Security Challenge or Business Bonanza: United States Arms Transfers to the Persian Gulf

摘要

Because of oil, the United States has a vital national interest in the stability of the Persian Gulf region. The conundrum is that large amounts of conventional arms are flowing into the region each year and the U.S. is the biggest arms exporter to the world and specifically to the Persian Gulf. The end of the Cold War prompted a U.S. defense procurement holiday that forced the drastic resizing of the entire defense industrial base. The downsizing and globalization of the defense industry has resulted in multinational corporations with a production presence in multiple countries where the U.S. has limited influence. The Persian Gulf is the world's largest developing region arms importer. These arms sales are avidly sought after by the U.S. defense industry and the U.S. Government is actively promoting these sales. Despite these arms transfers, current deliveries are making only token progress in correcting the qualitative defects in friendly forces and limited progress is being made toward integrating the Southern Gulf States militaries. This study explores the trend of arms transfers from the U.S. to the Persian Gulf, U.S. policy on arms transfers, and the military and geopolitical situation influencing policy decisions in the Persian Gulf.