Arab leftists and those influenced by their defeated culture have been criticizing Saudi Arabia for strengthening its military to develop it into a powerful deterrent force against any threats to its security and stability, such as the ones posed by the theocratic state of Iran. They concoct devious insinuations that imply military purchases are imposed on us by Western countries, especially the US.

Saudi Arabia is a major regional power with huge financial resources. Its geographical spread is equivalent to that of a continent, and all Muslims around the world aspire to perform pilgrimage in the two Holy Mosques situated here. The country is located at the center of the global human populace, between the East and the West, which gives it a great advantage. It is for all these factors that Saudi Arabia is being targeted, whether directly as the Persian clerics aspire or indirectly by other international powers aspiring to have a foothold in our country. Our deterrent military power is thus a top priority. The purchase of weapons will undoubtedly contribute to deterring the avaricious countries.

Western countries are also keen to sell us weapons for purely economic reasons as these sales would boost their economy. Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s signing of new deals for advanced weaponry with the US, the UK and other Western countries, makes us proud. The world nowadays only respects the powerful, and we happen to have the financial and human capacities needed to make the Saudi deterrent force capable of curbing the greedy.

Betting on the right horse

Saudi Arabia has had the political acumen of betting on the right horse, since the time of Abdulaziz till the reign of Salman bin Abdulaziz, which is the West that is now headed by the US. Meanwhile leftist Arabs have historically sided with the eastern camp, specifically with the defeated Soviet Union. In the end, all those who placed their hopes on the eastern camp failed. This defeat was not only related to the military but also to economic development. This is evident on any visit to Syria, Iraq, Libya or southern Yemen. One can easily see the huge gap between what we have been able to accomplish in terms of construction and services and what these countries achieved. It is not that the other side was not endowed with natural resources, because Iraq and Libya have rich petroleum deposits, financial resources and capabilities that could have made their countries develop on par with Riyadh, Abu Dhabi or Kuwait. However, their futile slogans and allegiance to the decadent left, brought them misery and suffering.

In the end I wish to tell those influenced by the vanquished leftist ideology that we will deal with the West, and we will benefit from its superior civilization and its accomplishments — both its military feats and its other cultural achievements. These mainly deliver deterrence to our communities and also enhance welfare and services. As for you, your media, your intellectuals, and your criticism, these are nothing but the groans of a defeated force as it falls in the battle of civilizations.

This article was originally published in Al Jazirah.

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Mohammed Al Shaikh is a Saudi writer with al-Jazirah newspaper. He tweets @alshaikhmhmd



Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:53 - GMT 06:53