“Justify for inefficiency”: what is known about possible additional supplies of US weapons to the Middle East

The US Department of Defense is considering the possibility of additional supplies of military equipment to the Middle East, the newspaper The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources in the Pentagon.

"The Pentagon is considering the possibility of sending additional missile defense batteries, another squadron of fighter jets and additional surveillance capabilities in the Middle East to strengthen the regional presence of the military after the attack on the Saudi oil industry over the weekend," the publication said.

According to the publication, Trump is due to meet with his national security adviser in the near future to discuss a possible “response” to these attacks.

Recall last week, the factories of the oil and gas company Saudi Aramco were attacked by drones. As a result, the activities of two facilities were stopped due to fire. The incident led to the kingdom more than halving oil production. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Hussite Yemeni rebels against whom a coalition led by Saudi Arabia was fighting.

Later, the head of the Department of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, commented on the work of the Saudi Arabian missile defense system, which includes Patriot air defense systems. According to him, "all air defense systems around the world always work with varying success."

“Typical American Logic”

According to experts, Washington could supply additional weapons primarily to Saudi Arabia in order to "justify for the inefficiency" of its Patriot air defense systems, which could not protect the kingdom from UAV attacks.

“Attacks on oil and gas plants in Saudi Arabia have shown that American weapons are worthless. Enemies of Riyadh understand that US military equipment is not able to protect the kingdom, ”Sergei Sudakov, a corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, stated in an interview with RT.

• Pentagon
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At the same time, the state takes leading positions in the Sunni Arab world, and its partner countries take an example from it and also purchase weapons from their American counterparts, Sudakov explained. In his opinion, if Saudi Arabia, taking into account recent events, reconsiders its views on military-technical cooperation with Washington, the United States will have to look for new markets.

“However, not everything is so simple. On the one hand, what happened was humiliating for the United States, since the truth about the quality of American weapons was revealed. On the other hand, Washington is trying to turn the current situation in its favor and begin even larger-scale deliveries of military equipment to the SA. In this sense, the Americans are quite opportunistic and do not neglect the opportunities that they can use for their own selfish purposes, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, the incident with an attack on the oil and gas facilities of the SA in this case is a convenient excuse for the White House to strengthen its position in the Middle East, Sudakov said. According to him, the supply of additional military equipment is fraught with serious problems - the situation in the region may become even more tense.

“The more weapons transported to the Arab world, the higher the likelihood of new conflicts. However, the USA always needed small wars, on which they earn a lot of money, ”Sudakov emphasized in an interview with RT.

After the attack on the Saudi oil refineries, Washington and Riyadh, apparently, “did not check the clock,” suggested Konstantin Blokhin, an expert on political science at the RAS Center for Security Studies, an American political scientist.

“Saudi Arabia first blamed the Hussites, and after negotiations with the United States took place, the kingdom stated that Iran was also involved in the incident. It’s obvious that Saudi Arabia uses the situation as an excuse to attack the Hussites in Yemen, and Trump and his team to justify further sanctions pressure on Tehran, ”said the expert.

According to him, while developing a plan for additional arms deliveries to the Middle East, Washington is betting primarily on “stimulating the US military-industrial complex”.

“If Patriot did not intercept the drones, then, therefore, it is necessary that the Saudis purchase more American military equipment - this is typical American logic,” Blokhin emphasized in an interview with RT.

He also added that if similar incidents happen in the near future, Saudi Arabia may “look differently” at military-technical relations with Washington, as Turkey did in its time.

"Time bomb"

In addition, according to analysts, Washington may send additional military equipment to the countries of the coalition fighting with the Yemenite Hussites and launched a military operation in the republic on September 20.

According to Arab News, the coalition’s actions are directed against the “military installations” in the north of Hodeida - four of them have already been destroyed, and unmanned boats and naval mines were allegedly gathering there.

• Yemeni Hussites
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• © Abduljabbar Zeyad

According to Sergei Sudakov, Washington can supply the Arab coalition with weapons to strike at the Hussites. At the same time, according to the analyst, the Americans will be able to stay away from the conflict and "earn money on it."

“However, the political part of Washington’s plan is unlikely to be realized - the Hussites will be able to fight back, because they have powerful mobilization potential, unlike the Saudis or the Americans,” the expert emphasized.

In addition, Washington has hopes for a coalition with which it can "carry out religious wars" and thus further destabilize the situation in the Middle East, Sudakov believes.

“Washington is striving to create a powerful military fist capable of striking Iran. The issue of countering Iran from the US is a time bomb. The United States is currently preparing the first stage of a possible invasion of Iran, which Trump can carry out if he wins the 2020 election, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, according to Sudakov, thus supporting the Arab coalition, Trump "may fall into the trap."

“The more weapons he will supply to the Arab countries, the more evidence will be of the inefficiency of American military equipment,” the expert noted.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, with the help of additional arms supplies to the region, Washington will simultaneously try to implement the idea of ​​creating a "Middle East NATO" to restrain Iran.

“Iran does not fit the category of a small and weak country, so the United States has to choke it economically and geopolitically. The block of the new generation, to which Washington will supply its weapons, will serve this purpose. It is, first of all, about deliveries of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Israel, ”the analyst said.

“Superprofit deal”

According to analysts, Trump fears that attacks on Saudi Aramco could destabilize the US economy, which would be extremely disadvantageous for him in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. That is why the head of the White House also seeks to export even more weapons to the Middle East, as this will stimulate the military-industrial complex of the state - one of the main revenue items of the budget of the United States, experts say. According to them, in this way, Trump will be able to demonstrate that he is worried about the welfare of his voters.

Recall, in mid-September, the US president said that, if necessary, he intends to use the country's oil reserves to stabilize market prices after the attack on Saudi Aramco.

“In connection with the attacks on Saudi Arabia, which could affect the price of oil, I decided, if necessary, to separate oil from the strategic reserve,” the head of the White House wrote on his Twitter page.

Based on the attack on Saudi Arabia, which may have an impact on oil prices, I have authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed, in a to-be-determined amount ....

According to him, the volume of oil will be determined later, but it "will be sufficient to maintain a good supply of markets."

However, two days later, Trump said he did not see the need to use the strategic oil reserves of the United States.

According to Sergei Sudakov, the head of the White House on the eve of the election will try to minimize the number of problems in the American economy, since for voters it serves as the main criterion for assessing the effectiveness of its work.

• Donald Trump
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• © Tom Brenner

“Now Trump is trying to conclude from his point of view an extremely profitable deal that would make it clear to the Americans that he cares about their welfare,” the expert said.

At the same time, according to Sudakov, the effect of all those actions taken by Trump and his administration can be reduced to zero if an attack occurs again on oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia.

“Therefore, Trump now intends to concentrate a large amount of military equipment in the SA to prevent this scenario. Otherwise, it will hit the American economy, which means Trump’s presidential campaign on the eve of the upcoming elections, ”the analyst said.