West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

[arun]

Green on Green Intra-Mohammadden religion based sectarian squabble between Shia and Sunni Mohammaddens gets a pedophiliac homosexual sexual assault dimension.

Shia Mohammadden Persian Iran accuses Sunni Mohammadden Arab airport officials at a Saudi Arabian airport of sexually assaulting two Iranian boys and have as a consequence banned travel by Iranians to Saudi Arabia during “Umrah” ie: pilgrimage to Mecca during a period not coinciding with Hajj.

Amid Tensions With Saudi Arabia, Iran Halts Minor Pilgrimages to Mecca

[Philip]

The Wannabee "laugh-a-laugh-a's" humble abode with only a few thousand rooms to meditate in, reminds me of another similar looking East European hovel,that of the late great Nicolai Ceaucescu.
Will their fates be similar do you think?

Russia and Mr.Putin have swiftly stepped in with the thaw in Iran's relations with the West after the N-deal,to reportedly lift the suspension of selling S-300 SAMs to it. There will be much grinding and gnashing of teeth and lamenting in Jerusalem in the house of Netanyahu, but Hussein O'Bomber seems to have agilely side-stepped Israel and is making whoopee with the Ayatollah Khamenei to Bibi's disgust.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/ ... Q720150413
Russia can deliver S-300 missile system to Iran quickly - Interfax
MOSCOW, April 13

(Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry will be ready to swiftly deliver the S-300 missile system to Iran if it gets the green light to do so, Interfax news agency quoted an official at the ministry as saying on Monday.

Earlier on Monday Russia lifted a ban on deliveries of the advanced anti-missile system to Tehran, which has reached an interim deal with world powers on curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Countdown to Israel Attack: Russia Lifts Ban on Missile Sales to Iran
http://www.breitbart.com/national-secur ... li-attack/

Joel B. Pollak13 Apr 20153028

Russia announced Monday that it will sell Iran advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles. The decision, which ends an embargo dating back to 2010, shows that President Barack Obama is rapidly losing control of the international consensus on Iran.

It also sets Israel a deadline to attack Iran–since Israel has treated the S-300 system as a “red line,” and has attacked Syria several times recently to prevent advanced Russian air defense and anti-ship missile systems from becoming operational.

Some Israeli analysts have recently suggested that Israel will only attack Iran if the regime’s nuclear program poses a direct and imminent threat–if the “sword is at the throat.”

However, it is likely that Israeli strategists have another deadline in mind–namely, the point where a military attack against Iran is no longer feasible. Currently, Iran has weak air defenses and would not be able to do much to stop an airstrike. However, the Russian missiles will advance its defensive capabilities.

Effectively, then, Putin is calling the world’s bluff. He is setting a deadline for Israel to make a fateful choice, and daring the Obama administration to intervene. More broadly, he is unraveling the P5+1 process that the U.S. has dominated recently–chiefly by leading the way in offering concessions to Iran. The “framework” of Lausanne is still murky, and a final deal is a long way from done, but Putin is already challenging the U.S. leverage that brought about the conditions for negotiations.

Putin knows full well that he is triggering an Israeli countdown–and he has been happy to do so in the past. From his point of view, it makes little difference whether Iran or Syria actually use the weapons he is selling them, so long as their money is good and the two regimes remain somewhat dependent on Russian protection.

For Israel, though, the question of war with Iran is no longer theoretical. It is something Israeli leaders–and the Obama administration–must face immediately.

The Q being asked in many quarters,though not openly,is how a few Iranian N-warheads affects Israel's huge stockpile of N-tipped misssiles ,some sources say in the high hundreds,and planned 6 Dolfin class German built U-boats (9 planned) armed with its second strike capability ,most of which which operate in the Arabian Sea and able to strike anywhere in Iran. In reality,the Saudi-Paki N-axis of evil is infinitely more dangerous,as the combine possess over 200+ n-warheads ,built in Pak,bankrolled by the Saudis and technically supported by the Chinese,several hundreds of N-tipped ballistic missiles which can reach Israel from Saudi/Paki territory.

Israel would do well to review its strategic threats and see which Muslim/Arab nations can actually do the most damage to it using WMDs.

[pankajs]

Peter W. Singer @peterwsinger · 17h 17 hours ago

"U.S. Widens Role in Saudi-led Campaign" http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-widens- ... 1428882967 … To quote a certain general, "Tell me how this ends"

[kmkraoind]

Why Yemen could be a turning point in India’s geopolitical rise - Dailyo.in - Minhaz Merchant

Its a comprehensive article and I think its worth reading the article in its totality.

