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'Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia'

'Information' Edit 'age:' 18 'availability:' 8,240,714 (2004 est.) 'service:' 4,725,514 (2004 est.) 'reaching age:' 246,343 (2004 est.) 'active:' 199,500 (Ranked 25th) 'amount:' $31.255 billion (2006) 'percent GDP:' 10%(2002) 'Ministry of Defence' Air Force Royal Saudi Air Force Land Forces Saudi Arabian Army Navy Saudi Navy Royal Saudi Air Defense 'Independent troops' Saudi Arabian National Guard Saudi Royal Guard Regiment General Intelligence Directorate 'Ministry of Interior' Saudi Arabian Police Force Saudi Border Guard Saudi Coast Guard Al-Mujahidoon Saudi Emergency Force (C.T. / A.R.) 'Ranks of the Saudi Military' Saudi Arabian military ranks

The Saudi Ministry of Defence and Aviation is responsible for the direction of the Kingdom's military. The Ministry also has responsibility for the construction of civilian airports (as well as military bases), and for meteorology.
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz has held the portfolio of Saudi Arabia's Minister of Defence Aviation since 1962. The Vice Minister, Abd al-Rahman bin Abdul Aziz, is his full brother, and his oldest son, Khalid bin Sultan, was appointed Assistant Minister of Defence for Military Affairs in 2001.

Contents

Military Branches

Military Situation

See also

References and links

Military Branches

'Military branches of Ministry of Defence :'
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★ Saudi Arabian Army
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★ Royal Saudi Naval Forces (including a Naval Air Wing and Marines)
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★ Royal Saudi Air Force
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★ Royal Saudi Air Defense
'Independent Military branches'
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★ Saudi Arabian National Guard
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★ Saudi Royal Guard Regiment
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★ General Intelligence Directorate (''Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah'')
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★ Military Police Force
'Military branches of Ministry of Interior'
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★ General Security Forces
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★ Saudi Arabian Police Force
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★ Saudi Arabian Traffic Police Force
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★ Saudi Special Emergency Force (Counter-Terrorists / Anti-Roit)
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★ Mission-Security Force (''Amn Al-Mahammaat'')
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★ Secret Service (''Al Mabaahith Al Jena'eyah'')
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★ Saudi Arabian Border Guard
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★ Saudi Border Guard
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★ Saudi Coast Guard
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★ Al-Mujahidoon (support force for Border Guards)
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★ Civil Defense of Saudi Arabia

Military Situation

With the collapse of the Iraqi Ba'athist regime in mid-2003, the greatest conventional threat to the Saudi Kingdom was eliminated. The military situation became both less threatening and more complex.
The most important threats now are from tribesmen in Yemen who cross the frontier at will (as they have for centuries) and whose presence threatens Saudi territorial integrity. The Islamic Republic of Iran is another potential threat. Its behavior since the fall of the Shah has generally been introverted, but also unpredictable and therefore worrying, however recent meetings between King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Ahmadinejad of Iran seem to be showing improved relations between the two nations..
Iranian air or sea action could threaten the free flow of oil, critical both to the industrial world and to the oil-producing countries. Shias of Iran could extend its reach (perhaps through Bahrain) to subvert the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia.
Internal subversion is now the major threat. This is heightened by a growing population of young men who are facing daunting challenges to simply find work. Although Saudi Arabia is exceptionally religious and defers to religious authorities on many issues, the behavior and legitimacy of the Kingdom is under constant rhetorical attack from both liberal and conservative groups.
Such a threat cannot easily be contained by a military tailored to a more conventional scenario.
The rise of internal threats coincided with the American invasion of Iraq to the north. Car bombs and other attacks have been organized by cells based within the Kingdom. The police and intelligence communities have come to the forefront of the nation's defense.
Despite its at times anti-Western rhetoric, Saudi Arabia has been very dependent on Western military assistance for its security needs. When President Saddam Hussein of Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia's northern neighbor Kuwait in 1990 during the Gulf War, Saudia Arabia immediately requested the deployment of US troops within the country to deter further aggression. Additionally, the country's oil exports through the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf are protected by the US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. In 2005, Saudi Arabia was the foremost purchaser of US armaments in the world, with over $1.1 billion in purchases.[1]

The military is a major employer, and so it provides some relief to the nation's huge unemployment problem by bringing many young men into the defence of the country.

See also

★ Saudi Arabia

★ Saudi Arabian military ranks

★ King Khalid Military City

★ United States Military Training Mission

References and links

★ http://www.saudinf.com/main/c6f.htm

★ worldpolicy.org - arms

★ "Foreign Military Sales, Foreign Military Construction Sales and Military Assistance Facts as of September 2003," Published by Deputy for Operations and Administration, Business Operations/Comptroller, DSCA, Department of Defense