West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

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ldev
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ldev »

^^
MBS is being rewarded for bringing about a 180 degree change in US policy towards KSA/Iran compared to the previous US administration, public manifestation being DT sword dance and tweet/public comments about Qatar being the source of terrorism.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Singha »

ArjunPandit wrote:Does that mean, the qatar saga is over?
The prince is the man behind qatar and yemen. So expect more oil in furnace

Sudairi 7 monarchs have taken charge late in life. To be heir apparent at 31 is astonishing. Means usa is fully into the choice and signed off on a decades long relationship
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ramana »

Expect a palace purge of those potential rivals to the new Crown Prince Salman.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Baikul »

^^ Or it could be the other way round, an assassination attempt.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

^ unlikely ..31 out of 34 members of allegiance council voted Bin Salman into power.
He is person behind enforcing family tax which affects Indians badly. He was defence min when Qatar blockade was initiated and war on Yemen started.
Already Indians have started sending families back. Saudi is unable to handle poor economy due to inability to sell oil.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

The farmers are the latest victims in the escalating spat.
At least 12,000 Qatari-owned camels and sheep have been ordered out of Saudi Arabia as both sides in the Gulf diplomatic crisis refuse to back down.
Temporary shelters, water and food have been set up for 7,000 camels and 5,000 sheep forced to trek back to the kingdom across the desert border, Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported on Tuesday, while website al-Raya put the figure at 25,000.
Qatar is home to around 22,000 camels, which are raised for racing as well as for meat and milk, but many herdsmen in the tiny kingdom rent pastures in much larger neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by UlanBatori »

Qatar airways named Best at Paris Air Show.
Quality of houris (hic!) was only part of the criteria, say (hic!) organizers (hic!)
The award, presented during the 2017 Paris Air Show, represents the airline’s fourth such win in ten years. They also claimed the title in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

Following their 2016 second-place finish behind the United Arab Emirates, Qatar could be forgiven for feeling a small amount of vindication. On June 4, the UAE and four other Gulf states followed Saudi Arabia in severing all diplomatic ties with Qatar, citing its alleged financial support of terrorist groups.

A trade blockade followed almost immediately and Qatar Airways found itself expelled from or its access severely restricted in Gulf state airspace. It had already been feeling a financial pinch as a result of the US and UK electronics bans against flights from certain Middle east airlines which was implemented earlier in the year.

Called the “Oscars of the aviation industry,” the Skytrax awards are based on independent surveys done by 19.87 million passengers from 105 countries.

Qatar vigorously denied the allegations against them from the start.Two weeks earlier, it complained that its state-owned news agency had been hacked and fake news stories embedded in its system. An FBI investigation, conducted in Doha, confirmed the hacking and named Russia as the likely culprit.

Now in its third week, the blockade is raising more questions than generating answers. On Tuesday, the US State Department expressed its growing doubt regarding the true motive behind the blockade. Was their true motivation fighting terrorism or was it pre-existing tension?

A statement delivered by spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, voiced the Trump administration’s increasing frustration with Riyadh saying, “The more the time goes by, the more doubt is raised about the actions taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. At this point, we are left with one simple question: Were the actions really about their concerns regarding Qatar’s alleged support for terrorism or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC countries.”
Look for Morocco to be invaded by Bahrain in retaliation. :LOL
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

How a mavercik Trump is playing in hands of Saudi pushing Middle East into further instability and potential war https://www.thenation.com/article/trump ... di-regime/
( JE Menon saar your first assessment was spot on).
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ramana »

I think under MBS, KSA will be the new Iraq while Qatar is the new Kuwait.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

India to start evacuating citizens from Qatar in wake of Saudi Royal coup http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/ ... 260792.cms
some 650 000 Indians live there.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Avtar Singh »

"Every crisis is an opportunity"

All this instability could be great for India lets hope it becomes a real hot war;
saudi/iran/sunni nato(pak mercenaries)/usa//qatar/turkey/russia....pakistan/afghanistan
I hope the whole region can start burning/killing/fighting hand over fist please.

