Tag: Saudi Arabia

Did Saudis Just Stab Us In The Back?

For decades upon decades the US has propped up the KSA royal family and in recent years the kingdoms has received some pretty sophisticated weaponry from the US…..and now these bastards have joined with China and possibly Russia for geopolitical reasons.

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved a decision for Riyadh to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian security and economic bloc that was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and several Central Asian countries.

According to Saudi state media, Riyadh has approved a memorandum that would make Saudi Arabia a dialogue partner of the SCO, the first step toward a permanent membership.

The news comes as Saudi Arabia is moving closer to Beijing, raising concern in Washington. According to Reuters, Riyadh joining the SCO was discussed when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia in December.

Saudi Arabia and China have agreed to increase cooperation in all areas during Xi’s visit. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that Riyadh is in talks with Beijing on pricing its oil in the yuan, a move that could impact the US dollar’s dominance.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to join the SCO comes after China brokered a surprise normalization deal between Riyadh and Tehran. Last year, Iran signed a memorandum to become a permanent member of the SCO, which is expected to become official this year. Other permanent members include India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The SCO is a significant economic bloc as its members make up half of the entire world’s population. Iran’s ascension into the SCO will help the country weather US and other economic sanctions as it will help increase trade with Russia, China, and other major economies.

(antiwar.com)

What assurances does the US have that our technology and weapons will not fall in the hands of those we consider ‘enemies’?

Will this change our treatment of the Saudis?

I think not…..for they have enough money to buy all the cooperation they need from Congress and the White House.

Will this change the dynamics in the Middle East?

That is a tough one to answer…..I think it will depend on situations….the Saudis are hedging their bets for their support in the US seems to be waning….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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More Biden Foreign Policy

My forte is international relations and I spend a lot of time in ‘open source’ intel looking at our positions around the world….especially when it comes to our wars and our dealings in the Middle East.

Not even a hundred days into his presidency and he has made my sh*t list……

I believe it is time for the US to get out of Afghanistan…after 20 years and many lives lost and we are in no better position than we were 15 years ago…..and I think that KSA needs to be punished for their brutal murder of the NY Times journalist……at least at this time….none of those situations will be resolved…..

Trump made a deal with the Taleban for ‘peace and the removal of US troops……Biden will crap on that deal….

President Biden said in an interview that aired on Wednesday that withdrawing from Afghanistan by the May 1st deadline set by the US-Taliban peace deal will be “tough.”

“I am in the process of making that decision now as to when they will leave,” Biden said of the remaining US troops in Afghanistan. He said the deal signed between the US and the Taliban last year in Doha was not “very solidly negotiated.”

“And so we’re in consultation with our allies as well as the government, and that decision’s in process now,” Biden added. When asked if the process will take longer than May 1st, the president said, “I don’t think a lot longer.” He said a withdrawal by May 1st “could happen, but it is tough.”

The US appears to be trying to buy more time in Afghanistan. The Biden administration presented the Taliban and the US-backed government with a power-sharing deal for an interim government, which both sides are now deliberating on.

(antiwar.com)

He , Biden, has no intention of punishing MbS, prince of KSA, for ordering the murder of a NY Times journalist who was dismembered…..

US President Joe Biden defended his administration’s decision to not impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite acknowledging that the royal was responsible for the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In an interview with ABC News aired in parts on Wednesday, Biden credited himself for releasing the US intelligence community’s findings on the killing but said sanctioning bin Salman would have been unprecedented.

“I’m the guy that released the report,” Biden said, referring to the assessment by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that was made public last month.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/khashoggi-murder-biden-defends-decision-against-punishing-mbs

He released the report….oh goody now step the Hell up and make the bastard pay for his barbaric actions.

Enough said?

Then there is the row of China/Russia….Biden is focusing on the rise of China’s military….

But how serious is the threat?

Someone needs to say this, and it looks like it’s gotta be me: China and Russia are not our enemies.

Somehow, the opinion-makers in the media, the bloated military brass with all their ribbons and stars and with little to do but worry about how to keep their massively overbuilt operation afloat with ever more taxpayer money, and the members of Congress who like to gin up fears among the voters so they’ll keep voting for them have gotten everyone thinking that Russia is still hell bent on world communist takeover and that China it trying to replace the US as global hegemon.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Let’s Stop Pretending Russia and China are Military Threats

So far I have seen nothing from Biden that shows me that he will change anything in our foreign policy….endless wars…..kowtowing to KSA and Israel like a whipped puppy.