[A_Gupta]

http://business.financialpost.com/news/ ... =f3d2-4a1e

Last week, in a speech in Riyadh, Naimi said Saudi Arabia would stand “firmly and resolutely” with others who oppose any attempt to marginalize oil consumption. “There are those who are trying to reach international agreements to limit the use of fossil fuel, and that will damage the interests of oil producers in the long-term,” he said.

U.S. State Department cables released by WikiLeaks show that the Saudis’ interest in prolonging the world’s dependence on oil dates back at least a decade. In conversations with colleagues and U.S. diplomats, Naimi responded to the American fixation on “security of supply” with the Saudi need for “security of demand,” according to a 2006 embassy dispatch. “Saudi officials are very concerned that a climate change treaty would significantly reduce their income,” James Smith, the U.S. ambassador to Riyadh, wrote in a 2010 memo to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Effectively, peak oil arguments have been replaced by peak demand.”

[Falijee]

Iran suspends Saudi pilgrimage flights over sexual assualt allegations

Comment :Inter Ummah civil war part 2
Some of the readers comments are very interesting !!

[Dilbu]

Iran puts forward Yemen peace plan as Houthis suffer setbacks

Iran proposed a peace plan for Yemen on Tuesday and called for an end to Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi rebels allied to Tehran, but the move was likely to draw a cool response from Riyadh.
On the battlefront, militiamen loyal to deposed President President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said they had pushed back Houthi fighters at several points in southern Yemen, including districts of the port city of Aden, the focal point of a conflict that entered its most dangerous phase three weeks ago.
After prolonged street fighting, Houthi fighters withdrew from Aden's Khor Maksar district, where the international airport and foreign missions are located.
The pull-out deprives the Houthis of a bridge to downtown areas where they face heavy resistance from local fighters.

[Multatuli]

Pakistani blackmail (Posted by Falijee, Page 45, 13 Apr 2015, 05:39)

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDeta ... fault.aspx

Quote 1:

“MAY God bless difficulties that made me differentiate my friends from enemies.” This part of a poem is applicable to some countries whose leaders released statements to express their true position shortly after the ‘Operation Decisive Storm’ began. They thought they could use this sensitive period in the history of the Arabian Gulf as an investment.

These countries imagined that the issue will be limited to issuing statements and nothing else, but they failed in the examination. This is exactly the situation of Pakistan whose government opted to join the Arab-Islamic coalition without any official request from the coalition.

Quote 2:

Reviewing the military history is necessary for Pakistan to abandon its illusion of being a superpower in the Islamic world. It was defeated in all wars, starting from the war against India that led to the birth of Bangladesh in 1970 until the war against Taleban whose terrorist activities Pakistan could not curtail. We possibly can understand why it bows for Iran due to fear of another defeat in its border with the Mullah regime, which is experienced in incubating extremist groups.


There is so much acrimony in the above opinion piece, and his opinion reflects the frustration of the Gulf Arab elite with Pakistan's refusal to send troops. A few things that come light:

1. How much the Gulf Arabs rely on Pakistan for their security, not just for their 'nuclear shield' but also for protecting them against their Shia neighbors and their Shia subjects. This Sunni coalition is not even a match for Yemen (!), there is not the slightest chance they could defend themselves against Iran, if Iran is provoked into war.

2. That Pakistani assistance is not a given, this includes the 'nuclear shield' Pakistan is supposed to provide! I am sure that the Saudi's are wondering if Pakistan really would use nukes to protect Saudi Arabia or even transfer nukes to Saudi Arabia in a nuclear crisis.

A quote from the article posted by A Gupta:

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/yemen-cri ... /3159.html

An article by Sami Al Reyami, the influential editor-in-chief of Emarat al Youm, warned: “The Gulf states have to re-evaluate their strategic partnership with Pakistan because it absolutely cannot be our trusted strategic ally.”

3. As for what Pakistan can ask from the Gulf Arabs (in return for military intervention): the sky is the limit! Both the Sunni coalition and Packees know this. As UB ji pointed out in one of his posts (Page 45), the Sunni rulers in this coalition of the Wilting are desperate for Packee troops and must be in panic mode now, they are at the mercy of the Packees.

