Sale of US arms fuels the wars of Arab states

Washington

TO wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab Emirates are flying Lockheed Martin's F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon the Emirates are expected to complete a deal with General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighbourhood.

As the Middle East descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled US military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for US defence contractors looking for foreign business in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets - but also the prospect of a dangerous new arms race in a region where the map of alliances has been sharply redrawn.