So much for a new direction.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Khashoggi Death

Sorry for the break in tradition for IST on weekends but some stories are too important to wait.

Back in 2018 the Saudi government murdered a journalist because he was a staunch critic of the Saudi royals…….

Pres. Biden has done something that Trump refused to do and released the intel report that points the finger at the crown prince of KSA as the instigator of the murder.

The US released an intelligence report on Friday that directly implicates Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The central conclusion of the report was widely expected given that intelligence officials were said to have reached it soon after the brutal killing of Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authoritarian consolidation of power, per the AP. Still, since the finding had not been officially released until now, the public assignment of responsibility amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of the 35-year-old crown prince. US intelligence officials concluded that bin Salman approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s killing, per the Washington Post. (The US-based Khashoggi was a columnist for the Post.) The move could escalate pressure on the Biden administration to hold the kingdom accountable. 

The report was released one day after a later-than-usual courtesy call from President Biden to Saudi King Salman, though it wasn’t clear whether they discussed the killing. On the day of his death, Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Turkey to pick up documents for his wedding. Once inside, he died at the hands of more than a dozen Saudi security and intelligence officials who had assembled ahead of his arrival. Surveillance cameras had tracked his route and those of his alleged killers in Istanbul in the hours leading up to his killing. A Turkish bug planted at the consulate reportedly captured the sound of a saw dismembering Khashoggi’s body within an hour of his entering the building. His remains have not been found. The prince said in 2019 he took “full responsibility” for the killing since it happened on his watch, but denied ordering it.

Read a summary of the report for yourself….

Click to access Assessment-Saudi-Gov-Role-in-JK-Death-20210226v2.pdf

Now we have the culprit responsible brutal murder of Khashoggi……;what did Biden do?

US sanctioned Saudi officials over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after the release of a US intelligence report that said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, ordered the killing. Although MBS, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, was absent from the list of blacklisted Saudis.

In response to the report, the State Department announced a new visa restriction called the “Khashoggi Ban.” The ban allows the US to impose visa restrictions on individuals who engage in “extraterritorial counter-dissident activities” against journalists or activists. Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The first Khashoggi Ban restrictions were implemented on 76 Saudis. The State Department described them as “individuals believed to have been engaged in threatening dissidents overseas, including but not limited to the Khashoggi killing.”

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on Saudi operatives believed to be responsible for Khashoggi’s death. The measures targeted members of Saudi Arabia’s Rapid Intervention Force that were sent to kill Khashoggi.

The Treasury Department also targeted Ahmad Hassan Mohammed al Asiri, the former deputy head of Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Presidency, who the US says was assigned to carry out the Khashoggi hit.

The Biden administration is facing calls from Congress to take action against MBS for the killing. A Biden administration official told Politico that the White House decided against sanctioning MBS, fearing that it would put the US in an extremely “hostile” position with Saudi Arabia.

For their part, Saudi Arabia said it “completely rejects” the US intelligence assessment. Riyadh’s story has been that Khashoggi was killed by rogue operatives and that MBS had no knowledge of the plan.

The Biden administration has said it will reevaluate the US-Saudi relationship. Besides the sanctions, President Biden has also announced an end to US support for Saudi Arabia’s “offensive” operations in Yemen. The US suspended some Saudi arms sales, and a report from Reuters on Friday said the administration is considering stopping sales for “defensive” weapons as well.

NOTHING for the culprit, MbS……why?

Just another incident that we are kowtowing to the Saudis for some damn reason….and I thought it was pathetic the way we do that with Israel but now we have another nation that we feel we must massage their egos to keep them buying stuff from our defense industries.

Once again we care nothing for human rights as long as we keep our hand in their pockets.

It is a pathetic response….and I expect more of the same from the Biden administration.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“We Have Your Back”

That is basically what Biden admin has assured the crown prince of Saudi Arabia…..

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday and reaffirmed the US military’s commitment to the “defense” of Saudi Arabia.

…

Despite Washington’s efforts to end the war in Yemen, the US military presence in Saudi Arabia seems set to continue. The Trump administration sent troops to Saudi Arabia in 2019, the first time US forces were deployed to the country since 2003. Now, the US is looking to establish new bases in western Saudi Arabia. The idea is that western areas are not in the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, discussed these western locations on Thursday, although he downplayed the idea that they would be permanent bases. “We are not looking for new bases. I want to be clear on that,” he said. “What we would like to do, without shutting down these [current] bases … is to have the ability to go to other bases to operate in a period of heightened risk.”

(antiwar.com)

Seriously……we have their back?