[ramana]

Its only under King Salman that Arabs started trusting TSP.
in early 1990s the Crown Prince of UAE told a visiting Indian official he never allows a Paki in the kitchen for fear of poison under duress or bribes from rivals!

So when did TSPA become a strategic allie for the GCC!

[Multatuli]

Wait a minute, the sky may not be the limit for what Packees can extract from the Saudi's. This development indicates Egyptian willingness to send ground forces to Saudi Arabia.

Egypt says discussed 'major military maneuver' in Saudi Arabia

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt and Saudi Arabia have discussed holding a "major military maneuver" in Saudi Arabia with other Gulf states, the Egyptian presidency said, after the two countries discussed the progress of a Saudi-led campaign against Shi'ite militias in neighboring Yemen.

Egyptian naval and air forces are already participating in the campaign against Houthi militias in Yemen, and Cairo has said it would supply ground forces "if necessary". Earlier on Tuesday, it denied reports that it had already sent troops to Yemen.

Egypt said the topic of maneuvers in the Saudi kingdom was discussed during a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo on Tuesday.

"It was agreed to form a joint military committee to discuss the implementation of a major strategic maneuver in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the participation of a joint Arab force which includes troops from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states," the Presidency statement said.

It said the security of the Gulf region and the Red Sea was a "red line" for Cairo. The statement gave no timings or details of what the maneuvers would entail.

The meeting also discussed the latest developments in the Yemen campaign, the statement said.

http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-says-discus ... 46183.html

[V_Raman]

My CT for the day. Saddam's Iraq was the best defence GCC had. In hindsight, dismantling of Saddam was the first shot towards GCC. Real revenge for Sept. 11 is coming.

[Singha]

every arab country has been given abrams tanks, 100s of them, all have american supplied M109 and some even have mlrs from various places like astros.

but none seem to have a remotely proficient army that can put a couple of brigades in the field, supply them properly and catch enemy by scruff of neck.

all the hw is just for show , in absense of proper process, training and actual field exp.

the proficient armies are all non-arab turkey, TSP , iran ....

[habal]

My CT for the day. Saddam's Iraq was the best defence GCC had. In hindsight, dismantling of Saddam was the first shot towards GCC. Real revenge for Sept. 11 is coming.

According to Mirza Aslam Beg, Saddam's army was only 18% Sunni, and they fought till the end. The 82% shias absconded in majority and so did the Shia generals which is why Najaf and Karbala were so easily crossed. Main fighting happened north of Baghdad.

[Philip]

Egypt and Soothi Barbaria discussing the famous Egyptian manoeuvre, "beating the retreat",performed many a time against the Israelis,what?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... sible.html

Putin’s Missile Could Make U.S. Attacks on Iran Nearly Impossible

For years, Team Obama crowed about keeping this advanced Russian missile out of Iran’s hands. Now the Kremlin suddenly seems eager to hand it over to Tehran.

This nuke deal with Iran had better work. Because the Kremlin is lifting a ban on selling a powerful air defense system to Iran that would render an airstrike on Tehran’s nuclear weapons facilities nearly impossible.

The delivery of the new weapon, called the Almaz-Antei S-300PMU-1—known as the SA-20 Gargoyle in NATO parlance—would effectively force the U.S. to rely on its small fleet of stealth aircraft to strike targets inside Iran in case the mullahs make a dash for the bomb. But even those aircraft might have a difficult time.

“This would be a huge deal depending on where they [the S-300s] are based…The Persian Gulf would be an interesting place to fly,” said one senior defense official with experience on multiple stealth aircraft types. “These new [surface-to-air missiles] change the whole complexion…It’s a big move.”

According to a report from Russian state media, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday that would allow the sale of the fearsome S-300 air defense system to Iran.

“[The presidential] decree lifts the ban on transit through Russian territory, including airlift, and the export from the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also the transfer to the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the territory of the Russian Federation, both by sea and by air, of air defense missile systems S-300,” reads the Kremlin statement, according to RIA Novosti.

The U.S. government has lobbied Russia hard for years to prevent the sale of the S-300 to Iran. In 2010, convincing Putin to suspend the sale of the S-300 to Iran was heralded as a major foreign policy coup by the Obama administration. In many ways, it was one of the central achievements of the so-called reset in relations with Moscow, said Heather Conley, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Since then, of course, relations with Russia have cooled to nearly Cold War levels of hostility. Making life difficult for American policymakers is once again a Kremlin priority. “Mr. Putin’s policies are not designed to assist the West or to make our jobs and ability to affect policy much more difficult,” Conley said. “It’s also a reminder to Washington and other Western capitals that they have some cards to play here.”

