User:Tom9854/sandbox

= Ministerial To Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East = The"Ministerial To Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East", also known as the Warsaw Security Summit, is an international summit hosted by the United States and Poland, which will take place in Warsaw, Poland on February 13, 14, 2019, and will discuss security challenges in the Middle East. Dozens of countries from Europe and the Middle East are expected to participate. The summit is scheduled to take place in close proximity to the annual Munich Security Conference, which is taking place in Munich on February 15-17. The summit will focus on a number of regional crisis including:


 * Terrorism and extremism in the Middle East
 * Missile development and proliferation
 * Maritime trade and security (energy sector)
 * Cyber security
 * Threat posed by proxy groups in the Middle East and North Africa

History
The "Ministerial To Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East" was announced by the United States in January of 2019 and is the first summit of its kind to take place.

Terrorism and extremism in the Middle East
While the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and its partners have been somewhat successful in driving out ISIS from Iraq and Syria, ISIS and its affiliates (including Al- Qaeda), remain active in areas such as Saudi Arabia, the Sinai Peninsula and Yemen.

In Yemen specifically, Al-Qaeda and ISIS offshoots have taken advantage of the instability that has arisen from the ongoing conflict between the government of Yemen and Houthi forces, to recruit terrorists and to plan and execute attacks in the central Yemen region.

According to a recent report by the US State Department, Iran continues to sponsor terrorism across the Middle East through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds force, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and its proxy Hezbollah which operates out of Lebanon.

Missile development and proliferation
A report by the Middle East Institute notes that since the end of the Second World War, more than 90 percent of missiles fired in combat originated from the Middle East.

The same report suggests that Iran maintains one of the most advanced ballistic missile arsenals. This arsenal includes three types of Shahab missiles which are supported by 300 launchers and have a range of 1,000KM (620 miles). More advanced missiles in Iran's possession such as the Sajill missile, have a range of 2,000 to 2,500KM (1,240-1,550 miles), capable of reaching several countries in southern & south-eastern Europe.

Syria's missile arsenal which has been somewhat depleted by Syria's ongoing civil war, has been replenished through assistance from Russia, China, and North Korea. The most common missile in Syria's arsenal is the Scud B which has a range of 300kM (185 miles) and the Scud C which can reach distances of up to 550KM (340 miles). Syria is also believed to have access to the Scud-D missile which has a range of 700KM (435 miles).

Non-state actors such as terrorist groups currently have access to short-range rockets. These rockets are relatively easy to build and require little to no training to operate. Lebanon based terrorist organization Hezbollah, currently has more than 130,000 rockets and missiles at its disposal. This poses a threat to Israel, which has suffered rocket attacks from Hezbollah in the past.

In addition, Hamas, an Islamist-Fundamentalist organization which rules the Gaza Strip, continues to expand its rocket arsenal, which includes Qassam rockets, Katiusha rockets, as well as anti-tank missiles. Hamas has launched over 10,000 rockets at Israel since it took over the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Maritime trade and security
Political instability in the Middle East and North Africa has resulted in maritime security conflicts which have an impact on the global oil and trade industries.

The Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandab and the Suez Canal are three significant bodies of water which facilitate traffic of global trade and commerce and through which large volumes of oil and natural gas are exported. These bodies of water, which are essential to global energy security, have been exploited by insurgent groups in Egypt, Iranian-backed terrorism in the Gulf, and Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

The Suez Canal, which is one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels, with 2.2 million barrels of oil and natural gas which pass through its waters daily, has been targeted by the Furquan Brigade, an affiliate of Al Qaeda which is active in the Sinai dessert. The Furquan Brigade has attacked a number of vessels across the Suez Canal, with the goal of disrupting the transport of oil and natural gas to Western countries.

Iran is asserting its influence in the region through its activity between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. On a number of occasions the Islamic Revolutionary Guard has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates the transport of 20% of global petroleum. In addition, as a part of its proxy war with Saudi Arabia, Iran continues to provide weapons, training, and funds to Houthi militants in Yemen who target warships and commercial shipping vessels along the Red Sea. In July of 2018, Houthi terrorists attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, temporarily halting Saudi Arabia oil exports.

While Somali piracy has heavily declined since 2008, more than a decade later, Somali pirates continue to roam the seas. In October of 2018, Somali pirates attacked a merchant vessel off the coast of Somalia. The adoption of security measures and increased training by merchant vessel crews caused a dramatic fall in the number of attacks by Somali pirates.

Cyber security
With the increased reliance on technology and data systems, cyber-security breaches in the Middle East pose a real and significant threat. In the first quarter of 2018, there were more than 2.4 million cyber-attacks in the UAE, 1.9 million cyber-attacks in Kuwait, and 1.2 million cyber-attacks in Bahrain.

According to a recent report by the US State Department, Iran is one of the leading countries behind cyber-attacks in the Middle East. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hackers have targeted thousands of governmental and commercial entities in the United States, Israel, Saudi, Arabia, and Qatar.

Between 2016 and 2017, Iranian hackers infiltrated and damaged Saudi governmental databases, including the General Authority for Civil Aviation and the Central Bank.

Threats posed by proxy groups across the Middle East
Ongoing proxy wars in the Middle East allow countries to advance geo-political goals by supporting and training local insurgent groups in different countries in the region.

Saudi-Arabia and Iran are currently involved in a three-year proxy war, in which both countries provide local ethnic and militant groups in the region with varying degrees of support.

In addition to its conflict with Saudi Arabia, Iran relies on a number of non-state actors and terrorist organizations to assert its interests in the region.

Iran funds and trains Houthi rebels in Yemen, who is in the midst of a civil war which has claimed the lives of more than 80,000. Outside of Yemen, Iran has established footholds in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. Iran has also provided Syrian Dictator Bashar Assad with Shiite mercenaries from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Lebanon who are bolstering Assad's position in the Syrian Civil War.

A report by the US State Department also notes that Iran has placed thousands of troops in Syria and Lebanon where it has established weapons factories, military bases, and seaports. In addition, Iran continues to provide training and financial support to terrorist organizations in the Middle East such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad.