That is why the Arab military forces are in such dire straits
Last Updated on May 9, 2024 3:37 am
At one time, meeting the swords of Arab Bedouin warriors was like meeting Azrael himself. Arab countries have lost all of their military skills and bravery in the modern era. Their failure in any conflict shows how inefficient and cowardly Arab militaries are. Although the world has many modern western weapons in their arsenal. Despite having so many facilities and deadly weapons, various reasons why the Arab forces are ineffective have come up in a report of the newspaper The Economist.
The six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Egypt and Jordan spend more than $120 billion a year on military spending (compared to $380 billion for the European members of the NATO alliance in 2023). The total army strength of these Arab countries is 944 thousand. There are 4,800 tanks and 1,000 fighter planes.
Last April, Iran carried out its first drone and missile attack on Israel. The air defense forces of Arab countries helped prevent this attack and won the praise of the western world. And woe betide the masses of the Muslim world who are outraged by the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
But the Arab countries (Jordan and the Gulf Arab countries) never showed their military prowess. Their military reputation in modern times for valor and skill in battle is not well established. In the era of Arab nationalism, when the Jordanians and the Gulf Arabs joined the Namqawaste in the anti-Israeli war – they were repeatedly defeated.
The only militarily efficient army in the Middle East was that of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. In the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, the Arab armies of the Allies demonstrated their inefficiency.
America ushered in a new era of information technology-based warfare through the Gulf War. Soviet-made air defenses in Iraq were crushed by stealth bombers capable of largely evading radar. After that, the allied alliance established absolute dominance in the sky. The Iraqi army continues to suffer from heavy bombardment.
Egypt sent two armored divisions to the Gulf War. But, when they find themselves in dire straits in the face of little Iraqi resistance, the US-led coalition is forced to sideline them from the main battle. In this war, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries sent a limited number of troops.
In addition, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has failed miserably in recent years despite US military support.
Lack of money or modern military equipment is not their main problem. The six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Egypt and Jordan spend more than $120 billion a year on military spending (compared to $380 billion for the European members of the NATO alliance in 2023). The total army strength of these Arab countries is 944 thousand. There are 4,800 tanks and 1,000 fighter planes.
Egypt and Jordan receive some of the largest US military aid in the Middle East. That amounts to $1.7 billion a year for both. According to Paul Collins, the former UK defense attaché in Cairo, most of this money is going to nineteen.
Andreas Craig, a defense expert at King’s College London, said that Arab countries often spend a lot of money on expensive weapons such as modern fighter jets. But, the kind of disproportionate threat they have to deal with (terrorists or armed groups) – they don’t need these weapons.
Even then, huge sums of money are used to buy expensive weapons under the watchful eye of Western governments. Another purpose of such purchases is to increase their own influence with the West. For example, Qatar got the attention of Washington, Paris and London by buying F-15, Rafale and Typhoon fighter jets.
However, buying modern fighter jets, equipping them and maintaining them means huge sums of money. Over the past decade, 54 percent of Saudi Arabia’s arms imports have been expensive warplanes and helicopters. But, with the military budget pouring in behind the Air Force, other branches of the Army and Navy are left out.
These countries depend heavily on sea trade. But in comparison, little attention has been paid to the development of the navy. Their fleet is relatively small and mainly suited for coastal defense. There are also no early warning sensors or interceptors to prevent a modern adversary attack by sea. As a result, the navies of these countries have been able to play a small role in preventing the attack of Yemen’s Houthi group in the Red Sea.
David Roberts, an expert at King’s College in London, said that the United Kingdom and the United States have protected the maritime trade of these Arab rulers for many decades. As a result they felt no urge to invest in naval power. Those who have just started investing in naval power – they also face a massive manpower crisis. For example, Italy has ordered six new warships, but they need 660 new sailors to man them, which is about 25 percent of the current strength of the country’s navy.
Another major reason for military weakness is that Arab generals adopt defense policies according to the whims of their authoritarian rulers.
Andreas Craig said that the right of soldiers at all levels to make independent decisions according to the needs of war should not be undermined – Western generals take care of that. On the other hand, the Arab generals were very reluctant to grant this freedom. They do not hesitate to sacrifice national defense interests to save their necks, or to appease the rulers and promote them.
As a result, even in their military exercises, the practice of dealing with real threats is not seen. In many wealthy Arab countries, the military has been relegated to the role of bodyguard for the rulers. For example, the number of members of the Saudi National Guard, which provides security to the Saudi royal family, is about 130,000. In Egypt, the military is omnipresent, they are involved in almost all sectors of the economy, from tourism to the construction sector. This has undermined their professionalism, and corruption has become the general’s very nature.
Many hope Arab countries could send peacekeepers to Gaza. However, experts are also skeptical about it. They think that the Arab army does not have the operational capability of modern combat. Moreover, it will be difficult to coordinate the forces of one country with those of another country. In most cases there is considerable lack of coordination between them. As a result, they find it difficult to work shoulder to shoulder with each other.
Kenneth Pollock, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a US think tank, and the author of a book on the poor performance of Arab armies. “They are very skeptical, they don’t even trust each other,” he said.
Between 2014 and mid-2018, a proposal to form a joint military structure of the GCC alliance countries was discussed. However, this also raises the fear that larger neighbors will control smaller member states. As a result it did not go further.
Moreover, for most Arab rulers of Western descent, securing a security guarantee for the region is as important as ensuring the security of Europe – not as much as building a regional multilateral military alliance. America does not even have the courage to plan a war with another country without its support.
Gulf countries depend on US intelligence, surveillance and early warning. Their warplanes depend on US command and control centers and refueling platforms located in the Middle East. That is exactly why Saudi Arabia has come up with a comprehensive security agreement with America.
However, in some cases military skills are also identified. For example, Jordan and UAE have qualified and professional special forces and pilots. In 2015, Emirati special forces launched an amphibious assault on the Yemeni port city of Aden, drawing praise from Western observers. Jordan regularly airdrops aid into Gaza, conducting such a mission over a populated area like Gaza is a difficult task indeed. However, these specialized skilled manpower are often imported, such as the appointment of many foreign advisers to the Emirate’s Presidential Guard and Special Forces. Most of them are Western military officers, and the force is led by a naturalized former Australian general.
A small amount of cooperation was observed among the Arab forces. For example, even if America took the lead in preventing an Iranian attack on Israel – it would have been impossible without massive support among Arab forces, Paul Collins commented.
In 2019, the Houthis launched a drone attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. Most likely it was Iran that did it. Since then, the Gulf and other Arab countries have begun to coordinate their air defense systems. Some experts believe that the air defense systems of the Gulf countries can now be compared to those of European countries.
Unidentified Arab countries also joined Israel in 2022 in a regional air defense alliance led by Ukraine. The main objective of the alliance is to keep each other’s radar detection systems operational together.
However, experts are somewhat reticent about making definitive comments about Arab militaries. Kenneth Pollock said, ‘There is no technical obstacle to prevent coordination of air defense systems. The whole thing depends on politics. If the domestic political situation changes, there will be an attempt at major military reforms. There is now a global consensus on energy transition. In this context, the Gulf monarchies also want to shake up their economies and societies. That’s why they are investing in the latest military technology, including artificial intelligence research centers, beyond just conventional military platforms. Governments hope that huge investments in military equipment will have a positive impact on the private economy as well. But none of these can establish their military reputation or reputation.