Muslims v Muslims

Dr Farrukh Saleem

America is the largest seller of killing machines on the face of the planet – we all know that. Shockingly, Saudi Arabia is now the largest buyer of killing machines on the face of the planet. Muslims are killing Muslims and the Americans are laughing all the way to the bank. Saudi Arabia and Iran have created proxy battlefields out of countries like Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and Pakistan, while America is selling killing machines to Muslims to kill other Muslims.

Last year, America sold $66 billion worth of killing machines nearly 80 percent of the global total. Of the $66 billion, Saudi Arabia bought more than $33 billion worth of F-15, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighters, Apaches, the four-blade attack helicopters, Sikorsky utility aircraft plus a whole array of satellite-guided bombs, naval vessels, 3-dimensional air search radars, portable tactical air search radars and HAWK air defence missile systems.

In 2011, Russia, a distant number two seller of arms, sold a mere $4.8 billion worth of killing machines or a paltry seven percent of American weapon exports. French killing machines, in the meanwhile, fetched France only $1.8 billion.

According to Reuters, Al-Mamlakah al-’Arabiyyah as-Su’udiyyah, at $33 billion, is “the biggest arms buyer....” India, a distant number two weapons buyer, spent $6.9 billion on buying killing machines and the UAE spent $4.5 billion. Consider the geography: Al-Mamlakah al-’Arabiyyah as-Su’udiyyah (Saudi Arabia’s official name) has seven neighbours – Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Yemen. Which one of these seven Muslim-majority states is Saudi Arabia’s target? Or is it Iran? Or it may be the Saudi population itself if it decides to rise against the monarchy?

According to Politact, a think tank “premised on the synergy between politics and tact”, there has been a ‘bloody awakening’ in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. That bloody awakening – having already engulfed Bahrain, Yemen and Syria – is turning inwards and bloodier. Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy feels threatened – and faults Iran as the primary driver of that threat.

It’s all about Iran versus Saudi Arabia. Iran’s defence budget at $7 billion is less than 15 percent of Saudi Arabia’s $48 billion. Saudi Arabia has money, Iran doesn’t. Iran has ideology, Saudi Arabia doesn’t. Saudi Arabia is all for the status quo, Iran is revisionist. Saudi Arabia has powerful friends, Iran doesn’t. Iran has human capital, Saudi Arabia has dollars.

All six member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the so-called ‘Islamic core’ – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE – are dictatorial monarchies. Iran claims, validly so, that representative governments in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE will mean an end to American influence in the region.

According to Richard Silverstein, a Seattle-based political blog writer, “we’ve nicely exploited the Iran card to our maximum advantage. I suppose it’s a form of repatriation of wealth. We send our dollars to the Saudis for oil. They send them back to us for armaments. Nasty business, but a form of recycling I suppose.”

GCC is in league with Nato – including Turkey -and Iran has teamed up with Russia, China and Syria. Muslims are killing Muslims and America is doing what it does best – make money out of death, destruction, blood and violence.

Source: Muslim V Muslim