Why are Arab armed forces so ineffective?

The problem is not lack of money or hardware. Combined military spending across the six Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries plus Egypt and Jordan reaches just over $120bn a year (NATO’s European members spent $380bn in 2023). Together they can marshall 944,000 troops (see map), 4,800 tanks and 1,000 fighter aircraft. Egypt and Jordan are among the largest recipients of American military aid, getting around $1.7bn a year between them.