It could be a good opportunity for India to take back PoK....
Excuse of securing borders against fallout from dangerous/volatile region?
India is probably not ready for such moves?

Those who would normally block this would be hard pushed to prevent an India concentrating on a very narrow objective, they will be busy.

Interesting to see what role the new so called “superpower” china/pla will be playing among all this chaos.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Rudradev »

ramana wrote:I think under MBS, KSA will be the new Iraq while Qatar is the new Kuwait.
This may be true, but here is another possibility.

Qatar is the new Kuwait. But Turkey is the new Iraq, and Erdogan the new Saddam.

Consider:
1) Among the three imperial states of West Asia (besides Iran and the USA), Turkey is the one with the most catching-up to do in terms of expanding its influence in the region.

2) Erdogan has imperial ambitions surpassing those of any Turkish leader to date, since Ataturk. He initially tried to project power into Turkey's immediate neighbours, Iraq and Syria, but found himself largely stymied by different Kurdish groups who enjoyed the backing of Washington, Tehran, or Moscow. As of now Turkey has little influence in the Levant other than in some pockets like Idlib (and there, too, only through unreliable proxies like Al-Nusra).

3) Turkey has been working with the Qutbists in Egypt and Qatar as an avenue of expanding its influence. While Clinton Mohterma (and Huma Abedin) were comfortable embracing the Qutbists (such as Morsi), the Saudis, UAE, and al-Sisi's Egypt are VERY upset by this. Even the intervention-averse Obama administration later changed its position on Turkey, and may have tacitly backed the Gulenist coup attempt, once Kerry replaced Clinton Mohterma as SOS.

4) No one... not the US, not Russia, not Israel, nor the Gulf Arab states, would like to see Turkey become a more powerful contender in the game of imperial dominance over West Asia. The EU doesn't much care for his regime either... he continues to blackmail them by shoveling Syrian refugees across their borders, while at the same time continuing to promote hostilities in Syria that create more refugees.

5) In the longer term, an Islamist, expansionist, and militarily powerful Turkey (which is also the inheritor of one of the longest-running imperial legacies in the world) is MUCH more of a strategic threat to the West than Saudi Arabia. Some might argue that is more of a long-term threat to the West than even Iran (which to some extent remains contained). Erdogan's ambitions, therefore, have to be snuffed out before they go much further.

5) As a move to extending Turkey's imperial outreach beyond his initial (stalemated) attempts in the Levant, Erdogan has signed a deal to base Turkish armed forces in Qatar. He has indicated that he intends to go forward with this plan even though the Saudis, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt are moving to blockade and isolate Qatar. In effect, he is throwing a gauntlet directly into the corner of West Asia that is currently the imperial protectorate of the United States.

Now consider the following course of events:

1) Turkey moves 3000 (or more) soldiers into Qatar.

2) "KSA-coalition forces" (but, in fact, with most of the wet work done by embedded US special-forces/aircraft/DDGs/SLCMs etc.) attack Qatar anyway. They beat the living cr@p out of the Turkish forces stationed in Qatar, in FULL view of the world. A total, out-and-out re-enactment of Highway Of Death '91.

3) As we know, a certain proportion of the Turkish Armed Forces are anyway sympathetic to Gulen and suspicious of Erdogan. These officers now blame Erdogan for placing the 3000 Turkish troops in Qatar, stranding them in the middle of a war zone that was none of Turkey's business, and leaving them in harm's way as sitting ducks bereft of logistical support. They channel the rage engendered by the humiliating drubbing of these troops (at the hands of the "Saudis", of all people!) to re-ignite violent insurrection against Erdogan by a large section of the Turkish armed forces.

4) Erdogan is thrown out or killed in a coup, successfully this time. Ankara comes under (Washington-pasand) Turkish Army rule, and its imperial designs are profoundly curtailed for the foreseeable future. The AK party gets thoroughly purged and ceases to be a headache for everybody. Qatar is also "pacified" (any problematic Thanis are swiftly eliminated in the fog of war and replaced by more pliant, pro-Riyadh, anti-Qutbist proxies). Al Jazeera gets bombed out several times in passing (oops!) Iran's designs to expand its influence in the Gulf via Doha receive a major setback.

