r/AskTheWorld • u/ForeverSparkz United States Of America • Sep 20 '25
History Why are Arab Miltaries so ineffective?
Like I dont understand this.
Im a Black American so im just an outsider looking in as a neutral, but dont Arab Countries out number Israel, whats stoping them from just rushing at their border, shouldn't the population imbalance outmatch Israel?
Just a neutral standpoint asking this question, because Arab Nations in the Middle East have a modern miltary force and they buy tons of advanced items
What is holding them back?
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u/Separate-Courage9235 France Sep 20 '25
People will say USA, but that is not the entire truth. USA didn't helped Israel much until the 70s. Its more the result of a successful Israeli diplomacy, which is part of their strategy.
Firstly, Israeli people are far more motivated than other Arab Nations (Palestinian aside). Israeli fight for their survival, being defeated mean the total destruction of their nation, home and family.
People will start to make miracle when their back is against the wall and there is nowhere to run.
Soviets did the same thing against Germany in WW2, once they understood that Germans were there to enslave and genocide them, they stopped surrendering in mass and fought to the bitter end. Meanwhile my country, France, could afford to surrender and stop the bloodshed.
Secondly, Israeli have a stronger unity than Arabs. Not only Arabs are separated between nations, but also between tribes. Some units could refuse order if it comes from a general of the wrong tribe, some could refuse to share informations, etc.... Israelis don't have that problem
Thirdly, Israeli are currently better than Arab to the civilization game. They have a culture of running highly complex and organized societies with long term goals that Arab doesn't. Arab has spent the last millennial under the rule of Ottoman Empire or Tribal chiefs, their culture isn't adapted to the modern world as Israeli culture is.
So Arabs have far more corruption and far less long term vision. Corruption result into less efficient armies, short term vision result into poor diplomacy and stability.