Germany has abandoned self-restraint in offering heavy weapons to autocratic regimes, choosing to sell scores of battle tanks to Saudi Arabia.
The decision for the sale of 200 Leopard tanks worth billions of dollars was revealed by the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday. The plan was enabled by Berlin's removal of a decades-long ban on the sale of heavy weaponry to Riyadh.
The latest generation of the Leopard 2A7+ tank is the upgraded version of the German battle tank first presented in 2010. In a promotional video, the tank is described as being able to create fear in protesters and remove obstacles.
Der Spiegel wrote that the sales take place while Saudi King Abdullah has not had a peaceful presence in the region over the past several months and has suppressed the revolution in Bahrain, using his military forces.