world’s largest importer of weapons & fourth largest military spender & that other Middle East states were sharply increasing their arms purchases.
Adding to the concern is the fact that the spending spree on arms comes against the background of a marked increase in military interventions by countries in the region since the Arab spring in 2011. Saudi Arabia has intervened in Bahrain (at the request of that kingdom’s ruler during the so-called Pearl revolution), in Yemen in 2009 & again in Yemen this year.
And among those concerned by Saudi’s new military assertiveness - on the back of its arms buying spree - was the Iraqi prime minister, Abadi. “The dangerous thing is, we don’t know what the Saudis want to do after [their intervention in Yemen],” Abadi told US reporters last week. “Is Iraq within their radar? That’s very, very dangerous. The idea that you intervene in another state unprovoked just for regional ambition is wrong. Saddam has done it before. See what it has done to the country.”
And if the Saudi intervention in Yemen has been overt, no less real has been the proxy conflict that has set Iran & the Gulf states against each other in Syria, where Tehran has backed the government of Bashar al-Assad with military assistance & weapons, & Gulf states have backed different rebel groups, including Islamist ones.
“It’s crazy,” says Ben Moores, author of IHS Jane’s annual report on arms buying trends. “The one Canadian deal alone – to supply Saudi Arabia with light armoured vehicles – will account for 20% of the military vehicles sold globally in years covered by the contract. And this is just the thin edge of the wedge. Saudi has booked enough arms imports in 24 months for them to be worth $10 billion a year.”
While some countries, such as Kuwait, are in the process of modernisation, a key trend identified by Moores is how states are retooling to fight insurgency conflicts in the same way the US military has in Afghanistan & Iraq. “Look at UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt & Algeria. They were all countries that bought a lot of conventional arms in the past that are no use in a sectarian war or an insurgency.
“If you look at what was bought at the recent Idex arms fair in Abu Dhabi, it was drones, high-end surveillance satellites, strategic transport aircraft for projecting power. One of the reasons Egypt went with its recent purchase of Rafale jets [from France] is because it wanted planes that could deliver precision-guided standoff weapons.”
And as Tobias Borck of the Royal United Services Institute points out, states in the Middle East are now more prepared to use the weapons they are buying. “[The] Saudi-led military operations in Yemen [are] the latest manifestation of Arab interventionism, a trend that has been gaining momentum in the Middle East since the uprisings of the Arab spring,” he says. “Middle Eastern countries appear to be increasingly willing to use their armed forces to protect & pursue their interests in crisis zones across the region.”
Referring to the inconsistent approach by key security council members towards arms control in the region, he adds: “There are a lot of different streams feeding into this arms race. On Syria’s chemical weapons & the Iranian nuclear programme, the 2 issues were ring fenced as pure arms control questions. When it comes to how we perceive our arms sales – whether they are British or US or whatever – it tends to be seen as a domestic economic issue – protecting our factories.
“That neglects the regional political dimensions, with arms sales taking place with a lack of regard for that context & without long-term strategic awareness.”
Borck says that the scale of the arms being supplied to countries such as Saudi Arabia & the UAE by the west may also be acting as an incentive for Russia to get back into the Middle East – not least via arms sales to its old clients such as Iran – & may have been a motivating factor in the Kremlin’s decision to lift the ban on the delivery of the S-300 missile system.
Putin, defending the decision to supply the missiles during a call-in television show last week, cited Russia’s prerogative to pursue its own foreign policy initiatives & suggested that the missiles could represent “a deterrent factor in connection with the situation in Yemen”.
Omar Ashour, an expert on Middle East security issues at Exeter University, has sounded a further note of caution, this time over the intentions of the new Saudi-led Arab coalition, warning that its interventions are unlikely to contribute to stability. “The rise of Arab military coalitions raises serious concerns,” he wrote in a recent piece for Project Syndicate. “Such interventions were usually aimed at empowering a proxy political force over its military & political rivals, instead of averting humanitarian disaster or institutionalising a non-violent conflict-resolution mechanism following a war.”
Speaking to the Guardian last week, he added: “On top of that, the increases in arms sales are bound to be extremely destabilising. At the moment most of the interventions have been against softer targets – Saudi Arabia targeting guerrillas in Yemen; Egypt against Bedouin in Sinai; or strikes against ragtag armies in Libya. But if the ‘soft’ keeps being hit hard, they won’t remain soft. They will find their own patrons & proxies & hit back & it will lead to a vicious cycle.”
Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at Sipri, which maintains a database tracking arms contracts, raises another concern. “Something that doesn’t get mentioned is the complete lack of interest in arms control among the countries in the region. It is not in the minds of leaders & decision-makers, except for the need to arm to defeat any potential opponent.
“There is already instability in the region on several levels. You have instability in Yemen, Syria & Iraq. There is instability between Iran & the Gulf states. What is important now is how the massive expansion of the armed forces of Saudi Arabia, UAE & Qatar will be seen as posing a clear threat to Iran.”
Borck adds a final warning: “If you are going for an ever bigger hammer, then the more desperate you are to make every problem a nail.”
The Middle East is destabilizing & turning into a war zone very rapidly, thanks to the developed countries' constant need to sell arms & ammunition to these countries, & when these weapons are used by these countries against each other or against their own public, we in the West decry how "uncivilized" these people in Middle East are.
Canada used to be considered a peaceful nation. Now, "the one Canadian deal alone – to supply Saudi Arabia with light armoured vehicles – will account for 20% of the military vehicles sold globally in years covered by the contract." That's how much Canada has changed in the global weapons market.
Why don't these developed countries sell green energy, for instance, to these developing countries? Wouldn't that be a much better investment to make the world a better place? That move alone, for instance, wouldn't create so many refugees, either, which in itself, is creating another migrant crisis in the developed countries of Europe.
Developed countries have so much modern technology in non-arms area that they could & can easily sell that technology hardware & software to developing countries & regions, & help improve lives for all. It does happen but compared to billions of weapons transactions, these transactions have not much scope & influence.
So, if we want peace in this world, the first step is to stop the developed countries to stop giving weapons to the madmen of developing countries. Who is willing to take this first step? (Per my answer, not even one developed country).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Middle East is plunging deeper into an arms race, with an estimated $18 billion expected to be spent on weapons this year, a development that experts warn is fuelling serious tension & conflict in the region.
Given the unprecedented levels of weapon sales by the west (including the US, Canada & the UK) to the mainly Sunni Gulf states, Vladimir Putin’s decision ... to allow the controversial delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran ... seems likely to accelerate the proliferation.
That will see agreed arms sales to the top 5 purchasers in the region - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt & Iraq – surge this year to more than $18 billion, up from $12 billion last year. Among the systems being purchased are jet fighters, missiles, armoured vehicles, drones & helicopters.
The Russian declaration came only 2 days before Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, disclosed that he was seeking arms worth billions of dollars from Washington – with payment deferred – for the battle against Islamic State (Isis).
Last week France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, disclosed progress in talks to sell Rafale fighter jets to the UAE, one of the Middle East’s biggest & most aggressive arms buyers.
With conflicts raging in Syria, Iraq, Libya & Yemen, & with Egypt also battling Islamist extremists in the Sinai, the signs that Russia is preparing to increase its own arms sales – & to the Gulf states’ biggest rival, Iran – are raising fears that tensions will be stoked further still. In particular, Saudi Arabia & Iran are facing off in the conflict in Yemen ... .
According to the New York Times, defence industry officials have notified Congress that they are expecting additional requests from Arab states fighting Isis – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan & Egypt – for thousands of new US-made weapons, including missiles & bombs, to rebuild depleted arms stockpiles.
Ironically, among the key weapons suppliers in the arms race are permanent members of the UN security council who have been at the centre of 2 unconventional arms control initiatives – disarming the Syrian government’s stockpiles of chemical weapons & negotiating for a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The scale of the arms race was revealed this year in reports published by IHS Jane’s Global Defence Trade Report & the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). They showed how Saudi Arabia had become the world’s largest importer of weapons & fourth largest military spender & that other Middle East states were sharply increasing their arms purchases.
Adding to the concern is the fact that the spending spree on arms comes against the background of a marked increase in military interventions by countries in the region since the Arab spring in 2011. Saudi Arabia has intervened in Bahrain (at the request of that kingdom’s ruler during the so-called Pearl revolution), in Yemen in 2009 & again in Yemen this year.
And among those concerned by Saudi’s new military assertiveness - on the back of its arms buying spree - was the Iraqi prime minister, Abadi. “The dangerous thing is, we don’t know what the Saudis want to do after [their intervention in Yemen],” Abadi told US reporters last week. “Is Iraq within their radar? That’s very, very dangerous. The idea that you intervene in another state unprovoked just for regional ambition is wrong. Saddam has done it before. See what it has done to the country.”
