Algeria's armament race /Purchase of 80 Mig-29s

The Watcher

New Member
Whatsup with algeria?

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Purchase of 80 MiG-29 -- Moroccan press raises questions over Algeria's armament race

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/
Oct 3, 2004, 04:50

The Moroccan press raised questions Friday on the reasons that make Algeria spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the purchase of weapons, especially "offensive weapons rather than defense arms."

Moroccan papers recalled Algeria's purchase of 80 Mig-29 combat aircrafts and its placing an order for Sukho• fighter jets.

Under the title "What is Algiers up to?," "L'Opinion" noted that Algeria "is carrying on its excessive armament process at a sustained pace that cannot be justified" and expresses officially its "concern to modernize its military potentials."

The paper noted that the type of equipment Algeria purchases leads to believe this hides other eventualities because priority is given to "offensive weapons rather than defence arms, especially that no country in the region poses a threat to Algeria."

For the paper, "this armament race is even more suspicious because of the huge amounts devoted to this purpose while the Algerian people, that is enduring poverty, calls for the improvement of its situation by launching development projects."

On its part, "Al Alam" paper believes this race is part of Algeria's "expansionist policy" that is followed in spite of its impact on the States' budget, and the "need to improve the (Algerian) people's living conditions."

"Algeria is spending billions of dollars to buy high-tech weapons, even though it is not surrounded by enemies and is not located in an area of tensions, which translates its hegemonic and expansionist aspirations," it pointed out.

"This is not an excessively paranoiac idea, but Morocco is Algeria's neighbour," wrote "Aujourd'hui le Maroc," raising question marks on "who Algeria is arming itself against." "Morocco's pacifism has limits," it pointed out.

"Moroccans may get fed up of being threatened of dislodging their Sahrawi provinces by a malevolent neighbour," warned the editorialist of "Maroc-Hebdo International."

As for "Attajdid," it believes Morocco should be ready to all possibilities" because of tensions between the two countries that ended a period of "relative [/i]
 

Skygrasper

New Member
I thought the Algerians had just ordered like 40-50 MiG-29SMTs in addition to the 70 odd MiG-29s and ?? No of Flankers.
 
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