By the time Barron returned to London, it was already October.
When he was in the United States, he had already received the news - after the British and American coalition forces overthrew the Saddam regime and helped establish an interim transitional government in the local area, and then held general elections and established a new government at the beginning of this year, the situation in Iraq has become tense again.
There are many reasons for this situation. The main one is the Iraqi resistance forces' hatred and revenge for the continuous incidents of torture of prisoners by US troops. Another reason is the sectarian conflict within Iraq.
As we all know, most Iraqi people believe in Islam, but they are mainly divided into two factions - Shiites and Sunnis.
Not only Iraq, but the entire Muslim world is mostly made up of these two sects.
Sunni Muslims, whose full name is "Sunnah and the Majlis", are the largest sect of Muslims, accounting for more than 85% of the world's Muslims. "Sunni" is a transliteration of Arabic, which originally means "those who observe the Sunnah", that is, "those who follow tradition".
The Sunnis recognized that the four great caliphs (religious leaders) were all legitimate successors, and therefore gained the support of successive caliphate states and became widely known, calling themselves the orthodox sect.
The Sunnis insist that the caliph must be elected through consultation, but five conditions must be met:
(1) Be of Quraysh origin, but not necessarily of the Hashemite clan or of Ali; (2) be an adult male Muslim; (3) be a free man of sound mind and body; (4) have the courage and determination and other character traits necessary to defend Islamic territory; (5) be supported by the public and undergo a ceremony of submission.
Shia Muslims are the second largest sect in Islam. "Shia" is a transliteration of Arabic, meaning "party" or "faction", and is also translated as "Ten Leaves".
This sect only recognizes Ali and his descendants of the Hashemite family as legitimate heirs, and reveres Ali and his descendants as "Imams", believing that they are wise men "protected by Allah and never make mistakes". They also believe that the last Imam has disappeared and will reappear as the savior (Mahdi).
Among the countries in the Middle East, there are many countries where Sunnis are dominant, while the more representative countries where Shiites are dominant are Iran and Syria... In addition, Hezbollah in Lebanon is also Shiite.
Speaking of Iraq, Shia Muslims account for 54.5% and Sunni Muslims account for 40.5%. Shias are the majority in the country, but the previous Saddam regime was a Sunni regime that ruled the majority Shias, and therefore the two sects often clashed.
This situation did not change much after the British and American coalition forces overthrew Saddam's regime. The difference was that Shiites became the main force in the new government, which gradually intensified the conflict between the two sects.
Especially since the second half of this year, the number of exchanges of fire and conflicts in Iraq has increased significantly, and their civilian arms trade has become increasingly active.
As the security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the demand for arms in Iraq has become increasingly strong. As the price of guns on the black market continues to hit new highs, the Iraqi military and police have also begun to resell arms.
In fact, weapons including grenade launchers and Kalashnikov (AK-47) automatic rifles have been circulating on the Iraqi arms black market for decades, but three new types of guns have recently appeared on the black market: Glock, 9mm Walther pistols and Kalashnikov rifles produced in Eastern European countries.
After the main fighting in Iraq ended, the United States funded the provision of approximately 370,000 guns to the Iraqi military and police, with the mainstream models being the three mentioned above.
Today, gun dealers place these guns in tea shops, grocery stores and other places on the streets of Iraq.
When a buyer comes in, they will show him a sample of the guns. If the buyer is interested in buying, they will provide 10 guns within 2 hours; even if the order is more than 100, they can guarantee delivery the next day.
"Any type of weapon issued by the Americans will appear on the black market,"
In a related interview, Sulaymaniyah district official Hassan Nouri said:
"They went from the U.S. military to gun dealers."
A report released in early September by the Special Inspector General for the U.S. Iraq Reconstruction Program said that about 14,000 weapons provided by the U.S. military to Iraq were lost, most of which were pistols.
When some military and police officers resign, the police authorities or the military will not confiscate the guns issued to them. As a result, these people will sell the guns and earn several times their monthly salary.
