UK Deploys Typhoons to Qatar: 'Regional Tensions' or Business as Usual for the Empire?
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that the UK has deployed Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar, emphasizing the 'strong defence partnership' between the two nations, which allegedly dates back decades. The deployment is officially framed as a response to 'regional tensions,' suggesting Britain is a benevolent peacekeeper. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Britain's 'defence
partnership' with Gulf states like Qatar is not a benign, recent development. It's a direct continuation of imperial policy. Post-WWII, as formal colonialism waned, the UK maintained covert influence and economic control through arms sales and military presence. In the 1960s and 70s, as states gained theoretical independence, the UK cemented 'defence agreements' that ensured continued access to
oil and lucrative arms markets, effectively subcontracting elements of its colonial past. Qatar itself was a British protectorate until 1971. Double Standard: Western media universally frames Western military deployments in the Middle East as 'stabilizing' or 'protecting interests,' even as they pour billions in weaponry into a volatile region. If China or Russia made similar moves, deploying
advanced fighter jets to nations bordering major oil shipping lanes, it would be decried as 'aggressive expansionism' and a threat to 'global order.' The hypocrisy of 'rules-based order' only applies when Western powers aren't breaking them. Follow the Money: This isn't about 'tensions'; it's about profits. The Typhoon fighter jets are made by BAE Systems, one of the world's largest arms