Another factor that might be motivating Moscow is that with the Russian economy in shambles, Moscow needs all of the economic stimulus it can get. The missile deal with Iran would reportedly net Russia more than $800 million.

The air defense system is “a complete game changer…That thing is a beast and you don’t want to get near it.”

Last year, analysts predicted that if the U.S. sanctions of the Russian economy grew too tight, the Kremlin would respond by selling S-300s to Tehran. “I could see as part of this deal [between Tehran and Moscow] that they would agree to transfer advanced missiles to Iran,” Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Daily Beast at the time. “If Putin became angry enough over the West’s financial punishment of Russia, he could put in play the S-300 deal.”

The Kremin’s decision now sends a signal to Tehran that the sanctions that brought Iran to the negotiating table are done—even before a final nuclear agreement is signed. “Clearly, this is the sanctions regime already starting to crack and fall apart in anticipation there will be an agreement [on nuclear issues with Iran] on June 30,” Conley said. “This is the first major signal that regime is coming to an end.”

From a practical military standpoint, the sale of the S-300 would directly challenge the U.S. position that “all options are on the table” should Iran try to subvert the nuclear deal. The addition of the powerful missile defense system would make punitive airstrikes against Iran extremely difficult.

Many U.S. defense officials from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps agree that the Russian missile system effectively renders entire regions no-go zones for conventional jets like the F-16 or Navy F/A-18 Hornet. Currently, only high-end stealth aircraft like the $2.2 billion B-2 Spirit—of which the Air Force has exactly 20—and the high-performance F-22 Raptor can safely operate inside an area protected by the S-300 and its many variants. The Pentagon’s $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will eventually be able to operate inside those zones, too. But according to multiple sources within the Pentagon and defense industry, no warplane now operating can remain inside those well-defended areas for long.

A senior U.S. Marine Corps aviator said that if Russia delivers the S-300 missile to Iran, it would fundamentally change U.S. war plans. “A complete game changer for all fourth-gen aircraft [like the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18]. That thing is a beast and you don’t want to get near it,” he said.

The sale of the S-300 also would neutralize any possibility that Israel could take unilateral action against Iran, one senior Air Force commander noted. The S-300 would effectively prevent the Israeli air force from attacking Iran until the F-35 is delivered to that nation.

“I find it almost hilarious that the Russians are saying, ‘It’s an entirely defensive system and cannot attack anyone, including Israel,’” the senior officer said. “But it also essentially makes Iran attack-proof by Israel and almost any country without fifth-gen [stealth fighter] capabilities. In other words, Iran, with the S-300, can continue to do what they want once those systems are in place without fear of attack from anyone save the U.S. Brilliant chess move…”

But even when Israel receives the F-35, the relatively short-range stealth fighter can only carry a pair of 2,000-pound bombs—which are not likely to be adequate for the most heavily fortified Iranian targets. Some of the Iranian facilities are likely to require the use of the massive 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) that can only be carried by the American B-2 stealth bomber.

An attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was going to be a daunting task, even under the best of circumstances, another Air Force official with extensive experience flying stealth aircraft said. The targets are deeply buried—which makes them hard to crack open with bombs—and the facilities are scattered all over the place. The Air Force’s tiny fleet of B-2 stealth bombers would have to do most of the work because only those aircraft have the range and weapons needed to hit those targets properly. The introduction of any version of the S-300 would make that extremely difficult job much more challenging, the official said.

But the exact number and exact location of where the S-300s are placed makes a big difference, the official said. That’s further compounded by the fact that the S-300 system is mobile—and can move at a moment’s notice.

If there is a large number of those S-300 air defense systems in place, even pilots flying stealth jets like the B-2 and F-22 Raptor would find the mission to be extremely difficult. “If they’re all over every square inch of the country, then it doesn’t matter what you put out there—it’s going to be a challenge,” the Air Force official said.

But it’s not just Iran. If Russia and China continue to sell advanced air defenses around the world, the overwhelming majority of current U.S. warplanes will be unable to fight in many parts of the globe. “We are very concerned with the proliferation of big [surface-to-air missiles]…now in Crimea, Kaliningrad, and Iran if this is true,” said one senior U.S. Air Force official. “We’re being denied access faster than we can appreciate, in my opinion.”

