This week, while in Qatar, I attended the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (DIMDEX).
According to the Qatari government, DIMDEX is “a flagship event for the international maritime defence and security” that brings together “key decision makers from around the globe to engage in three days of commercial exchange” and “discover a plethora of the latest military technological advancements”.
Fortuitous timing
When I arrived in Qatar on March 3, I did not know that DIMDEX was taking place this week. In fact, I had never heard of DIMDEX before. I learned of it by accident after arriving in Doha.
I promptly registered for the event, not knowing whether I’d be permitted to attend. After all, I’m not a government or military official, I’ve never been employed by a military contractor and I have a long record of criticizing the arms industry.
Nonetheless, to my surprise, the organizers immediately approved my online registration application.
A beauty pageant for Western merchants of death
On March 5, I headed out to the Qatari National Convention Center situated on the outskirts of Doha. There, in a gigantic exhibition hall, DIMDEX participants had erected scores of pavilions and marketed their latest killing machines. Their offerings included drones, tanks, missile defence systems, fighter jets and robotic military vehicles.
The exhibition hall was swarming with uniformed military officials and arms industry executives. Merchants of death were everywhere.
Upon arriving in the exhibition hall, I did what any curious journalist would do – I pulled out my camera and started filming. My video report appears below.
As I explain in my report, the vast majority of the arms manufacturers represented at DIMDEX were from NATO and Western-allied countries. The one outlier was Iran. At the Iranian pavilion, the Iranians displayed a drone that they had named after Gaza:
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Thank you Dimitri for this fascinating look a the wares of the Merchants of Death! Terrifying to think of the money and resources committed to the killing of fellow human beings. We have our own CANSEC Arms Bazzar coming up in Ottawa in May. Loving all of your reports keep them coming and stay safe!
Thank you Dimitri It is, as Gregory Gillis wrote, terrifying to think of the money and resources committed to the killing of our follow human being along with increasingly killing all forms of life on our life -giving planet.
Stunning account of the commercialization and profitability of war.
Someone please stop Gutnick’s nonsensical verbal Diarrhea. His mud slinging is of no value whatsoever.
I’ve decided that Mr. Gutnick has abused his freedom to comment on my articles. I’ll no longer allow him to troll these pages. Thanks for your patience.