Chapter 500 The situation is tense
By the time Barron returned to London, it was already October.
While in the United States, he had already received the news - after the British and American coalition forces overthrew Saddam's regime and helped establish a temporary transitional government there, and then established a new government through the general election at the beginning of this year , and now the situation in Iraq has become tense again.
There are many reasons for this situation. The main reason is the hatred and revenge of the Iraqi resistance forces for the continuous explosion of prisoner abuse incidents by the US military. In addition, there are sectarian conflicts within Iraq.
As we all know, most Iraqi people believe in Islam, but they are mainly divided into two sects-Shia and Sunni.
Not only Iraq, but the entire Muslim world is mostly composed of these two sects.
The full name of Sunni Muslims is "Sunni and Popular Sect". It is the largest sect of Muslims, accounting for more than 85% of Muslims in the world. "Sunni" is a transliteration of Arabic, and its original meaning is "observance" "Sunna", that is, "those who follow tradition".
Sunnis recognize that the four major caliphs (religious leaders) are all legitimate successors. Therefore, they have been supported by the caliphate states of all generations and are widely spread. They call themselves orthodox.
Sunnis insist that the caliph must be elected through consultation, but five conditions must be met -
(1) Be from the Quraish family, but not necessarily from the Hashemite family , and need not be a descendant of Ali; (2) an adult male Muslim; (3) a free man of sound mind and body; (4) having courage and courage and other character traits necessary to defend Islamic territory; (5) being supported by the public , and held a surrender ceremony.
Shia Muslims are the second largest sect of Islam. The Arabic transliteration of "Shia" means "party member" and "sect", and is also translated as "Shi'a sect".
This sect only recognizes Ali and his descendants of the Hashemite family as the legal heirs, and respects Ali and his descendants as "Imam", believing that they are "protected by Allah and never make mistakes" Wise men, and believe that the last Imam has gone into hiding and will reappear as the savior (Mahdi).
Among the countries in the Middle East, there are many countries where Sunnis are dominant, and the countries where Shia are dominant are more representative, including Iran and Syria... In addition, Hezbollah in Lebanon is also Yepai.
Speaking of Iraq, Shia Muslims account for 54.5% and Sunni Muslims account for 40.5%. Shias are the majority. However, the previous Saddam regime was Sunni and the majority ruled. of Shia, and therefore the two sects often clashed.
This situation did not change much after the British and American coalition forces overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime. The difference is that the Shiites became the main force in the new government, which gradually intensified the conflict between the two sects. conflict.
Especially since the second half of this year, the number of crossfires and conflicts in Iraq has increased significantly, and their civilian arms transactions have also become more active.
Because as the security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the demand for arms in Iraq has become increasingly strong. As the price of guns on the black market continues to reach new highs, the Iraqi military and police have also begun to resell arms.
In fact, weapons including grenade launchers and Kalashnikov (AK-47) automatic rifles have been circulating on the Iraqi arms black market for decades, but three models have recently appeared on the black market New guns: Glocks, 9mm Walther pistols and Kalashnikov rifles produced in Eastern European countries.
After the main war in Iraq ended, the United States invested in equipping the Iraqi military and police with approximately 370,000 guns. The mainstream models are the above three models.
Now, gun dealers place these guns in tea shops, grocery stores and other places on the streets of Iraq.
When buyers come in, they display samples of the firearms. If the buyer is interested in purchasing, they will provide 10 guns within 2 hours; even if the order is more than 100 guns, they can guarantee delivery the next day.
“Any type of weapon issued by the Americans will appear on the black market,”
In a related interview, Sulaymaniyah regional official Hassan Nouri said:
“They eventually spread from the U.S. military to gun dealers.”
A report released by the Special Inspector General of the U.S. Iraq Reconstruction Project in early September stated that among the weapons provided by the U.S. military to Iraq, approximately 14,000 were lost, most of them handguns. When some military police resign, the police authorities or the military will not confiscate the guns issued to them. In this way, these people will sell the guns and earn several times their monthly salary.
