By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 22 April 2024 (IDN) — The ongoing destructive war between Russia and Ukraine, which has dragged on since February 2014, and the equally devastating six-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas, have triggered a rise in military expenditures worldwide. According to the latest figures released on April 22 by the […]
The US Continues its Pre-eminent Role as the World’s Biggest Arms Supplier
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 11 March 2024 (IDN) — The United States has continued to maintain its pre-eminent role as the world’s biggest single arms supplier, while Russia, a major military power involved in a devastating war with Ukraine, has suffered a decline in its arms exports. According to the latest report by […]
Small Arms Trigger 45 Percent of Violent Deaths, Says UN
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 6 February 2024 (IDN) —The weapons used in some of the world’s ongoing military conflicts—including Russia vs Ukraine, Israel vs Hamas and US vs Houthis—are mostly sophisticated fighter planes, combat helicopters, air-to-surface missiles, battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and drones. But in scores of civil wars, mostly in […]
Freeze on Arms Sale to Nigeria Over Enforced Disappearances?
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 12 November 2023 (IDN) — An arms race has been breaking records around the world—defying efforts to keep firearms, handguns, and larger weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Of the many countries currently in conflict, 32 are in Africa. The list includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, […]
UN Security Council Warned of Weapon Transfers to Ukraine War
By J Nastranis NEW YORK. 19 August 2023 (IDN) — Briefing the UN Security Council, United States journalist Danny Haiphong has claimed that many of the weapons transferred to Ukraine have landed on the black market, to drug cartels, criminal organizations, and “neo-Nazi and fascist elements, many of which now make up parts of the […]
Global Arms Trade Survives the Pandemic Lockdown
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As the global economy came to a virtual standstill during the height of the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s arms trade remained relatively unscathed. Sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest companies in the industry reached $592 billion in 2021, a 1.9 per cent increase […]
Upsurge in Middle East Arms Imports Amid Upswing in Global Weapons Trade
By Jaya Ramachandran BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – Global arms trade is on the upswing with the United States increasing dominance in the group of five largest exporters including Russia, France, Germany and China, which together account for 75 per cent of the total volume of weapons exports in 2014-2018. While the Middle East imports […]
Yemen War Brings Saudi Policies under International Scrutiny
Analysis by Emad Mekay
CAIRO (IDN) – As the then 29-year old young prince Mohammed bin Salman started to prepare himself for the eventual ascension to the throne of Saudi Arabia, his retainers advised him to give TV interviews to win public support. When he did, many Saudis were disappointed. Instead of reigniting pride, the young prince came out bland and unimpressive. His retainers had to find a way to re-catapult him. The Yemen war was hatched.
The young Salman’s self-styled “liberal” marketers came up with the idea of a war that the young prince would win quickly. They tried to sell the young royal as a gallant fighter who does not flinch on using Saudi military muscle, buttressed by decades of costly Western arms purchases that former senile rulers balked at using. So, with much fanfare at the time, they chose to introduce a war on – of all countries – Yemen, the region’s weakest and poorest nation.
After Arms Deal, Trump Unleashes Riyadh in Mideast
Analysis by Emad Mekay
CAIRO (IDN) – The image could have passed for a Harry Potter cover; three powerful leaders with hands on a creepy, lit miniature globe in a darkened room – US President Donald Trump was posing for a photo with two authoritarian Middle East rulers: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
On a May 20-21 visit to Saudi Arabia, the US president had just vowed to improve ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia as the three leaders pledged an energised battle under US sponsorship of what they termed “extremist ideology”.
The message from the room was that the head of the world’s most powerful nation is now firmly behind notoriously harsh regimes in measures they take in the name of fighting extremism, a crusade that often turned into a justification for cracking down on opposition and broad abuse of human rights.