5) Saudi Arabia-led "Sunni NATO" comes out looking like a credible imperial power and guarantor of regional stability (even though it is actually a US MuNNA, and all the heavy lifting was and continues to be done by the US itself behind the scenes). Hey, if they can (appear to) beat Turkey in a military contest, they deserve to be taken seriously, right? Saudi Arabia and friends also thus win back a measure of the H&D lost in the face of a massive two-year buttkicking by the Houthis.

6) Russia-Syria are encouraged to mop up the (now helpless) Al-Nusra types in Idlib and recapture territory in NW Syria up to the Turkish border. In return they strike a deal to give up territory in northeastern Syria (Raqqa) and southeastern Syria (al-Tanf) to the Kurds of the SDF, and to other American proxies. Peace returns to a truncated Syria and a partitioned Iraq, now that the West can openly back the establishment of a Kurdish state on a subdued Turkey's borders.

Possible?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by KLNMurthy »

Rudradev wrote: ...
Possible?
It is certainly a plausible scenario, however requiring a number of complex moving parts to act in unison.

It does call for a determined strategic vision and its execution on the part of the US. One question I would raise in today's context is, where, among the various facets of the American State, is that vision and capability to be found? State department? Pentagon? White House? The failed strategic intellectual community? None of them looks to me like promising candidates to develop the vision and lead the rest of the American State in its execution. Do McMaster and Mattis, the two frequently cited "geniuses" of the US government, have the chops and the influence to make it happen?

It would be interesting, it seems to me, to develop an alternate scenario in which the players take the least intelligent, and least visionary paths down the decision tree, with competence being at a minimum, and and entropy, inertia, and the lowest impulses of human nature being the primary driving forces.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ramana »

Exactly. US is intent on chaos as a strategy in ME.
Its set in motion after Bush strike in Iraq.
Still at work.
Besides Turkey is the largest NATO partner.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by krisna »

Now what are India's options -
1)has had good relations to many countries in Gulf irrespective of who is ruling whether shia or sunni or different sect.
2) Indians expatriates are all over gulf.

is it again just air lifting all Indians at massive cost which must be done to save Indians caught in the cross fire .
is there anything else for Indian diplomacy to do than simply airlift?


----------------------------------------

Probably a broader question to ask

Is India hostage to local indian muslims when it comes to gulf??
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by UlanBatori »

India is hostage to the fact that so many Indians are in the gelf and KSA. Cannot antagonize those petty sultans. Anyway, I don't see what else India should do in present situation except offer extra flights - which is a great move. 1000 more net exfiltration per week means 650 weeks to bring them all out, so this is only a trickle. I assume that KSA and gelf do not ban overflights by Indian jets so Qataris can also just reroute their bijnej and tourist travel via Kochi and Mumbai. I wonder if they can't use Indian planes to fly to all points, come to think of that. So India is already helping. Beyond that, whom should India go bomb, hain? The sea is probably too shallow for submarines, too narrow for aircraft carriers. Too far away for Su-30 raids.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Singha »

video saudi prince who tries to argue with the crown prince rudely pushed back by guards

https://twitter.com/G6KSA/status/877690838645587968
https://twitter.com/Zinvor/status/877670172957577220
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ldev »

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's prince of chaos
Image
The final act of the palace coup I have been writing about since King Salman took over has just been completed. Everyone was waiting for a coup against Qatar. In fact, the coup was within the kingdom itself.

It took place in the middle of the night after fajr, the Muslim prayer that heralds the dawn of a new day, and millions of Saudis woke to a new reality - a 31-year-old prince is going to be the next king.

The departure of his father, King Salman - whose speech carried on live television during Trump's visit to Riyadh was incomprehensible to many who heard him in Arabic - is now a formality. Bin Salman is now king in all but name.

Step by step, the last obstacle to bin Salman's vertiginous rise to power, his cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, has been stripped of his power. There was little he could do to stop it, but he fought all the way.

