Events that have transpired in and around Syria and the Middle East with the defeat of ISIS during the fall of 2018 clearly prove one thing. The US and Israel, and under Trump the two are inseparable, intend to push Russia and China to nuclear confrontation. The Pentagon is fully behind this, wanting to stop …
Continue reading The Syrian War Will Go Nuclear
Mohammad bin Salman is fully aware of the Western elite’s understanding of its own values. While he may be given a pass to bomb Yemen and kill thousands of innocent civilians, he should know better than to dare touch a Washington Post columnist – “one of ours”, as one MSNBC host said. Did he not realize …
Continue reading ‘Mohammad bin Salman Must Go’, but US-Saudi Ties Are Here to Stay
Where has Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gone? Since mainstream media broke news of the disappearance and alleged death of Jamal Khashoggi, MbS has gotten a little camera shy … and somewhat politically withdrawn. Whatever did happen to our buoyant reformer, who, from the platforms of his friendships so openly spoke wars and violent retributions …
Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s Great Tumbling Down – The Boy Who Wanted to be King is No More
Following US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s emergency talks in Riyadh and Ankara, and amid mounting reports implicating Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump administration is scrambling to shield Washington’s closest ally in the Arab World. On Thursday, Trump continued to suggest that Prince …
Continue reading Trump Scrambles to Cover for Saudi Regime as Crisis Over Khashoggi Murder Mounts
Saudi Arabia’s royal court is discussing the potential for a change in the line of succession, with the US government wanting “direct involvement” in the process, a Western intelligence source has told Middle East Eye. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source described the “Saudis being in disarray” as pressure continues to mount on Riyadh …
Continue reading Saudi Royal Family ‘Discussing Succession’ Over Khashoggi Crisis
The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Postcolumnist Jamal Khashoggi continues to strain relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, President Donald Trump warned the Saudis of “severe punishment” if the Saudi government was found to have been responsible for the journalist’s alleged murder. The Saudi government has vocally denied …
The Khashoggi affair has weakened President Trump’s campaign to impose stringent economic sanctions on Iran aimed at reducing its influence or forcing regime change. Saudi Arabia is America’s main ally in the Arab world so when its credibility is damaged so is that of the US. On 5 November the US will impose tough restrictions …
Continue reading When Saudi Arabia’s Credibility Is Damaged, So Is America’s
The October 15 deadline agreed to by Turkey, Russia and Iran for Turkey to evacuate all heavy weapons and jihadist groups along a 15-20 km demilitarised demarcation line around Idlib and its rural area, including rural Latakia, has come and gone. Nevertheless, despite serious Turkish pressure on jihadists to leave Syria or move out of …
Continue reading Arab League Prepares to Resume Ties with Damascus
Modern Saudi Arabia is a recent incarnation, dating to 1932. Six years later Standard Oil discovered oil. Since this time Saudi Arabia’s fortunes have been linked to the price of hydrocarbons, and to the US. Today fossil fuels continue to account for 90% of the nation’s foreign currency earnings. While alternatives to hydrocarbons in the …