I mean WTF?

How much technology have we given/sold to KSA?  How much training have we given them?

Billions of dollars and we still have to protect them?

Let me see now…..the defense industry makes billions and our forces still have to protect them from ‘meanies’ in the neighborhood….ain’t capitalism great?

All the countries like KSA and Israel…get away with murder (both literally and physically) and yet we have to “protect” their adventurism…..

Why?

Apparently the weapons industry has all the power over our foreign policy.

Again….why?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–18Feb21

Looks like Twitter is trying to head off any crackdown by the Biden admin by permanently shutting down some of the hate users….like Trump.

But they also have suspended the accounts of some of the Saudi dissidents….

Twitter has removed the blue verified badge from the accounts of several Saudi political prisoners, including two prominent clerics who were detained in a crackdown against reformists, activists and government critics. 

Among those whose verification label has been removed are Ali al-Omary and Awad al-Qarni, two senior religious figures who have been jailed since 2017. They were seized during a purge that followed Mohammed bin Salman‘s rise to the position of crown prince.

Similarly, the accounts of the Saudi philanthropist Khaled al-Mohawesh and journalist Khaled al-Alkami, also jailed in the 2017 purge, had their blue tick removed, according to the advocacy Twitter account Prisoners of Conscience. It added that the account of economist Essam el-Zamil, another political prisoner, has been suspended. He tweeted under the handle @Essamz.

Middle East Eye has contacted Twitter for comment but has not received a response by the time of publication.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-twitter-jailed-scholars-verification-removed

I wonder how much that cost the Saudi royals?

And it makes me think of what is Twitter doing.

Seems the reforms in KSA does not mean the right to dissent…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

US MUST Ask Permission?

We have a new president and he has said that he would return to the deal made with Iran and their pursuit of nukes…..Joe Biden still says he will work with Iran to return to the JCPOA. In an interview last week, Biden said he would return to the deal and work on follow-on negotiations for a stricter agreement that covers Iran’s ballistic missile program.

This is a good thing IMO…..but Saudi Arabia has said that the US must ask the Saudis before they return to the table…..

Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan is warning that any move to rejoin the Iran deal could only be sustainable if Biden consults with the Gulf Arab states first. He added he is “ready to engage” when Biden takes office.

The incoming administration hasn’t commented, but there are reasons to doubt this happening. The talks would be high risk for little reward, as the Saudis are almost certain to remain opposed to the deal, and the US oughtn’t give the impression they need a Saudi imprimatur to make the move.

The new administration may feel it is only courteous to keep the Saudis in the loop, but would want to make clear they aren’t asking permission. This is particularly true in the case of an early deal, as Biden will want to stake out a more independent foreign policy than his predecessor.

(antiwar.com)

Seriously?

Ask permission?

Who do this pack of barbarians think they are?

I sat f*ck the Saudis ans well as I say f*ck Israel…..none of these d/bags should have any say on what our policies will be.

The arrogance of these two POS countries need to get a grip…..

Will US bow and scrap to these murdering bastards….or will we show them the door?

And now I can add Morocco to the list of barbaric nations we should avoid.

Israel and Morocco have agreed to normalize relations, President Trump said Thursday, marking the fourth Arab-Israeli agreement in four months. As part of the deal announced near the end of Trump’s term, the United States will recognize Morocco’s claim over the disputed Western Sahara region, per the AP. Trump said Israel and Morocco would restore diplomatic and other relations, including the immediate reopening of liaison offices in Tel Aviv and Rabat and the eventual opening of embassies. US officials said there would be joint overflight rights for airlines. The White House said Trump and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI had agreed that Morocco would “resume diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel and expand economic and cultural cooperation to advance regional stability.”

 
 

 

 

 

“Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations—a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!” Trump tweeted. The US will recognize Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara, the former Spanish territory in North Africa where a long-running dispute has confounded international negotiators for decades. Morocco is the fourth Arab nation to recognize Israel as the Trump administration seeks to expand a diplomatic framework that began over the summer with an agreement between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain and Sudan followed suit, and administration officials have also been trying to bring Saudi Arabia into the grouping. (New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is no fan of Trump, but he likes this Mideast progress.)

Friedman?  He is a staunch advocate or Israel and a war hawk….so I take everything he say s as pure bullshit.

More on this situation later….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Will Saudis Get Nukes?

Over a year ago I wrote bout the news that Jared was working to help MbS get nuke power for KSA…..https://lobotero.com/2019/05/14/saudis-and-nukes/

I said then that it was a bad idea to give the Saudis nuke technology and after months of bitching I see that Pompeo has reassured Israel that Saudis will got get access to nukes….

