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Why Do Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE Need All Those American Weapons?
US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attend a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
During last week’s visit to the Middle East, President Trump signed a number of arms deals with some of the richest countries in the region — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Some of these deals were unprecedented, both in terms of the quantity and quality of the weapons being sold.
From the business perspective, the deals were huge and perhaps beautiful, as the president might put it. The new and reemerging military conflicts of the last few years have set afoot a new arms race. The deals that were signed last week must be considered on two accounts: profit and strategic value.
On those terms, were these good deals?
The first logical question to ask is why Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates need the most modern and sophisticated weapons? What kind of threats are these countries facing that would require such weapons to defend themselves?
All three face threats from radical Islam, though Saudi Arabia used to be — and Qatar currently is — sponsors of such Islamist movements around the world. Iran is claimed to be the current major conventional threat to all three. Yet Qatar is Iran’s ally. Moreover, Qatar has the largest American military base in the Middle East. If that is not the best insurance policy in the region, then none is.
In general, the entire security architecture of the Gulf States has rested and still rests on the US being the guarantor of their security. If one listens to the leaders in the Gulf and the words emanating from the White House, the US still is that guarantor and protector. It is true that the US has recently given signs that this commitment can’t be fully trusted, and the Gulf States want to have their own capability to defend themselves in case their ally becomes unreliable. Do these recent purchases provide enough material support to achieve their security independence? Can they use the equipment effectively to make a difference at a time of crisis?
The quality and quantity of weaponry does not guarantee victory. That observation has always been true, and is even more true today. From the fields of Ukraine to the mountains of Kashmir, the evidence suggests that a capable, smart, and willing to fight populace is as important. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Emirates don’t have that.
Ironically, Qatar does not have much of a population at all, just a few hundred thousand masters supervising millions of people working and living in horrific conditions. Saudi Arabia is the largest country of the three, and has a population large enough to sustain a military force that can defend the country. However, its track record in that regard is beyond dismal — with their dismal performance in Yemen being the latest example (and American weapons didn’t get the job done there).
All three countries are politically unstable, with Saudi Arabia being the most volatile. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to achieve what no country or civilization has ever been able to do: leap over centuries of normal societal development, and come right into the modern world. This cultural upheaval in a country where only seven years ago women could not drive, is a very delicate balancing act. The Prince has so far succeeded in handling it — but these processes often end in revolutions. And if that happens, the new government will have serious US weapons. The US must be very careful selling the most sophisticated weapons to a country with a regime that does not have much legitimacy among its own population.
Putting aside the regimes’ stability, who will operate the numerous weapons platforms brought from the US? The war in Yemen clearly showed the countries don’t have the needed cadre of professionals at their disposal. It is not unreasonable to imagine Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Emirates solving this conundrum exactly the same way they solve all their problems: with money. Why not hire foreigners to operate the complex machinery? Or bring in American military advisors. There are already many military professionals, or even small armies, for hire. The Wagner Group is the most notorious of them all. But the US and some Europeans have other options. For the US and the rest of the world, the prospect of our most lethal weaponry operated by mercenaries is a horrifying idea indeed. The deals signed in the Gulf are very profitable deals, but they are also full of danger.
The author lives and works in Silicon Valley, California. He is a founding member of San Francisco Voice for Israel.
The post Why Do Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE Need All Those American Weapons? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Improved Food for Security Prisoners
Israel’s Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday instructed the Prison Service (Shabas) to guarantee adequate food supplies for security prisoners, ruling that current conditions fall short of minimum legal standards. The decision followed an appeal filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
In a 2–1 ruling, the court found that the food situation posed “a risk of non-compliance with legal standards.” Justice Dafna Barak-Erez stressed that the matter concerned “basic conditions necessary for survival, as required by law,” not comfort or privilege. Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, noting the state had not shown the policy was consistently applied to all inmates.
Justice David Mintz dissented, maintaining that the existing policy already met legal requirements.
The court underscored that Israel’s legal obligations remain binding, even in light of the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza and the fact that many of the prisoners include Hamas members involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ruling, arguing that while hostages in Gaza lack protection, “terrorist murderers, kidnappers, and rapists in prison” benefit from the Court’s intervention. He added that prisoners would continue receiving only the minimum conditions required by law.
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Ukrainian Government Building Set Ablaze in Record Russian Airstrike
Illustrative. More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
i24 News – The Ukrainian government’s main building in Kyiv was hit overnight Saturday by Russian airstrikes for the first time since the war, igniting a fire in the building, authorities said. Firefighters are working to put out the flames.
“The government building was damaged by an enemy attack — the roof and upper floors,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said. The blaze is is burning in the area of the office of the prime minister.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight on Ukraine — a record number since the start of the war.
Also as a result of the strike, a baby and a young woman were killed after a nine-story residential building was hit in the Svyatoshynsky district, also in Kyiv. Rescuers are still looking for a third body, authorities said. A woman was also reported killed in the strike in Novopavlivka village.
“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but also with actions. We need to increase sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas. We need new restrictions that will hit the Kremlin’s military machine. And most importantly, Ukraine needs weapons. Something that will stop the terror and prevent Russia from trying to kill Ukrainians every day,” wrote Sviridenko after the attack.
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‘Trump’s Legacy Crumbles’: Israelis Call on US President to End Gaza War
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, issuing direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to force an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read: ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said: “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, that can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has ordered the military to capture a major urban center where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023 and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organizers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
NO PURPOSE
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine. Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.