- 04 Sep 2018 21:01
#14944345
The solution to 1984 is 1973!
You have probably heard but not thought anything of the fact that Saudi Arabia has in recent decades been on an epic arms build up. I suppose when I first heard of it I just assumed it was just super rich people buying toys because what else do you do when you have more money than sense? The oil rich arab that buys super cars by the dozen, builds artificial islands and imports real snow for desert ski lodges stereotype. Spending for the sake of spending.
But then again.. maybe there is an actual strategic purpose for all that military spending.. after all buying tanks and warplanes actually isn't really the same kind of extravagance as buying gold plated Bugatti Veyrons and the like. So what are they planning? A google search brings up this article:
What Is Saudi Arabia Going to Do With Its Arms Buildup?
The author's basic premise is that the motive for the build up is ultimately an economic one; that they can mitigate their declining economy with a territorial expansion through conquest. However what if the regime which is loosely implicated in 911 and is a major sponsor of Islamic missionaries actually is plotting to unite the Islamic world under a new Caliphate? If anyone was going to do this and actually succeed the Saudis would be pretty well placed as they of all the muslim countries have Mecca, vast oil wealth and a strategic location at the crossroads of the world. Having Mecca is the biggest asset really.
The author also assumes the Saudis would be squeamish about taking Iraq because that would mean assimilating a lot of those shia they despise so much, he is presumably forgetting that Saudis as muslims know very well how to deal with infidels so that you don't need to assimilate them at all ( ). For this reason he doesn't even consider them going further and taking Iran as well.
He is probably right that Syria would be on the list of targets but he doesn't even contemplate Israel at all. I think that may be an oversight. If they wanted a caliphate rather than just higher oil prices or more oil fields then taking on Israel and actually winning would be a huge symbolic victory which would mark out to all the world's muslims that the Saudi Arabian regime is both worthy and blessed enough by Allah to be a new Caliphate. No matter how much they spend they can't conquer everyone so they will need to rally to their banner as much of the Sunni world as they can and a symbolic victory against Israel would give that a major boost.
What do you think they are up to?
But then again.. maybe there is an actual strategic purpose for all that military spending.. after all buying tanks and warplanes actually isn't really the same kind of extravagance as buying gold plated Bugatti Veyrons and the like. So what are they planning? A google search brings up this article:
What Is Saudi Arabia Going to Do With Its Arms Buildup?
The author's basic premise is that the motive for the build up is ultimately an economic one; that they can mitigate their declining economy with a territorial expansion through conquest. However what if the regime which is loosely implicated in 911 and is a major sponsor of Islamic missionaries actually is plotting to unite the Islamic world under a new Caliphate? If anyone was going to do this and actually succeed the Saudis would be pretty well placed as they of all the muslim countries have Mecca, vast oil wealth and a strategic location at the crossroads of the world. Having Mecca is the biggest asset really.
The author also assumes the Saudis would be squeamish about taking Iraq because that would mean assimilating a lot of those shia they despise so much, he is presumably forgetting that Saudis as muslims know very well how to deal with infidels so that you don't need to assimilate them at all ( ). For this reason he doesn't even consider them going further and taking Iran as well.
He is probably right that Syria would be on the list of targets but he doesn't even contemplate Israel at all. I think that may be an oversight. If they wanted a caliphate rather than just higher oil prices or more oil fields then taking on Israel and actually winning would be a huge symbolic victory which would mark out to all the world's muslims that the Saudi Arabian regime is both worthy and blessed enough by Allah to be a new Caliphate. No matter how much they spend they can't conquer everyone so they will need to rally to their banner as much of the Sunni world as they can and a symbolic victory against Israel would give that a major boost.
What do you think they are up to?
The solution to 1984 is 1973!