That said, there are some ways in which older non-stealth jets can fight in areas protected by these new missiles, one senior Air Force official said. But it would be very risky. “It would be really classified to discuss specific SAM [surface-to-air missile] counter tactics, but you know that the ‘double digits SAMs’ [which is what Air Force pilots call the S-300 and its variants] give all of the fourth-gen jets great pause,” the official said.

One way would be to use a combination of miniature air-launched drones carrying jammers to try to spoof the S-300’s radars by giving it false targets, another Air Force official said. Those drones would have to be combined with stealthy long-range missiles to eliminate the Russian-built air defenses.

It would also be very helpful to have a jamming aircraft to try to suppress the S-300’s radar from a distance—which is where the Navy comes in. “[The Navy’s] EA-18Gs [carrier-based jamming aircraft] with their ALQ-218 [electronic sensor] will detect, fix, and track that weapons system,” said a former senior naval aviator. “Once you have it fixed, they can jam and you can employ weapons from range to destroy it.”

But the problem is that the S-300 is a mobile system and thus moves every so often; U.S. pilots can never be sure where a weapon is at any given time. “Well, yes...you can kill it” with the right cruise missile, said Mark Gunzinger, an air power analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. “This assumes, of course, that the S-300 launcher remains at a fixed location after a standoff cruise missile is launched at it.”

[Singha]

My CT for the day. Saddam's Iraq was the best defence GCC had. In hindsight, dismantling of Saddam was the first shot towards GCC. Real revenge for Sept. 11 is coming.

According to Mirza Aslam Beg, Saddam's army was only 18% Sunni, and they fought till the end. The 82% shias absconded in majority and so did the Shia generals which is why Najaf and Karbala were so easily crossed. Main fighting happened north of Baghdad.

the uday fidayeen perhaps staffed with sunnis put up a valiant fight in certain towns of the tigris - euphrates valley as the marines were making their way up.
they are even alleged to have charged formations of tanks with pickup trucks having HMGs and ATGMs.

karbala I think was not directly attacked after the mauling given to the tfta Ah64 formation by repub guard gunners, instead a "karbala gap" between the city and a lake on the west was crossed at night enroute to baghdad.

shock tactics were tried to save time, like sending tanks charging on the ring roads around baghdad and boldly occupying saddams palace...in this case it worked.
guderian tried similar tactics on the moscow front and ran out of steam within sight of the spires of the kremlin when some reserve units mustered enough AT guns and artillery to beat back his probes.

[Falijee]

Florida Ex Senator Pursues Claims of Saudi Ties to Sept 11 Attack
Another unwanted headache for the guardians of the Ummah !

[Falijee]

Iran calls for new Yemeni government, increasing tension with Saudis

Comment: Interesting to see, how the Yemen crisis will unfold, as and when Iran signs the nuclear deal

[Singha]

Ramadi on verge of falling to Isis despite us air support

[ramana]

every arab country has been given abrams tanks, 100s of them, all have american supplied M109 and some even have mlrs from various places like astros.

but none seem to have a remotely proficient army that can put a couple of brigades in the field, supply them properly and catch enemy by scruff of neck.

all the hw is just for show , in absense of proper process, training and actual field exp.

the proficient armies are all non-arab turkey, TSP , iran ....

They all have the Nehruitis: fear of coups. So all military is for show and staffed with relatives.

[RoyG]

You're right Ramanaji. These guys have the disease that we had up until recently. These Arabs will outsource everything including wars because of it. The persians know it and are toying with them on their own turf.

[ramana]

RoyG, If you read Bernard Lewis "History of the Middle East", the Abbasid caliphs recruited the Turkish slaves for they feared Arab soldiers. And after a few centuries the Turks deposed them!
But think of this that TSP has to come and defend KSA interests in Yemen against a bunch of rag tag Houthis.

[Singha]

even the turks feared a coup by their own palace troops if local, and hence recruited the elite janissaries from peasant kids in anatolia, and slaves from all over the balkans...

i am not sure of the persian Immortals but perhaps they were all local.

[deejay]

So Houthi action in Yemen provided the media attention grabbing diversion to the ISIS action in Iraq and Syria.

[Singha]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... di-buildup

seems egypt lost 27,000 people in yemen in 1965-67

[partha]

400% agree but that info doesn't show up easily on Google. It's possible I didn't search right.