Or if something happened to a police officer's family and he needed money, he would walk into the office the next day and say:
"Hey, my gun was stolen..."
According to data collected by relevant agencies, in terms of the price of guns on the Iraqi black market, in early 2003, the market price of a Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) ranged from US$75 to US$150 per gun, depending on the origin and model. After the outbreak of the Iraq War, as guns from the national arsenal flowed into the market, the market price dropped slightly due to the surge in supply. Today, the price of the same type of gun ranges from US$210 to US$650 per gun, and in some dangerous areas it is as high as US$800.
The above prices only apply to ordinary models. The market prices of special models of rifles have reached the "collection" level.
The New York Times said that if you want to buy the Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) model in the photo of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the black market in Iraq today, it might cost you $2,000.
Since the second half of this year, the sectarian conflict that broke out in Iraq has caused gun prices to rise sharply again - militants need weapons to launch attacks, and civilians also need weapons to defend themselves. This dual demand eventually pushed prices to a peak this fall.
"Now, the Sunnis need weapons because they are afraid of the Shias, and the Shias also need weapons because they are afraid of the Sunnis. So the price of guns goes up..."
However, the occurrence of this situation has also delayed the "withdrawal plan" of the United States and Britain, because in the words of many relevant organizations, if the US military withdraws hastily before the situation in Iraq stabilizes, not only will the limited "results" of the United States in the Iraq War be wiped out, but Iraq will also fall into greater chaos.
Such a "complete defeat" outcome would be a result that the Bush administration would absolutely not be able to bear, and this is also the fundamental reason why the White House and the Pentagon refuse to withdraw troops on a large scale in the short term.
Similarly, the current situation has once again increased the demand for private security companies in Iraq - many British and American companies need these security forces to protect their interests from attacks by some rebel forces.
Therefore, the number of Protector Military Services personnel in Iraq has been increasing... This month, more than 500 armed security personnel will be sent to Iraq from the UK and Colo, bringing the total number of Protector Military Services personnel in Iraq to nearly 8,000!
On the other hand, it is not necessarily true that the current tense situation in Iraq has nothing to do with some "operations" of the US and British military.
Although it cannot be said that it is the "food and clothing of millions of canal workers", it is actually similar.
Because it is conceivable that if the United States and Britain really withdraw their troops on a large scale, the military expenditure invested in Iraq will also be massively reduced accordingly. This is not good news for some military-industrial enterprises or the military.
Barron remembered that in his previous life, there was a related report that in addition to the US military-related expenditures, in addition to some huge expenses with clear accounts, a large part of its military expenditures each year was circulated and exploited by all levels of the US military and flowed into the pockets of certain people in the US military.
According to relevant statistics, from 1998 to 2015, a total of 21 trillion US dollars of the US military was missing.
The New York Times revealed that the United States had allocated more than 100 billion US dollars for post-war infrastructure reconstruction in Iraq, but 50 billion US dollars of it disappeared out of thin air.
In some accounts of US troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are coffee cups costing thousands of dollars each, disposable plates costing dozens of dollars each, sockets costing $299, goats imported from Italy costing $6 million... Such jaw-dropping bills can be seen everywhere.
So do you think the military would be willing to end their "good life" like this?
This situation exists not only in the US military, but also in the British military. However, Barron would certainly not ask about this. Not only him, but even senior military officials like the Duke of Westminster would not conduct a thorough investigation. Compared with these, hiring a protector military company to replace part of the military's duties can be said to be too conscientious and too cost-effective.
In addition, the tense situation in Iraq has also had a significant impact on international oil prices. At the beginning of this year, international oil prices were still below $60, but in September, international crude oil prices rose by 25% from that time and reached $75.
DS Capital has reaped another wave of profits in crude oil futures. It will continue to build positions after the oil price drops. This time, it will hold for the long term and wait for the oil price to reach an unprecedented high.