Eek! Iran, with a population of 78 million, is rapidly overtaking Saudi Arabia (population 30 million): it's almost a sixth the size of the Saudi defense outlay! And the other regional hegemon, Yemen, has surpassed Bahrain!
Oops.
To be fair, I know the Gulf is a dangerous neighborhood and lower population may mean greater vulnerability. But this graph does suggest the "Iran as new regional hegemon" meme might need some perspective.
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2 comments:
Alas, you forget the critical difference between Saudi and Iran: the Iranians know how to use the weapons and have proved skilled at doing so.
Ah, but when you subtract the middlemen commissions paid on the Saudi deals, the Iranians actually spend more on weapons.
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