Following reports that this is a specific concern of Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he believes it is a “real risk” that Saudi Arabia will get nukes, and that the US views it as a “top priority” to try to prevent the Saudis from getting such arms.

Recent reports, all centering on the Israeli narrative, claim the Saudis are processing yellowcake uranium, and that they are getting secret help from China that could lead to the acquisition of nuclear arms in the future.

This is an unusual place for the administration to be in, as they general support arming the Saudis to the teeth, and Pompeo has repeatedly gone to bat for the idea that the Saudis need more arms for their “emergency” state. Those are US-made arms, of course.

The concern may be that getting arms from China will change the power structure of the Middle East, with Pompeo saying China’s offer is “too good to be true.” It’s not clear what China offered, or if they offered anything at all, and Saudi interest in nuclear energy could easily explain away the uranium processing.

(antiwar.com)

So according to the toad in the State Department….it is okay for the US to give nukes away but not China.  A moronic thought!

But not to worry.

KSA’s close friend the UAE has just fired up its nuclear plant…..

A nuclear power plant in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates has been connected to the country’s power grid, authorities said Wednesday. The Barakah nuclear power plant in the Emirates’ far western desert near the border with Saudi Arabia began sending out electricity, according to the state-run WAM news agency. WAM published a photograph of employees working inside the plant’s control room, though no independent media was there to witness the event. On July 31, the plant’s first reactor reached what scientists called its “first criticality.” That’s when the nuclear chain reaction within the reactor is self-sustaining. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency and other regulatory bodies have seen and assessed the site.

The plant has been considered a target by Yemen’s rival Houthi rebels since Dec. 2017. They claimed then, without offering evidence, to have fired a cruise missile at it, something immediately denied by the UAE. Plans call for four reactors to be operating at Barakah, which authorities say will provide some 25% of all energy needs in this OPEC-member nation. The $20 billion plant was built by the Emirates with the help of South Korea. It’s the first nuclear power plant on the Arabian Peninsula. The US has praised the UAE’s nuclear program for agreeing never to acquire enrichment or reprocessing capabilities, which prevents it from being able to make weapons-grade uranium, the AP reports.

A plant next door would be easy to get the technology needed….basically for nothing.

Does anyone else see how moronic this foreign policy is?

If not maybe you should pay attention.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Saudi Nuke Program

Recently the Trump admin has decided to give nuke technology to the Saudis…..not to worry you can read all about it here….https://lobotero.com/2019/05/14/saudis-and-nukes/ (3 different post on the subject…check them out)…..

Then I read that the Saudis and the Chinese are working together on their nuke programs……WTF?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reportedly built a uranium-enrichment facility with help from China that could put the kingdom one step closer to creating a nuclear weapon.

The facility is being built in a remote desert in the country’s northwest region and has raised concerns from the United States and other allied nations about Riyadh’s nuclear development plan, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The facility will reportedly extract yellowcake uranium from uranium ore.

https://justthenews.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-working-china-expand-nuclear-program-construct-yellowcake-facility

Yellowcake uranium….you remember that right?

It was used to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003….and now we will trust one of the most untrustworthy international p;layers with the development of yellowcake…..

At what point does the Trump oligarchy draw the line in the sand?

To expand on this…China seems to be developing a Middle East Kingdom with their policies…..

American policymakers have long assumed that Chinese and American goals in the Middle East are largely complementary. Beijing, so the prevailing wisdom holds, is fixated on commerce, with a special emphasis on oil and gas. “China’s strategy in the Middle East is driven by its economic interests,” a former senior official in the Obama administration testified last year before Congress. “China … does not appear interested in substantially deepening its diplomatic or security activities there.” According to this reigning view, China adopts a position of neutrality toward political and military conflicts, because taking sides would make enemies who might then restrict China’s access to markets.

This oft-repeated shibboleth ignores clear signs that China is very actively engaged in a hard-power contest with the United States—a contest that the Chinese occasionally acknowledge and are capable of winning. In 2016, Xi Jinping toured the Middle East for the first time in his capacity as president of the People’s Republic of China, visiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran. Chinese propaganda hailed the trip as a milestone. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a white paper on its Arab policy, the first of its kind. “We will deepen China-Arab military cooperation and exchange,” the paper read. “We will … deepen cooperation on weapons, equipment and various specialized technologies, and carry out joint military exercises.”

