Chapter 500 The Situation is Tense

By the time Barron returned to London, it was already October.

When he was in the United States, he had already received the news - after the British and American coalition forces overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime and helped establish a temporary transitional government there, and then established a new government through the general election at the beginning of this year, the situation in Iraq is now changing again Got nervous.

There are many reasons for this situation. The main reason is the hatred and revenge of the Iraqi resistance forces for the continuous incidents of torture of prisoners by the US military. In addition, it is the sectarian conflict within Iraq.

As we all know, most Iraqi people believe in Islam, but they are mainly divided into two sects-Shia and Sunni.

Not only Iraq, but the entire Muslim world is mostly composed of these two sects.

The full name of Sunni Muslims is "Sunna and Popular Sect". It is the largest sect of Muslims, accounting for more than 85% of the world's Muslims. "Sunni" is a transliteration of Arabic, and its original meaning is "those who abide by the Sunna". That is, "one who follows tradition."

Sunnis recognize that the four caliphs (religious leaders) are all legitimate successors, so they have been supported by successive caliphate states and are widely spread, calling themselves orthodox.

Sunnis insist that the caliphate must be elected through consultation, but five conditions must be met -

(1) Born in the Quraish tribe, but does not have to be a Hashemite family or a descendant of Ali; (2) An adult male Muslim; (3) A free man of sound mind and body; (4) A person who has the courage and courage to Other character traits necessary to defend Islamic territory; (5) Be embraced by the public and perform surrender ceremonies.

Shia Muslims are the second largest sect in Islam. The Arabic transliteration of "Shia" means "partisan" and "sect", and is also translated as "Shi'a".

This sect only recognizes Ali and his descendants of the Hashemite family as legal heirs, and respects Ali and his descendants as "Imams". It believes that they are sages who are "protected by Allah and never make mistakes." Mam has gone into hiding and will reappear as the Messiah (Mahdi).

Among the countries in the Middle East, there are many countries that are dominated by Sunnis, and the countries that are dominated by Shia are more representative, such as Iran and Syria... In addition, Hezbollah in Lebanon is also Shia.

Speaking of Iraq, Shia Muslims account for 54.5% and Sunni Muslims account for 40.5%. Shias are the majority. However, the previous Saddam regime was Sunni, and the Shia majority ruled. As a result, the two sects often clashed.

This situation did not change much after the British and American coalition overthrew Saddam's regime. The difference is that the Shiites became the main force in the new government, which gradually intensified the conflict between the two sects.

Especially since the second half of this year, the number of crossfires and conflicts in Iraq has increased significantly, and their civilian arms transactions have also become more active.

Because as the security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the demand for arms in Iraq has become increasingly strong. As the price of guns on the black market continues to reach new highs, the Iraqi military and police have also begun to resell arms.

In fact, weapons including grenade launchers and Kalashnikov (AK-47) automatic rifles have been circulating on the Iraqi arms black market for decades, but three new types of firearms have recently appeared on the black market: Glock, 9mm Walther pistols and Kalashnikov rifles produced in Eastern European countries.

After the main war in Iraq ended, the United States invested in equipping the Iraqi military and police with approximately 370,000 guns. The mainstream models are the above three models.

Now, gun dealers place these guns in tea shops, grocery stores and other places on the streets of Iraq.

When buyers come in, they display samples of the firearms. If the buyer is interested in purchasing, they will provide 10 guns within 2 hours; even if the order is more than 100 guns, they can guarantee delivery the next day.

"Any type of weapon issued by Americans will end up on the black market,"

In a related interview, Sulaymaniyah regional official Hassan Nouri said:

"They end up in the hands of gun dealers from the U.S. military."

A report released in early September by the Special Inspector General for the U.S. Iraq Reconstruction Project stated that approximately 14,000 of the weapons provided by the U.S. military to Iraq were lost, most of which were handguns.

When some military police resign, the police authorities or the military will not confiscate the guns issued to them. In this way, these people will sell the guns and earn an income several times their monthly salary.

