As Qatar apparently prepares to purchase a vast quantity of fourth-generation fighter jets from the US, it remains unclear whether the Middle Eastern nation actually needs all this military hardware.
US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile setting off from its hangar at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, November 27, 2009. © AFP 2016/ Bonny Schoonakker US Approves $1Bln Predator Drones Sale to UK – Defense Cooperation Agency The US Department of State has already approved the upcoming sale of 72 F-15QA fighter aircraft with weapons and related support; the estimated cost of this purchase is $21.1 billion. However, why would such a small country like Qatar require such a sizeable fleet of military aircraft? And against whom is the Middle Eastern monarchy going to unleash these weapons? Mosib Na’imi, CEO of the Al Vafagh newspaper, told Sputnik Persian that when it comes to making arms deals with small Persian Gulf states like Qatar, all the decisions are made exclusively by the United States. “[It happens] every time that the US needs more money, this is hardly the first such deal, as previously Saudi Arabia made similar purchases worth $12-30 billion. What I’m trying to say is that these small Persian Gulf monarchies are all subject to the ‘forced multibillion dollar order’ forced upon them by the US; they don’t really need that many armaments or fighter jets to combat existing threats. It’s just that the global community is being led to believe that it was Qatar that took the initiative and requested such a large arms shipment from the US,” he said. Na’imi also pointed out that it remains to be seen how exactly Qatar will use its new military aircraft, as usually such large purchases of military hardware are made when a country needs them for some large and vitally important undertaking. “As we can see today, countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are embroiled in armed conflicts with neighboring Arab states, using weapons supplied by the US to commit acts of aggression and instigate regional military conflicts. And they act heedlessly, failing to achieve their goals in the end. All in all, I don’t think that even purchasing such a large quantity of fighter jets would change the situation in the region for the better. And if tiny Qatar fills its territory with arms and military hardware, it would only create a very unsafe situation,” he said. Essentially, Na’imi explained, such arms deals are part of the US plan aimed at relieving countries like UAE, Qatar and other Persian Gulf monarchies of their oil and money, and are not aimed at improving the situation in these nations. “The goal is to gain maximum profit, to move these countries’ colossal capital into the American pocket. Also, one shouldn’t forget that the US would never sell its cutting-edge weaponry to Qatar, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. The only Middle Eastern partner that the US is willing to supply such armaments to is Israel. As for the Persian Gulf monarchies, such deals are only used by the US to maintain their ‘military alliance relations’, nothing more. In any case, weapon deals of this scale won’t help to improve security in the region, but instead will create more tensions and discord, making one worry for the future of neighboring nations,” Na’imi concluded.
Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201611181047596366-qatar-aircraft-purchase-reasons/