First, his royal court went, then a national security council was created over his head. Then his ministry was stripped of its prosecutorial role. Then the operation to isolate Qatar, one of his closest allies, was launched.


This is a tribal system. So if the sheikh of your tribe goes one way, there is little you can do but follow. Acquiescence should not be confused for consensus. It was foreseen, but make no mistake: this is the biggest shock to the Saudi royal household since King Saud was forced to abdicate by Prince Faisal in 1964.

What does it mean?

All the levers of power are now in the hands of a young, inexperienced and risk-taking man, who in his short time in power as defence minister has established a reputation for recklessness.

He launched an air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen and then disappeared on holiday to the Maldives[so you know how Maldives has got into such a close Saudi orbit]. It took days before the US defence secretary could reach him. Ten thousand deaths later, the Houthis are still firmly in the capital Sanaa, the liberated south has split from Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's control and cholera has broken out.

Each file bin Salman has picked up has found its way into the office shredder.

He first introduced austerity by rolling out deep pay cuts to government employees, warning the country would be bankrupt in five years. Then he reversed the cuts, claiming financial stability had been created. Then he committed himself to up to $500bn of military purchases from America.

Now all Saudis, in the austerity-driven kingdom, will get an extra week Eid holiday, a total of around two weeks.

The fine detail of any of his impulsive decisions, like how any of them will actually be achieved, is missing. The plan to sell up to five percent of the state oil company Aramco on the New York and London stock exchanges has already produced warnings about the legal risks of a New York listing, from the families of the victims of the 11 September attacks or class action litigation on requirements to declare state reserves. There is opposition too in London.

Its the same story in Syria. Let's not forget who provided militant groups in Syria with some of their most violent men. It was under Prince Bandar bin Sultan's tenure, as secretary of national security, that 1,239 inmates on death row - including rapists and murderers - were released on condition that they go to "jihad in Syria". This is stated in black and white in a memo dated 17 April 2012.

Under bin Salman, the kingdom has gone from micromanaging the Syria opposition (to the extent of telling the head of the negotiating committee in Geneva exactly when the delegation should leave for the airport to ensure the breakdown of talks) to losing interest in the rebels altogether. As a Saudi ally, you can be hung out to dry at any time.

Be it in Yemen, Syria or Qatar, the crown prince has already earned another title: the prince of chaos.

Bin Salman's mentor

He has, however, followed instructions. As Middle East Eye reported at the time, the young prince's mentor, Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, gave him two words of advice to speed him on his way to the throne.

The first was to open a channel of communication with Israel. This he has now done, and under his command, the kingdom is closer than it has ever been to starting trade links with Tel Aviv. Both the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, are reading from the same script on attempting to blacklist Hamas.

The second instruction was to diminish the power of the religious authorities in the kingdom.

Although bin Salman has reduced the influence of the religious establishment on the daily life of the Saudis, he is using it to bolster his authority. A series of tweets by the Ulama, the Saudi Committee of Senior Scholars, demonstrates how religion has been pressed into the service of politics.

This is what this body of scholars said about the Muslim Brotherhood:

"The Brotherhood are not among those who are on the right path. Al-Luhaidan, may Allah protect him"

"The Brotherhood (members) are partisans who just want to seize power; they do not care about calling for correcting the faith. Al-Fawzan, may Allah protect him"

More important is this tweet:

"There is nothing in the Book and the Sunnah that permits the multitude of (political) parties and groups. To the contrary, they both censure such a thing."

The message from this is brutally clear. Political parties are not allowed. We are not giving you democracy, but theocracy and autocracy.

Even the timing of the last act of this palace coup is significant. Prince bin Salman will receive allegiance from his family and the public in Mecca on the 27th night of Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, the night of power when prayers are magnified in importance a thousand times. This is the most important night in the Islamic calendar.

This is not a king in waiting who intends to neutralise the role of religion in the affairs of state. He is using it to establish his own autocratic rule.

