Some of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been ranked as the “riskiest” nations that have received US arms sales, as per the study published by the Cato Institute. Last week, the Washington-based think tank concluded their report for the 2021 year; according to the released report, the highest risk of the arms have been possessed by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, and Turkey, which have been used to undermine social stability and human rights, while receiving millions of dollars in weapons sales from the US.
According to the reports, the US has been (directly/indirectly) contributing towards the rising levels of violence and oppression, across the globe, by continuously providing weapons and arms to the extremely flimsy states and countries. Providing weapons to the countries which ignore their citizens is to allow them to create violence in order to respond to the political changes and unrest.
The research team worked on several factors, like a country‘s level of corruption, instability, treatment of people, and the level of conflict, to find out the consequences involved in the arms dealing.
The countries were ranked on the scale of one to 100, with the last-mentioned being the riskiest nation.
According to the Cato Institute, Saudi stood at 71 out of 100. The reports suggest that the nation has received arms sales from the US worth $ 26.9 billion between 2009 and 2020. Despite poor human rights records and allegations of extra-judicial killings, the nation has obtained the highest amount of weaponry by the US.
On the same breadth, Egypt has scored 78 rank. In the same period, it has received arms and weapons from the US worth $ 8.5 billion. Under the Presidential rule of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the case of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests and forced disappearance in the country has witnessed a hike. Reportedly, alone in 2020, as many as 35 people have lost their lives in Egyptian custody due to medical complications.
Meanwhile, Iraq was ranked 89. The nation has received about $ 10.5 billion US arms in sales. After the 2003 invasion, the country had been cursed with corruption and violence.