Military of the Arab League

The Arab League as an organization has no military force, like the United Nations or the European Union, but recently in the 2007 summit, the Leaders decided to reactivate their joint defense and establish a peacekeeping force to deploy in South Lebanon, Darfur, Iraq, Somalia, and other hot spots.

History

The military history of the Arab League is closely linked to the Arab–Israeli conflict. The 1950 Arab Joint Security Pact set out provisions for collective security among the Arab states, but only in 1961 was the Joint Arab Command (JAC) proposed as a unified military command for the Arab League first by the Joint Defence Council, an institution of the Arab League.

Before the JAC could take shape, a unanimous resolution was passed at the first Arab League summit (January 1964) establishing the United Arab Command (UAC), although the UAC's inactivity following the Samu Incident (1966) and during the Six-Day War (1967) signalled its de facto dissolution.

Arab Liberation Army

Arab Liberation Army emblem

The Arab Liberation Army (جيش الإنقاذ العربي Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi), also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments prevented thousands from joining either force.[1]

At the meeting in Damascus on 5 February 1948 to organize Palestinian Field Commands, Northern Palestine including Samaria was allocated to Qawuqji's forces, although Samaria was de facto already under the control of Transjordan.[2]

The Arab League Military Committee, with headquarters in Damascus, was responsible for the movements and servicing of the Army. The Committee consisted of General Ismail Safwat (Iraq, Commander-in-Chief), General Taha al-Hashimi (Iraq), Colonel Shuqayri (Lebanon), Colonel Muhammed al-Hindi (Syria) and Colonel Abd al-Qadir al-Jundi (Transjordan).

The ALA was dissolved at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[3]

Current strength

Today, Egypt is considered the strongest military body in Africa and is ranked as having the 10th highest number of troops in the world. Saudi Arabia has recently started to enlarge its military department, with other Arab states of the Persian Gulf following, Morocco is maintaining a strong army in north Africa, along with Algeria and Libya. Syria, Jordan and Iraq's Armies have all grew relatively slower to other rich states.

N Country Military Service Age Military Manpower Availability Military Manpower Fit Active Military Personnel Reserve Military Personnel
_ Arab League 18 129,183,640 119,039,543 3,003,782 2,215,934
1 Jordan 17 2,920,637 2,506,087 110,700 650,000
2 Algeria 19 19,327,735 16,684,478 130,000 150,000
3 Bahrain 18 353,860 286,860 13,000 n/a
4 Comoros 18 139,491 205,207 1,000 n/a
5 Djibouti 18 391,797 268,730 16,962 15,234
6 Egypt 18 20,772,105 18,479,612 588,500 1,000,000
7 Iraq 18 11,512,731 9,701,179 271,500 528,500
8 Kuwait 18 900,745 857,292 15,500 31,000
9 Lebanon 18 2,229,474 1,883,155 87,000 n/a
10 Libya 18 3,489,272 2,970,078 35,000 n/a
11 Mauritania 18 1,214,418 754,782 20,870 n/a
12 Morocco 18 15,791,743 13,160,516 195,800 150,000
13 Oman 18 1,228,492 1,016,551 70,000 20,000
14 Palestine 18 N/A N/A 176,500 n/a
15 Qatar 18 555,059 462,150 11,800 n/a
16 Saudi Arabia 18 8,240,714 4,725,514 233,500 n/a
17 Somalia 18 4,479,288 2,715,538 20,000 3,000
18 Sudan 18 16,427,378 11,077,040 109,300 85,000
19 Syria 18 11,550,588 9,939,661 450,000 n/a
20 Tunisia 18 4,848,103 4,036,188 35,800 n/a
21 United Arab Emirates 18 752,707 412,490 65,000 n/a
22 Yemen 18 7,926,335 5,583,111 347,050 171,200

List of Arab League member states by military expenditure

N Country Military expenditure
_  Arab League $ 180 Billions +
1  Algeria $ 13.1 Billions
2  Bahrain $ 1.365 Billions
3  Comoros
4  Djibouti $ 36.90 millions
5  Egypt $ 7.85 Billions
6  Iraq $ 18.9 Billions
7  Jordan $ 2.5 Billions
8  Kuwait $ 10 Billions
9  Lebanon $ 1.275 Billions
10  Libya
11  Mauritania $ 37.1 Millions
12  Morocco $ 3.37 Billions
13  Oman $ 9.3 Billions[4]
14  Palestine
15  Qatar $ 1.913 Billions
16  Saudi Arabia $ 80.8 Billions
17  Somalia
18  Sudan $ 4 Billions
19  Syria $ 3.3 Billions
20  Tunisia
21  United Arab Emirates $ 22.8 Billions
22  Yemen

Joint Military Force

In 2015 the heads of Arab league countries agreed to form a joint Arab military force. This force would comprise some 40,000 elite troops, supported by war planes, naval vessels and light armour.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Levenberg, Haim (1993). Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine: 1945–1948. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-3439-5
  2. ↑ Levenberg, Haim (1993). Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine: 1945–1948. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-3439-5
  3. ↑ Levenberg, Haim (1993). Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine: 1945–1948. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-3439-5
  4. ↑ http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/02/04/ihs-janes-mideast-military-spending-among-the-worlds-fastest-growing/
  5. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32106939
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