Yemen next

This is the Trump effect in action. Bin Salman's ambitions to seize the Saudi throne and Bin Zayed's plans to impose dictatorship on the entire Gulf world predated the arrival of the most dangerous president in modern US history. But Trump's visit to Riyadh fired the starting pistol.

Within days, the tanks of the bin Salman-bin Zayed axis started rolling, first against Qatar and then against bin Nayef.

Yemen is their next target. As we have reported, there has been a major fallout between the Yemeni president in exile, Hadi, who is in Riyadh, and local forces in Aden controlled by the Emiratis. The two major partners in the campaign against the Houthis are backing sides that are at war with each other in southern Yemen.

This, I understand, will shortly be resolved. Bin Salman has met Tahnoon bin Zayed, the brother of Mohammed bin Zayed and also his security chief, to tell him to calm the situation down in south Yemen.

Bin Salman told Tahnoon that once he becomes the crown prince, he will ditch Hadi and replace him with Khaled Bahah, who is close to the Emiratis.

Bahah has visited Riyadh recently to reconnect with the new Saudi administration. A full-scale offensive against Islah, the Muslim Brotherhood-related faction in Yemen, will then proceed.

This then is the new dawn that awaits not just the Saudis, but millions in the region. If these plans go ahead, it will subject the region to decades more of turmoil, civil war, proxy conflict and bloodshed.

Thick as thieves?

However, thieves have a habit of falling out with each other. Bin Zayed, the architect of this campaign against political Islam and all forces promoting democracy in the region, has suited bin Salman's purpose until now. He has put him in pole position to become king.

Once, however, bin Salman has come to power, it may no longer suit the young king to be advised by the crown prince of a much smaller state. Their interests may easily diverge. We have seen this already in Egypt, where the Saudis installed a military dictator, only to find their placemen did not back them in their campaign against Iran.

The second factor is that the bin Salman-bin Zayed axis will inadvertently forge new alliances to counter their dominance. The closure of Saudi borders with Qatar has already accelerated the arrival of Turkish troops in Doha. It may also force Turkey, Kuwait and Oman to reconcile with Iran. Divisions created by the Syrian war between Hezbollah and Hamas may also be quickly healed.

When father and son came to power after the death of King Abdullah, there was a hope that they could unite Sunnis and provide leadership when it was sorely needed. Instead, they may have fragmented and polarised it beyond repair.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Karthik S »

India Samvad‏ @india_samvad 20m20 minutes ago
India to airlift its citizens stuck in blockade-hit Qatar from next week
Aside, this ME conflict will create huge problems for us. Where will people get employment and livelihood.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by vinod »

More trouble for Indian expats in Saudi, they have to pay a family tax.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri ... 247050.cms
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Philip »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... Destroying Great Mosque of al-Nuri 'is Isis declaring defeat'[/b]
Iraqi PM denounces levelling of Mosul building where Islamic State leader declared a caliphate three years ago
The al-Hadba minaret seen in the Old City of Mosul this week, as Iraqi forces advanced on Isis positions. The minaret and al-Nuri mosque have now been destroyed.

Martin Chulov and Kareem Shaheen
Thursday 22 June 2017 08.14 BST First published on Wednesday 21 June 2017 21.31 BST
The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has said the destruction of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul is an admission by the militants that they are losing the fight for the country’s second-largest city.

One of Islam’s most venerated sites, the mosque has been destroyed by explosions as Iraqi forces battled Islamic State fighters who had holed up nearby.
“Daesh’s bombing of the al-Hadba minaret and the al-Nuri mosque is a formal declaration of their defeat,” Abadi said, using the Arabic acronym for Isis.

Iraq’s military blamed Isis for levelling the mosque, almost three years after its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ascended a pulpit inside to proclaim himself leader of a new Islamic caliphate.

“The Daesh [Islamic State] terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historic al-Hadba minaret,” the militarysaid.

The terrorist group said US-led airstrikes had caused the damage.

Images showing the mosque area and aerial photographs provided by the US military depicted scenes of widespread damage, with its renowned leaning minaret no longer standing and the compound largely in ruins.

