Saudi Arabia has other states fighting for its global interests

One question among all after the drone and missile attacks on oil wells in Saudi Arabia on 14 September. Will there be an escalation between the Saudi kingdom and Iran? Riyadh directly accused the Islamic Republic of having ordered the attacks. But speculation about a possible war is bewildering, he argues Nesrine #Malik in a well-argued article published last Sunday in the British newspaper The Guardian. Saudi Arabia does not "go to war", says the journalist, pay others to do it on your behalf.
The war in Yemen is a perfect example, Malik argues. Even though the Saudi monarchy is leading foreign military involvement in that war, Saudi Arabia does not provide ground troops. There are only Saudi commanders who manage groups of mercenaries from Morocco, Jordan and Egypt. A large portion of the Saudi-led force is made up of Sudanese child soldiers, whose families are paid handsomely to supply the power of the oil kingdom in Yemen with what Malik calls "cannon fodder." Saudi commanders communicate their battle orders to hired troops via satellite phones and use unmanned drones and flying planes to attack predominantly Houthi Shia rebels. This largely explains the high civilian toll in that war.

Meanwhile, the US government has announced it will send hundreds of troops to the Saudi kingdom and strengthen its air defense systems. But The Guardian Malik reporter wonders why Saudi Arabia, which has been the world's largest arms importer since 2014, and whose 2018 arms purchases accounted for 12 percent of world defense spending last year. , requires the presence of American troops on its territory for its protection.

The answer is simple, Malik says: The Saudi regime buys weapons, not to use them, but to make Western defense industries dependent on its purchasing power. In other words, the Saudi monarchy buys Western weapons for political reasons. These acquisitions allow him a sort of immunity for the numerous human rights violations reported and for the kidnappings and murders perpetrated abroad - case khashoggi over all.
Meanwhile, Malik says, if Saudi Arabia goes to war against Iran, it will do so as always: it will hire delegates - including the United States - to fight on its behalf.

Saudi Arabia has other states fighting for its global interests