What exactly is your point and hows does the sale of arms to the Saudi Arabian government relate to terrorism on the streets of the UK?

Let me preface this by stating that the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia dishonours our country. The war crimes committed in Yemen, with our weapons, are a stain on our country and especially on the successive governments that have facilitated such acts. However, the moral case for opposing Saudi arms sales would appear to me to have been hijacked by those that would seek to apologise or explain away the actions of those who are inspired by religious doctrine.

I have yet to see a coherent point put forward about how stopping the sale of arms to KSA would directly affect the occurrence of terrorism in the Western world? I would invite those have who share this point of view to leave their arguments below. But I would please ask that you give me the courtesy of reading what I have to say.

1. What would it achieve?

What exactly do you think would be the result of halting all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, in relation to incidences of British terrorist attacks? Firstly, the act of discontinuing UK sales would obviously have no effect on the Saudi Ministry of Defence’s ability to buy similar types of weapons from major non-Western states, that we have little to no influence over; Russia, China.

There is obviously the argument that many of these weapons are being handed to religious, extremist factions fighting the regime in Syria (Tahrir al-Sham/Al-Nusra, Fatah al-Islam) and these arms could well end up in the hands of more pertinent threats (Like ISIS) through either weapons or machinery made available during retreat – as happened with the Iraqi army – or through deals made behind closed doors. These are valid points to raise but as far as I can tell they do not hold up to any realistic scrutiny. Damming up a tributary will not stop the flow of the river.

2. Saudi Government vs Saudi Arabian Citizenry

There also would appear to be some misunderstanding in the role that these two groups play in the funding of international terrorism. I believe some of this comes from a place of unintentional ignorance but there are those who seem to wilfully seek the muddying of waters in support of their own political philosophy and worldview.

Saudi Arabia has an extremely complex power structure with many warring parties. The lines between these groups can appear to overlap depending on the way the situation is framed. Without wishing to drag on, the basic facts are that there are two main parties in the battle for control. The House of Saud and the Wahhabi establishment. These parties have basically been at war for executive control ever since the Saudi conquest. The religious leaders have threatened overthrows down the ages and the Saudi government has responded with a relinquishment of power that has evermore blurred the lines between who really constitutes the “Saudi Government”. This is a real threat, and you only need to look at the way the government, who is still majority controlled by the House of Saud, seeks to arm itself, if you believe they don’t live in fear of religious uprising (though the Iranian question obviously does also contribute to this).

Another caveat is the ever shrinking oil reserves, the amounts of which are a closely guarded secret of Aramco, but which I would imagine the British and US governments are fully aware of (“Twilight in the Desert” is a great book on this). The collapse of Saudi Arabia’s gargantuan welfare state will probably be the biggest flashpoint yet.

To add complexity, the House of Saud comprises of thousands of people, and while many make up the control of various offices of government – the country is after all an absolute monarchy, not a democracy – they also can often form parts of the religious orthodoxy. An example of this is Khlaed Bin Musaid, a House of Saud Wahhabi (and nephew of the King) who died protesting a new state TV station in the name of Islamic aniconism, and whose Brother murdered King Al Faisal, possibly in revenge.

As a byproduct, many posts within the government have become subverted by theocrats. This is why when you view reports linking the Saudi Government with terrorism you must be honest enough with yourself to view them with an understanding of the bigger picture.

All I would say is be very careful about what you wish for with Saudi Arabia. As seen in Iran, there is a very grave lesson about what may grow from the ashes of the current Saudi regime. I repeat, the condemnation of the Saudi royal family for allowing human rights atrocities on such a monstrous scale, could never be damning enough.

3. The Answer

This threat will not be answered by simply attacking the Saudi Government with no understanding of the wider political context. We need to stop the building of Wahhabi-inspired/funded mosques and madrasas here in the Western world. Not only here but also in powerful nations throughout the Islamic world. Personal sanctions on members of the citizenry would also form part of this action, with closer investigation into the financial dealings of suspected Wahhabists. We must also stop the indoctrination within the prison system.

Reading:

The literature on the subject is not particularly extensive or notable but I would recommend “On Saudi Arabia” by Karen Elliott House as a good starting point. I would encourage you to seek out material from across both aisles of the political divide and come to your own conclusions, based on rational analysis, not partisan politics.

These are a few sources to get you started (Yes, pfft Wikipedia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Saudi_Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_ash-Sheikh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhdxox6zZTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrOU0w8p6Vg

Thanks.