An aerial photograph showing destruction inside the mosque compound.
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An aerial photograph showing destruction inside the mosque compound. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty
The US military denied it had carried out airstrikes in the area.

The destruction came as Iraqi troops edged to within 50 metres of the mosque, in a densely packed neighbourhood of central western Mosul, more than eight months into the battle to free the city.

“As our Iraqi security force [ISF] partners closed in on the al-Nuri mosque, Isis destroyed one of Mosul and Iraq’s great treasures,” said Maj Gen Joseph Martin, commanding general of the US-led coalition fighting Isis.

“This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organisation must be annihilated. The responsibility of this devastation is laid firmly at the doorstep of Isis, and we continue to support our Iraqi partners as they bring these terrorists to justice.

“However, the battle for the liberation of Mosul is not yet complete, and we remain focused on supporting the ISF with that objective in mind.”

Isis had vowed to defend the city it seized in July 2014 and had been fiercely resisting advancing forces this summer.

“They blew it up because they did not want the place they announced the caliphate from to be the place where the Iraqi military announces its victory over them,” said Hisham al-Hashimi, an author on extremist groups and a former government adviser.

Isis’s destruction of Palmyra: ‘The heart has been ripped out of the city'

The loss of the site is another devastating blow to Iraq’s heritage, which has been ravaged by 14 years of war since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein. The militants’ control over northern Iraq has taken a particularly heavy toll, with globally significant archaeological sites being vandalised and pillaged.

The mosque was destroyed on the Night of Power, one of the holiest dates in the Islamic calendar, when the Qur’an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. It was built in the 12th century by Noureddine al-Zanki, a famed commander and a contemporary of Saladin, whose family ruled the provinces of Aleppo and Mosul on behalf of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad.

The mosque was one of the great monuments in Islam after the grand mosques of Mecca and Medina, al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, rivalling others such as the Amr ibn al-’As mosque in Egypt and other more modern structures built in recent centuries.

Iraqi officials had privately expressed hopes that the mosque could be captured in time for Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, which this year is on 25 June in Iraq. The fall of Mosul would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi portion of the “caliphate” even though Isis would continue to control territory west and south of the city.

Baghdadi has left the fighting in Mosul to local commanders and is believed to be hiding in the border area between Iraq and Syria, according to US and Iraqi military sources. [/quote]
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Singha »

iraqi forces are less 100m from the mosque. but i think its in one corner of the daish occupied old town, so there are few square blocks of dense housing with 100s of fighters and suicide belts and IEDs are still lurking.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

last year these pics widely circulated on SM

Image
Saudi Arabian prince Nawaf al-Saud, obliges women to wear niqab or burka under pain of being punished... except on his yacht.
(Royal family of Saudi on holiday in Turkey)
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Falijee »

Saudi- All In The Family - Shenanigans !

Image
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by UlanBatori »

As they say, we ain't got no dog in this fight. Just protect and bring back Injuns (can't save their property..) before the whole place goes up in flames.

Question: How come Natural Gas prices have not gone up despite jollies in Qatar? Makes no sense. It's like Spot Market has no fear at all of a conflagration. I would have expected oil over $150/barrel and Gas likewise shooting up, by now. I mean, any day a couple supertankers could be sunk across the Straits of Hormuz or Aden. Plus refineries are all fair game for mijjiles, not 2 mention IED mubaraks. It is as if all the news we read, is entirely bogus, the whole region is going about their usual daily routine of (never mind..)
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ramana »

Natural Gas did go up and many tankers got diverted to different markets based on who was offering spot prices.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by ramana »

I think era of oil price politics is over.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Singha »

https://twitter.com/IntheNow_tweet/stat ... 7530372097

Egyptians laughing at mandatory hijab idea in 1968
Not so now
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

http://www.thehindu.com/news/internatio ... 132120.ece
List of demands on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, other Arab nations
Acting as a mediator, Kuwait has presented Qatar a long-awaited list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, four Arab nations that cut ties with Qatar in early June. A copy of the list was obtained by The Associated Press and translated from Arabic.