Take FWIW
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/defau ... 0rev_0.pdf

Thank you, sir.

[Falijee]

=Did Money Seal Israeli-Saudi Alliance?

Can some forumites throw some light on this hypothesis?

[Tuvaluan]

Don't see why money should seal the alliance more than common interest in taking down Iran, since it is now of the sanctions regime and is likely to exert influence to the west of it. Makes you wonder why Ahmedinejad was prodded to make nuke threats against israel when that was completely unnecessary.

[Falijee]

Don't see why money should seal the alliance more than common interest in taking down Iran, since it is now of the sanctions regime and is likely to exert influence to the west of it. Makes you wonder why Ahmedinejad was prodded to make nuke threats against israel when that was completely unnecessary.

Tulvalunji: S.A. "diplomacy " ( whatever that means!) is always driven/ sweetened with "oil " money; once that elixir is gone, they will revert (back) to their desert ways!

[Tuvaluan]

S.A. "diplomacy " ( whatever that means!) is always driven/ sweetened with "oil " money; once that elixir is gone, they will revert (back) to their desert ways!

That looks like a shallow reading of what motivates them. Saudis running out of oil is many decades away, if at all...and is not going to be driver for their actions today. They have the capability to play politics today, and so they are. Besides, "they are rich and doing stuff" is not really an explanation for what drives them to cooperate with Israel, which is despised by the entire arab world overtly.

Israelis have no need for money or oil from KSA -- not a secret that the wahabbis have no love lost for the jews, so even this is a tactical move by both sides, it is not money that motivates Israel to hookup with KSA or vice versa....I have not seen any reports of financial difficulties in the short term on either side.

However, the Iran deal can certainly make the two paranoid states imagine that Iran is just making a tactical move, and will break out once it has the capability it desires. That sounds like a mortal threat to both sides, and hence a point of common interest to motivate a tactical relationship, especially given Iran's open threats against Sunni states and Israel.

[Multatuli]

Falijee wrote:

Can some forumites throw some light on this hypothesis?

I think it's more than a hypothesis. The Israeli's have never been averse to money or a marriage of convenience and USD 16 billion isn't a trifle. One can buy a lot of land from the Palestinians for that amount. Also, the Israel lobby in Washington needs to pay for a lot of PR, after all spin doctors need to make a living too, and I imagine that the influential ones don't come cheap. I also think that these moneys are to buy off regime change in Saudi Arabia.

Some article you dug up Falijee! It confirms the suspicion I've had for some time now: the Saudi's and most likely other Sunni Arab gulf states are firmly in cahoots Israel/the Zionists.

Israeli Preference

To the surprise of some observers, Israel began voicing a preference for Al-Qaeda’s militants over the relatively secular Assad government, which was viewed as the protectors of Alawites, Shiites, Christians and other Syrian minorities terrified of the Saudi-backed Sunni extremists.

In September 2013, in one of the most explicit expressions of Israel’s views, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, then a close adviser to Netanyahu, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel favored the Sunni extremists over Assad.

“The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc,” Oren told the Jerusalem Post in an interview. “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.” He said this was the case even if the “bad guys” were affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Oren expanded on his position in June 2014 at an Aspen Institute conference. Then, speaking as a former ambassador, Oren said Israel would even prefer a victory by the Islamic State, which was massacring captured Iraqi soldiers and beheading Westerners, than the continuation of the Iranian-backed Assad in Syria.

“From Israel’s perspective, if there’s got to be an evil that’s got to prevail, let the Sunni evil prevail,” Oren said.

This should not come as a surprise. Assad's Syria has/had a professional military and opposed Israel. Assad's Syria helped Hezbollah, a militia that humiliated the Israeli army. On the other hand, a Syria ravaged by the yahoo's of ISIS/IS would never be able to pose a threat to Israel.

The reality of this unlikely alliance has even reached the mainstream U.S. media. For instance, Time magazine correspondent Joe Klein described the new coziness in an article in the Jan. 19, 2015 issue: “On May 26, 2014, an unprecedented public conversation took place in Brussels. Two former high-ranking spymasters of Israel and Saudi Arabia – Amos Yadlin and Prince Turki al-Faisal – sat together for more than an hour, talking regional politics in a conversation moderated by the Washington Post’s David Ignatius.

“They disagreed on some things, like the exact nature of an Israel-Palestine peace settlement, and agreed on others: the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat, the need to support the new military government in Egypt, the demand for concerted international action in Syria. The most striking statement came from Prince Turki. He said the Arabs had ‘crossed the Rubicon’ and ‘don’t want to fight Israel anymore.’”

