Why is the UK still supplying arms to those who helped fund the so-called Islamic State, and what leverage does it bring?
In the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons following the Nato summit over the weekend, he spoke of seeking a broad base of support through the UN. Yet there was no mention of military action—as opposed to diplomatic assistance—from Gulf States.
Islamic State has been bankrolled by wealthy Gulf individuals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, and their Governments have failed to act to prevent it. In March 2014, Nouri al-Maliki, the outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister, accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of being ‘at war with Iraq’.
Six names were added the latest UN sanctions list, issued on the 14th August. Two are Saudi and two Kuwaiti, alongside an Iraqi and Algerian.
Jane’s, a security consultancy, identifies Kuwait as a staging point for Islamic State funds, as a result both of its location and its permissive financial environment. Yet
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