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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Saudi Arabia
Index
Until the 1930s, Abd al Aziz, concerned with conquest and the
reestablishment of the House of Saud on the peninsula, showed
little interest in developing armed forces for national defense,
relying instead on British support and diplomacy. After the clash
with Yemen in the early 1930s and the discovery of oil, the Saudi
king recognized the need for a standing army and sought
assistance from Britain, Egypt, and the United States. By the
mid-1940s, the Saudis were relying more on the United States than
on any other country, mostly because of the successful relations
between Saudi officials and Aramco.
Only nominal sums were spent on defense until Saudi Arabia's
involvement in the Yemeni civil war of the early 1960s. When the
need for stronger national defense became apparent to the
leadership, Saudi Arabia was obliged to turn to foreign sources
for armaments, military training, and the construction of
facilities. The long-standing military relationship between Saudi
Arabia and the United States served as a foundation for the
buildup of the defense forces and military infrastructure begun
under Faisal.
Data as of December 1992
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