Gli Emirati Arabi Uniti sono stati il terzo più importante importatore di armi negli ultimi cinque anni, secondo il prestigioso rapporto del SIPRI. Dopo Cina e India. Un balzo in avanti, rispetto al rapporto che si riferiva al quinquennio precedente. A vendere le armi, in massima parte Stati Uniti e Francia. Il posto in classifica degli Emirati Arabi Uniti è incredibile: un luogo piccolissimo, terzo dopo colossi come Cina e India… Perché Dubai e Abu Dhabi importano tante armi? La risposta che viene data si concentra tutta sul duello a distanza tra Israele e Iran.
The spending increase represents an effort by the UAE to become more independent militarily, according to Dr Theodore Karasik, the director of development and research at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.“It serves as a model for some of the other countries in the region instead of relying on the US for protection,” he said. The institute is headed by General (Retd) Khaled Abdulla Al Bu Ainnain, the former commander of the UAE Air Force.
The UAE’s role as a major importer, its cooperation with foreign governments and the large number of expatriates and foreign businesses based in the country make it a possible regional target for a provoked Iran, according to Karasik, a former analyst with the US military research organisation Rand.“If Israel or the US launch a strike on Iran, what is the Iranian counterstrike going to look like,” he posited. “Is it going to be missiles? Is it going to be suicide speedboats?”