In other words, if something happens to a police officer's family and he needs money, he will go to the office the next day and say:

"Hey, my pistol was stolen..."

According to data investigated by relevant agencies, in terms of the price of firearms on the black market in Iraq, in early 2003, the market price of a Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) ranged from US$75 to US$75 per unit depending on the country of origin and model. Between US$150; after the outbreak of the Iraq War, due to the loss of firearms from the national arsenal to the market, the market price decreased slightly due to the large increase in supply; today, the same type of firearms have been sold for US$210 to US$650 each. In some dangerous areas it can be as high as $800.

The above prices only relate to ordinary models, and the market price of rifles with special models has reached the "collection" level.

The New York Times said that if you want to buy the Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) model in the photo of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the black market in Iraq today, you may have to spend $2,000.

Beginning in the second half of this year, the sectarian conflict that broke out in Iraq caused the price of firearms to rise sharply again. Militants needed weapons to launch attacks, and civilians also needed weapons to defend themselves. This dual demand eventually pushed the price to reach its highest point this autumn. .

"Now, Sunnis need weapons because they are afraid of Shia; and Shia also need weapons because they are afraid of Sunnis. In this way, the price of guns has increased..."

However, the occurrence of this situation has also delayed the "withdrawal plans" of the United States and Britain, because in the words of many relevant agencies, if the U.S. military withdraws hastily before the situation in Iraq stabilizes, it will not only limit the United States' limited power in the Iraq war The "results" will be wiped out and Iraq will plunge into greater chaos.

Such a "complete defeat" would be an outcome that the Bush administration cannot afford. This is also the fundamental reason why the White House and the Pentagon refuse to withdraw troops on a large scale in the short term.

Similarly, the current situation has also increased the demand for private security companies in Iraq again - many British and American companies need these security forces to protect their interests from attacks by some rebel forces.

Therefore, the number of personnel of Protector Military Services in Iraq has been continuously increasing... This month, more than 500 armed security personnel will be sent to Iraq from the British mainland and Colo again, which makes Protector Military Services The total number of personnel in Iraq will reach nearly 8,000!

Then again, it may not necessarily be true that the current tense situation in Iraq has nothing to do with some "operations" of the US and British military.

Although it can't be said that it is "the food and clothing of millions of workers", in fact it is almost the same.

Because it is conceivable that if the United States and the United Kingdom truly withdraw their troops on a large scale, correspondingly, the military expenditures invested in Iraq will also be significantly reduced. This is not good news for some military industrial companies or the military.

Barron remembered that in his previous life, there was a relevant report. In addition to the U.S. military-related expenditures, in addition to some huge expenditures with clear accounts, there is also a large portion of military expenditures every year that are exploited by all levels of the U.S. military. , flowed into the pockets of some people in the US military.

According to relevant statistics, from 1998 to 2015, the U.S. military had a total of 21 trillion U.S. dollars unaccounted for.

The New York Times revealed that the United States had allocated more than $100 billion to rebuild Iraq's post-war infrastructure, but $50 billion of it disappeared out of thin air.

In some accounts of the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are coffee cups worth thousands of dollars each, disposable dinner plates worth tens of dollars each, sockets worth 299 dollars, goats imported from Italy worth 6 million dollars... This kind of shocking Jaw-dropping bills can be said to be everywhere.

So do you think the military will be willing to end their "good life" like this?

This situation exists not only in the US military, but also in the British army. However, Barron will definitely not be able to ask about this. Not only him, but also senior military officials like the Duke of Westminster will not be able to conduct a thorough investigation. Check - Compared with these, hiring a protector military company to replace part of the military's responsibilities can be said to be too conscientious and cost-effective.

In addition, the tense situation in Iraq has also had a considerable impact on international oil prices. At the beginning of this year, international oil prices were still below 60 US dollars. In September, international crude oil prices increased by 25% compared to that time. , standing at the price of $75.

DS Capital has made another profit in crude oil futures, and will continue to build positions after the oil price drops. This time, it will hold for a long time, waiting for the oil price to reach an unprecedented high.