Or if something happens to a police officer’s family and he needs money, he will walk into the office the next day and say:
“Hey, my pistol was stolen. Stolen..."
According to data investigated by relevant agencies, in terms of the price of firearms on the black market in Iraq, in early 2003, Kalashnikov rifles ( The market price of AK-47 ranges from US$75 to US$150 per gun depending on its origin and model; after the outbreak of the Iraq War, due to the loss of firearms from the national arsenal to the market, the market price decreased slightly due to the large increase in supply; Today, the same type of gun sells for US$210 to US$650 each, and in some dangerous areas it can even reach US$800.
The above prices only relate to ordinary models, and the market price of rifles with special models has reached the "collection" level.
The New York Times said that if you want to buy the Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) model in the photo of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the black market in Iraq today, you may have to spend $2,000.
Starting from the second half of this year, the outbreak of sectarian conflicts in Iraq has caused the price of guns to rise sharply again - armed personnel need weapons to launch attacks, and people also need weapons to defend themselves. This dual demand ultimately drives up the price of guns. peaking this fall.
"Now, Sunnis need weapons because they are afraid of Shia; and Shia also need weapons because they are afraid of Sunnis. In this way, the price of guns has increased..."
However, the occurrence of this situation also makes The "withdrawal plans" of the United States and Britain have been delayed because, in the words of many relevant agencies, if the U.S. military withdraws hastily before the situation in Iraq stabilizes, not only will the limited "results" of the United States in the Iraq War be wiped out, but it will also plunging Iraq into greater chaos.
Such a "complete defeat" outcome will be an outcome that the Bush administration absolutely cannot afford. This is also the fundamental reason why the White House and the Pentagon refuse to withdraw troops on a large scale in the short term.
Similarly, the current situation has also increased the demand for private security companies in Iraq again - many British and American companies need these security forces to protect their interests from attacks by some rebel forces.
Therefore, the number of Protector Military Services personnel in Iraq has continued to increase... This month, more than 500 armed security personnel will be sent to Iraq again from the British mainland and Colo. This brings the total number of Protector Military Services personnel in Iraq to nearly 8,000!
Then again, if the current tense situation in Iraq has nothing to do with some "operations" of the US and British military, that may not necessarily be the case.
Although it cannot be said to be "the food and clothing of millions of workers", in fact it is almost the same.
Because it is conceivable that if the United States and the United Kingdom really withdraw their troops on a large scale, correspondingly, the military expenditures invested in Iraq will also be significantly reduced. This is true for some military industrial companies and the military. Neither is good news.
Barron remembered that in his previous life, there was a relevant report. In addition to the U.S. military-related expenditures, in addition to some huge expenditures with clear accounts, there is also a large portion of military expenditures every year that are exploited by all levels of the U.S. military. , flowed into the pockets of some people in the US military.
According to relevant statistics, from 1998 to 2015, the U.S. military had a total of 21 trillion U.S. dollars unaccounted for.
The New York Times revealed that the United States had allocated more than $100 billion to rebuild Iraq's post-war infrastructure, but $50 billion of it disappeared out of thin air.
In some accounts of the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq, coffee cups worth thousands of dollars each, disposable dinner plates worth tens of dollars each, sockets worth $299, and goats imported from Italy worth $6 million. ...This kind of jaw-dropping bill can be said to be everywhere.
So do you think the military will be willing to end their "good life" like this?
This situation exists not only in the US military, but also in the British army. However, Barron will definitely not be able to ask about this. Not only him, but also senior military officials like the Duke of Westminster will not be able to conduct a thorough investigation. Check - Compared with these, hiring a protector military company to replace part of the military's responsibilities can be said to be too conscientious and cost-effective.
In addition, the tense situation in Iraq has also had a considerable impact on international oil prices. At the beginning of this year, international oil prices were still below 60 US dollars. In September, international crude oil prices were below 60 US dollars. It has risen 25% compared to that time, reaching a price of $75.
DS Capital has made another profit in crude oil futures, and will continue to build positions after the oil price drops. This time, it will hold it for a long time, waiting for the oil price to reach an unprecedented high.
(End of this chapter)