A look at the demands:

Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard from Qatar and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with U.S. and international sanctions will be permitted.

Sever all ties to “terrorist organizations,” specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Formally declare those entities as terrorist groups.

Shut down al-Jazeera and its affiliate stations.

Shut down news outlets that Qatar funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, al-Araby al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

Immediately terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside of Qatar.

Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organizations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the United States and other countries.

Hand over “terrorist figures” and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.

End interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries’ laws.

Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar’s prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.

Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar’s policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar.

Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014.

Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid. The document doesn’t specify what the countries will do if Qatar refuses to comply.

Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Philip »

The Saudis impossible to submit too demands to turn Qatar into a catamite!
With the Turks guarding the Qatari royalty,just as Paki troops used to protect the Saudis,the stakes are rapidly rising in the region,esp. after hot-head whats-his-name has been made Clown Prince.A 10 day deadline has now been given to Qatar. We first had the 24 hr. deadline,now a 10-day one,has enough time been given by the would be Napoleon of Saud,Prince Md.Dust-Bin Salman,to the Sunni Rommel,Gen. Paki-out-of-uniform to launch his Sunni Axis army in a Qatari take-away?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 03981.html
Saudi Arabia insists Qatar close Al-Jazeera as Arab states present list of 13 demands to end feud
Kuwait mediating talks between Doha and neighbours after diplomatic row over terror funding
Staff and agencies 6 hours ago
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Reuters
Acting as a mediator, Kuwait has presented Qatar a long-awaited list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, four Arab nations that cut ties with Qatar in early June.

A copy of the list was obtained by The Associated Press and translated from Arabic.

A look at the demands:

Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard from Qatar and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with U.S. and international sanctions will be permitted.

Sever all ties to “terrorist organisations,” specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis, al-Qaeda, and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Formally declare those entities as terrorist groups.

Shut down Al-Jazeera and its affiliate stations. :mrgreen:
Shut down news outlets that Qatar funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

Immediately terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside of Qatar.
:rotfl:

Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the United States and other countries.

Hand over “terrorist figures” and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.

End interference in sovereign countries' internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries' laws.

Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar's prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.

Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar's policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar. :rotfl: *Bankrupt KSA wants QWatar to pay its bills!

Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014.

Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid. The document doesn't specify what the countries will do if Qatar refuses to comply. :eek:

Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Philip »

Ha!ha!Ha! What about cats? Dogs are haram.

Saudi Arabia deports Qatari camels and sheep as diplomatic feud continues
Livestock grazing across the border from tiny Qatar on rented land ordered back as diplomatic spat shows no signs of abating
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 00776.html
At least 12,000 Qatari-owned camels and sheep have been ordered out of Saudi Arabia as both sides in the Gulf diplomatic crisis refuse to back down.

Temporary shelters, water and food have been set up for 7,000 camels and 5,000 sheep forced to trek back to the kingdom across the desert border, Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported on Tuesday, while website al-Raya put the figure at 25,000.

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment said that more permanent accommodation was being prepared.

Trump says Qatar has 'historically been funding terrorism at a very high level'
Qatar is home to around 22,000 camels, which are raised for racing as well as for meat and milk, but many herdsmen in the tiny kingdom rent pastures in much larger neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The latest move from Riyadh has triggered angry reactions among Qatari farmers.

“We just want to live out our days, to go to Saudi Arabia and take care of our camels and go back and take care of our family,” Ali Magareh, 40, told Reuters.

“We don’t want to be involved in these political things. We are not happy,” he added.

The farmers are the latest victims in the escalating spat, which began 5 June when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic ties and suspended air and sea links with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism and controversial political groups. The decision has since been adopted by several other Muslim nations.

Qatar vehemently denies the charges. Tentative reconciliation efforts led by delegations from Kuwait, as well as encouragement from Turkey, the US State Department and UN, have so far come to nothing.

Qatari citizens were given two weeks to leave the affected countries, turning the lives of thousands of families upside down, and almost all Qatar Airways flights are now facing lengthy diversions.

