Posted by Pakistan’s selling JF-17 fighters (co-produced with China) to half the Muslim world. $4B deal with Libya, $1.5B with Sudan, $4B talks with Saudi Arabia. Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Indonesia all interested. Why the rush? Because Washington’s leverage is slipping, quietly, and this is what that looks like in real time. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are no longer just buyers in the U.S. security system. They’re becoming power brokers with options. Chinese aircraft, Pakistani production lines, alternative arms supply chains. That means fewer pressure points for Washington to pull when things escalate. If the U.S. intervenes hard, it risks pushing these states further toward Beijing and Islamabad, right as their regional influence is expanding. So you get restraint instead of muscle. Diplomacy instead of shock and awe. This power struggle of regional influence between the West and the East may be one factor why Trump caved to the pressure by Gulf nations to not strike Iran.
Source: Reuters, The Cradle
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