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/china-middle-eastern-kingdom

The Middle East may well be out of the news spotlight because of the pandemic….but there is still more going on than the media is willing to report.

For FYI….this is the unredacted IG report that Pompeo wanted NO one to read….but now you can…..a fascinating 20+ pages…..

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000173-df44-d479-af73-ff5e7dd00000

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I know, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–16Jun20

The big news out of the Middle East was that Khasoggi’s sons pardoned his alleged murderers (wonder what that cost the Kingdom’s MbS?)…then his, Khasoggi, fiancee did not do the same…she is still pissed.

That was the BIG news from the region for the MSM….but I think this should have been the focus of reports…..

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead to complete its first nuclear reactor, according to satellite images that have raised concern among arms-control experts because the kingdom has yet to implement international monitoring rules.

Satellite photos show the kingdom has built a roof over the facility before putting in place International Atomic Energy Agency regulations that allow inspectors early verification of the reactor’s design. Foregoing on-the-ground monitoring until after the research reactor is completed would be an unusual move normally discouraged under regulations to ensure civilian atomic programs aren’t used to make weapons.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-21/saudi-atomic-reactor-progresses-with-inspectors-still-frozen-out

This is not a good idea people.

We are talking about the homeland of the ideology and theology of terror groups like AQ and ISIS and Boko Haram……how long before these groups get their hands on material for a dirty bomb?

It is silly to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear power but allow a barbarous nation like KSA to acquire.

Plus they are not allowing the IAEA in to inspect….at least Iran was allowing them in (most times)…..

This is not going to end well for someone.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Are Saudis Our Friend?

I keep asking this question with little information that would state firmly that they are our friends…..it is a question I have asked many times and as of yet have NO good answer why it is assumed that they are our friends.

That is the question….I mean there is still a chance that they knew about the attack on 9/11….but that aside look no further back than the attack in Pensacola last year…..

In December of last year, the United States suffered the first deadly, internationally orchestrated terrorist attack on its soil since 9/11 — when a Saudi Air Force trainee killed three US sailors and wounded eight others at a Navy air base in Pensacola, FL.

Last week, the FBI and Attorney General William Barr announced that data recovered from the cellphone of the perpetrator further confirms that the mass shooting was an act of terrorism, and that the gunman had ties to al-Qaeda. Was this a discrete act committed in the name of a rogue terrorist organization — or an extension of long-standing Saudi state policy?

The Terrorist Threat Concealed by Saudi ‘Soft Power’

The US NEVER needed the Saudis even at the height of the oil boom……and now we are beholden to them for so much…..

he U.S.-Saudi relationship has been badly weakened over the last few years, and it seems as if there are new reasons for ending that relationship every week. Saudi war crimes in Yemen and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi served to turn much of Washington against the kingdom, and their reckless foreign policy has given even some of their regular supporters cause for alarm. The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has done a remarkable job of burning his bridges with even the most reliable pro-Saudi hawks in Washington.

The Saudis’ ill-advised oil price war this spring alienated many of their few remaining allies on Capitol Hill, and it prompted a rare threat from the Trump administration that the U.S. would cut off military support to the kingdom unless Saudi oil production was reduced. Three years of impunity and constant indulgence of his many other crimes probably made the crown prince believe that he could do whatever he wanted without suffering consequences, but once again he misjudged and overreached.

America’s Saudi Partnership Is Now Killing Americans

Now I need to answer my question….why are the Saudis our friend?

MONEY!  There is your answer.

This article can explain the relationship expertly……

The Trump Administration has sent a notification to Congress confirming plans to sell $500 million in weapons to Saudi Arabia in an upcoming round of sales. The plan would include sales of Paveway bombs to the Saudis, and licenses to Raytheon to let them manufacture the bombs directly in Saudi Arabia.

These bombs are part of a 2019 deal in which the Saudis intend to buy 60,000 precision munitions. The deal has continued to face heavy resistance in Congress, in no small part because the Saudis have been committing war crimes with these US-made arms.

Concerns about US culpability in having provided these arms were compounded with the Saudi assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which fueled a substantial political backlash. So far, the Trump Administration has resisted letting Congress block any sales, but each announcement starts the battle anew.

Large sales of arms to the Middle East have been a high priority for years for US presidents, and that push looks likely to continue until Congress finally gets enough resistance in the way to force a rethink of the wisdom of heavily arming nations in war-torn parts of the world.

(antiwar.com)

The religious ideology of KSA is the same ideology that emboldens al-Qaeda and ISIS….what part of that is friendly toward the US?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”