READ MORE
Qatar owns Canary Wharf and Heathrow – now Barclays is a problem

US ambassador to Qatar steps down after critical Donald Trump tweets :rotfl:
BAE sold surveillance tech to Saudis that could be used against UK
Trump sells Qatar $12bn of weapons after accusing it of funding terror :rotfl: :rotfl:
US Ambassador to Qatar to leave role amid regional crisis

Inside the country, which imports 80 per cent of its food, panic over food and fuel shortages have led to empty supermarket shelves and stockpiling.
Iran, a secondary target of the diplomatic stand-off, began cargo flights of up to 100 tons of fruit and vegetables a day to Doha on Sunday.

The crisis, which shows no signs of abating, could have manifold economic and political effects for the Middle East – as well as alter the course of the region’s many conflicts.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by IndraD »

what do gaarus here think are chances of Saudi actually invading Qatar like Iraq-Kuwait crisis?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by chetak »

castrate, contain and subdue.

It's all about the Qatari gas and curtailing it's independence because of the gas.

Nothing at all about saudi oil and it's hegemony because of the oil and it's savage desire to trample underfoot any perceived challenges to saudi sunni supremacy and more importantly, it's morbid fear of the turkish challenge to the saudi leadership of the ummah.

Al jazeera is a thorn in the sides of all the gelf states and a public challenge to the rulers whose excesses are being exposed to an increasingly educated populace with the ability to make up its own mind.

continued saudi efforts to subvert the paki war machine and usurp the paki "nuke umbrella", so to speak, to serve its personal interests against iran has alarmed the pakis as seen by the raheel sharif fiasco playing out in undesirable and unpredictable manifestations because of consequent moves by russia, iran, syria and turkey.

Trump's apparent disinterest and look inward stance has also unnerved the saudis despite their move on qatar.

The position of the amreki deep state is yet to be publicly gauged.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Virupaksha »

both of them are US protectorates. Coups yes, mock fights yes, fight fights zero chance

Amir khan has ran away with the bounty of 112 Bn
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by JE Menon »

IndraD wrote:what do gaarus here think are chances of Saudi actually invading Qatar like Iraq-Kuwait crisis?
The probability is high, though it won't be like Iraq-Kuwait.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by chetak »

IndraD wrote:what do gaarus here think are chances of Saudi actually invading Qatar like Iraq-Kuwait crisis?

the saudis are very wary of the turks and will not risk open confrontation with them, unless the amrekis guarantee to keep the turks out.

The ruskis along with syria will then step into the breach and will not bow down to amreki wishes.

syria seems to be the key. Its ports, as well as land mass, is being planned to be used for moving oil/gas via ships/pipelines to EU and that completely disrupts ruski oil and gas markets in the same EU market. That's why all, except the ruskis, want Assad out of syria.

The ruskis will oppose the saudi led coalition tooth and nail using syria as a front.

Its a complete dog's breakfast of a situation with all players desperately jockeying for short term tactical position and also seeking long-term strategic advantage.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by asgkhan »

Where is shyamd ? His 'analyses' was very 'enlightening' err entertaining to read.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Santosh »

So Turkey and Russia are foes in Syria but friends in Qatar. That explains all chai-biscoot sessions Turkey is holding with Russia. Also Euphrates Shield seems to be cooling off. They may have reached some agreement in Syria in exchange of political gains for Turkey elsewhere in gulf. From Indian POV both ISIS/AlQ and Muslim Brotherhood are extremist orgs. It remains to be seen if Turkey will play hard ball with Ru to further Ottoman dreams in ME. Russia will not back down against Saudi axis whether in Syria or Qatar. Sunni-on-sunni in gelf - who would have thunk.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

Post by Singha »

in 10 years the current straight line borders and despots in ME may not longer exist.

a redrawing and manthan is in progress with 2 civilization states turkey and iran now on one side (qatar, kurds), now on opp sides (syria) and KSA opposed them both on all issues with USA backing its pov.
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