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A comment on VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris attacks. Parent comment

Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ... by DamnYuppie on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @07:56AM (#10580721)
It appears, from what I could find, that Saudia Arabia's yearly spending on education is $57.9B, they spend $42.7B on health, with a total spending of $229.3. So they spend 25% of their budget on education and less then 2% on arms importation. Yes they could spend that money on something else, but please don't make it seem like they are neglecting healthcare or educational spending for arms.

http://www.us-sabc.org/custom/news/details.cfm?id=1645

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Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ... by ashaiber on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @09:07AM (#10581075)
Perhaps considering the total military expenditure will provide a better perspective - $80B for Saudi Arabia in 2014; 3rd highest in the world in $ terms, and highest in the world in terms of percent of GDP (10.7%).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_...

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Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ... by euroclydon on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @09:57AM (#10581402)
Unlike gold, the treasure Saudi Arabia is sitting on top of is: in higher demand, more easily convertible into wealth and prosperity, and among it's resource class, the most easily accessible in the world. That, combined with the fact they live in a dangerous part of the world, leads me to believe it's a rational decision to try to protect their treasure.

Whether their armed forced are capable is, sadly, depending on your POV, another story. Like in most autocratic societies, a strong military is seen as a threat to the leadership.

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Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ... by DamnYuppie on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @09:37AM (#10581265)
Thank you! I was looking for that but wasn't able to find it quickly enough.
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Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ... by yetanotheracc on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @08:58AM (#10581018)
And what an education it is!

https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/saudi-arabia...

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