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ah who cares
they'll buy it from US instead .
Oil money man , oil money
It isn't not defence, since arms sales didn't pass over the $500M threshold. It is beyond that. Sweden is taking it as a Saudi rebuff for having opposed the Swedish diplomat to address the Arab mole league on human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, and an affront by the same league to go along with the Sauds, after they , and are they recognized the Palestinian State, despite pressure from EU and the States. That is the Arabs for you...always in a bend over position with their abaya above their waist...At the end of the day Swedish exports to Saudi Arabia constitutes less than 1 % (and less than half of that 1 % are defence-related products) of Sweden's total export, so the cancel of this defence pact will not affect anything.
@SvenSvensonov
That SAAB sitting around will be pretty useless after this.
ah who cares
they'll buy it from US instead .
Oil money man , oil money
@Daneshmand i think Saudi's f***ed royally not developing their arms industry and were satisfied being america's second best after israel . Now they are begging for more pakistani soldiers since they can't cope with houthis tensions. Also, Instead of investing in the community at a grass roots level in Lebanon and Yemen they funded selected families and individuals. America refusing to bomb Syria was just the beginning.
They could/can not have an arms industry since they do not have an industrial base and human resources required for the job. Even to run non-military aspects of life, Saudi Arabia has to import skilled/unskilled workers from abroad. This is basically a Bedouin society trying to live a 21st century lifestyle. It can not sustain itself without oil and foreign help. As for military aspects, they do not have a military history nor a military tradition. Their wars have been Bedouin battles, and therefore remain an ineffective military power.
Another reason why a proper army was never raised in Saudi Arabia, was the fear of coup against royal family as has happened in many Arab countries through history. Saudi military is basically an over-sized police force for control of the country and not a military in the sense of the word. That is why they had to invite Americans to defend Saudis against Saddam. The military equipment that they buy, is just for show and often buried in sand. The only purpose it serves is keeping Western arms industry competitive in return for West to give Saudis strategic cover.
US is coming to the conclusion that Saudis can not be "burdened" with stabilizing the region. They create more problems than they solve, often resulting in US losing ground to Iran, Russia and China. That is why, Saudis are being packed in and put in the closet. Prince Bandar had promised to US, way more than he could deliver. Now, US is tired and wants Saudis to pay the price, both financially and politically. And no, Pakistan or Turkey or Egypt can not save Saudi power in the region.
again very good insight
indeedJust the reality!