How to miss out on $20,000,000,000

Yup, another notch, another confirmation and in all this, I smirk. The shown stupidity by several players whilst they try to be clever and show the people through ‘filtered content’ that they are on the ball was staggering. Now Reuters gives us (at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-defense-saudi/saudi-arabia-to-invest-more-than-20-billion-in-its-military-industry-over-next-decade-idUSKBN2AK08K) ‘Saudi Arabia to invest more than $20 billion in its military industry over next decade’, the US and the EU have played their cards and are out of the race, implying that the bulk of all this will go to China, and optionally Russia will get a few slices of that cake. Some called me a fool, some said I was dreaming (well, I was to some degree), but with the Chinese economy getting a nice large slice of the $20,000,000,000 the stage is starting to change. The UK is missing out because they gave the stage to stupid people (CAAT). The US did a similar thing, the EU climbed on their high horse called morality blaming the KSA for all kinds of things, yet they refused to give the people the real deal which involved Iran. Now China has a larger stage and they did it to themselves.

The Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Ohali will have to select a new stage, one that does not include the EU or the US. China who was basically not in the market with their QBZ-95, they now have a realistic chance because both Belgium (FN-Herstal) and Germany (Heckler and Koch) can not contribute. In addition China has a few other options, add to that a larger stage where they can offer airplanes and vehicles the stage is set, the west lost out on twenty billion, all due to stupidity, and they did not have that much to tinker to begin with and it only goes downhill from there.

If China sets the manufacturing stage to Saudi Arabia the stage changes even further as they will have a leg up in several Middle Eastern nations. So, if the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) gets a nice hamper this Christmas with a note stating ‘千恩萬謝’, you know that their goose is cooked. 

So what’s next? Well, as the KSA is making increasing purchases into their defence apparatus, the stage changes, it is a cost we all see, but in the past the EU and the US made hay out of the benefits they got, that part is seemingly going to China (optionally Russia too). 

A stage that I saw almost 2 years ago, is it not funny how the politicians in the US and EU did not see that coming? If they did, why was their no mention in the news? Yet it is clear that their economies are so good, they can afford to sneer at 1 to two dozen billions. Ohh, I forgot they are broke! And this is not about the CAAT, I get it, there is ideology in ‘to end all government political and financial support for arms exports’, this is nice but it only works if all players adhere to this and a nation has every right to defend itself, as such Saudi Arabia needs to do what is best for Saudi Arabia. If that requires them to start talks with China, then so mote it be. 

Realism is fickle, it is shaped by the people wielding it, even if their realism is tainted by ideology and delusion. As such that fickle statue is now going to other places and the nations with trillions of debt will need to find another solution, but perhaps selling stickers to the members of CAAT will make up for something. 

I myself would have preferred to offer the Typhoon to Saudi Arabia, but in this
I hope to sell them the Chengdu J-20, yes I might be asleep, but do we not all want a 3.75% commission out of a $2,000,000,000 deal? In all this the stage was clear for close to 2 years, I wonder what the people had to win by losing out on billions, I honestly have no clue, do you?