And if the Saudi intervention in Yemen has been overt, no less real has been the proxy conflict that has set Iran & the Gulf states against each other in Syria, where Tehran has backed the government of Bashar al-Assad with military assistance & weapons, & Gulf states have backed different rebel groups, including Islamist ones.
“It’s crazy,” says Ben Moores, author of IHS Jane’s annual report on arms buying trends. “The one Canadian deal alone – to supply Saudi Arabia with light armoured vehicles – will account for 20% of the military vehicles sold globally in years covered by the contract. And this is just the thin edge of the wedge. Saudi has booked enough arms imports in 24 months for them to be worth $10 billion a year.”
While some countries, such as Kuwait, are in the process of modernisation, a key trend identified by Moores is how states are retooling to fight insurgency conflicts in the same way the US military has in Afghanistan & Iraq. “Look at UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt & Algeria. They were all countries that bought a lot of conventional arms in the past that are no use in a sectarian war or an insurgency.
“If you look at what was bought at the recent Idex arms fair in Abu Dhabi, it was drones, high-end surveillance satellites, strategic transport aircraft for projecting power. One of the reasons Egypt went with its recent purchase of Rafale jets [from France] is because it wanted planes that could deliver precision-guided standoff weapons.”
And as Tobias Borck of the Royal United Services Institute points out, states in the Middle East are now more prepared to use the weapons they are buying. “[The] Saudi-led military operations in Yemen [are] the latest manifestation of Arab interventionism, a trend that has been gaining momentum in the Middle East since the uprisings of the Arab spring,” he says. “Middle Eastern countries appear to be increasingly willing to use their armed forces to protect & pursue their interests in crisis zones across the region.”
Referring to the inconsistent approach by key security council members towards arms control in the region, he adds: “There are a lot of different streams feeding into this arms race. On Syria’s chemical weapons & the Iranian nuclear programme, the 2 issues were ring fenced as pure arms control questions. When it comes to how we perceive our arms sales – whether they are British or US or whatever – it tends to be seen as a domestic economic issue – protecting our factories.
“That neglects the regional political dimensions, with arms sales taking place with a lack of regard for that context & without long-term strategic awareness.”
Borck says that the scale of the arms being supplied to countries such as Saudi Arabia & the UAE by the west may also be acting as an incentive for Russia to get back into the Middle East – not least via arms sales to its old clients such as Iran – & may have been a motivating factor in the Kremlin’s decision to lift the ban on the delivery of the S-300 missile system.
Putin, defending the decision to supply the missiles during a call-in television show last week, cited Russia’s prerogative to pursue its own foreign policy initiatives & suggested that the missiles could represent “a deterrent factor in connection with the situation in Yemen”.
Omar Ashour, an expert on Middle East security issues at Exeter University, has sounded a further note of caution, this time over the intentions of the new Saudi-led Arab coalition, warning that its interventions are unlikely to contribute to stability. “The rise of Arab military coalitions raises serious concerns,” he wrote in a recent piece for Project Syndicate. “Such interventions were usually aimed at empowering a proxy political force over its military & political rivals, instead of averting humanitarian disaster or institutionalising a non-violent conflict-resolution mechanism following a war.”
Speaking to the Guardian last week, he added: “On top of that, the increases in arms sales are bound to be extremely destabilising. At the moment most of the interventions have been against softer targets – Saudi Arabia targeting guerrillas in Yemen; Egypt against Bedouin in Sinai; or strikes against ragtag armies in Libya. But if the ‘soft’ keeps being hit hard, they won’t remain soft. They will find their own patrons & proxies & hit back & it will lead to a vicious cycle.”
Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at Sipri, which maintains a database tracking arms contracts, raises another concern. “Something that doesn’t get mentioned is the complete lack of interest in arms control among the countries in the region. It is not in the minds of leaders & decision-makers, except for the need to arm to defeat any potential opponent.
“There is already instability in the region on several levels. You have instability in Yemen, Syria & Iraq. There is instability between Iran & the Gulf states. What is important now is how the massive expansion of the armed forces of Saudi Arabia, UAE & Qatar will be seen as posing a clear threat to Iran.”
Borck adds a final warning: “If you are going for an ever bigger hammer, then the more desperate you are to make every problem a nail.”
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