......

In 2013, again collaborating with Israel, Saudi Arabia helped deal a devastating blow to the 1.8 million Palestinians locked in the Gaza Strip. They had received some relief when Egypt elected the Muslim Brotherhood government of President Mohamed Morsi, who relaxed the embargo on passage between Egyptian territory and Gaza.

But the Saudis saw the populist Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to monarchical rule and Israel was angry over Morsi’s apparent sympathy for Hamas, the party ruling Gaza. So, Saudi Arabia and Israel supported a military coup which removed Morsi from power. The two countries then showed off their complementary powers: the Saudis helped the government of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with money and oil, while Israel had its lobby work the corridors of power in Washington to prevent retaliation for the ouster of an elected government.

......

Back to Syria

Israel’s growing collaboration with Saudi Arabia and the two governments’ mutual hatred of the “Shiite crescent” have extended into a tacit alliance with Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Syria, with which the Israelis have what amounts to a non-aggression pact, even caring for Nusra fighters in Israeli hospitals and mounting lethal air attacks against Lebanese and Iranian advisers to the Syrian military.

Israel’s preference for the Saudi-backed jihadists over Iranian allies in Syria was a little-noticed subtext of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress on March 3, urging the U.S. government to shift its focus from fighting Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to fighting Iran. He trivialized the danger from the Islamic State with its “butcher knives, captured weapons and YouTube” compared to Iran, which he accused of “gobbling up the nations” of the Middle East.

To the applause of Congress, he claimed “Iran now dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. And if Iran’s aggression is left unchecked, more will surely follow.” His choice of capitals was peculiar, however, because Iran took none of those capitals by force and, indeed, was simply supporting the embattled government of Syria and was allied with Shiite elements of the government of Lebanon.

As for Iraq, Iran’s allies were installed not by Iran but by President George W. Bush via the U.S. invasion. And, in Yemen, a long-festering sectarian conflict has led to the capture of Sanaa by Houthi rebels who are Zaydi Shiites, an offshoot of Shia Islam that is actually closer to some Sunni sects.

The Houthis deny that they are agents of Iran, and Western intelligence services believe that Iranian support has consisted mostly of some funding. Former CIA official Graham E. Fuller has called the notion “that the Houthis represent the cutting edge of Iranian imperialism in Arabia – as trumpeted by the Saudis” a “myth.” He added:

“The Zaydi Shia, including the Houthis, over history have never had a lot to do with Iran. But as internal struggles within Yemen have gone on, some of the Houthis have more recently been happy to take Iranian coin and perhaps some weapons — just as so many others, both Sunni and Shia, are on the Saudi payroll. The Houthis furthermore hate al-Qaeda and hate the Islamic State.”

Indeed, the Saudi airstrikes, which have reportedly killed hundreds of Yemeni civilians, have aided the Yemen-based “Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula” by limiting Houthi attacks on the terrorists and enabling AQAP to overrun a prison and free scores of its militants.

But President Obama, recognizing the joint power of the Saudis and Israelis to destroy the Iran nuclear deal, authorized support for the Saudi airstrikes from U.S. intelligence while rushing military resupplies to the Saudis. In effect, Obama is trading U.S. support for Saudi aggression in a neighboring country for what he hopes might be some political space for the Iran-nuclear agreement.

Read the full article, it's worth your time: http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e41565.htm

[Paul]

My CT for the day. Saddam's Iraq was the best defence GCC had. In hindsight, dismantling of Saddam was the first shot towards GCC. Real revenge for Sept. 11 is coming.

According to Mirza Aslam Beg, Saddam's army was only 18% Sunni, and they fought till the end. The 82% shias absconded in majority and so did the Shia generals which is why Najaf and Karbala were so easily crossed. Main fighting happened north of Baghdad.

Beg may be Shia....He was pushing for strategic defiance in alliance with Iran and pushed for transferring Nuke tech to them.

[habal]

Beg also said that Iran-Iraq war was actually fight between Sistani in Iraq and Khomeini in Iran, and the war was between these two personalities and their schools of thought since main soldiers were shia on both sides. Saddam was backing Sistani & Sistani was backing Saddam during that time irrespective of fact that shi soldiers were dying.

coming to present
Iraqi commander says he regularly sends ISIS coordinates to 'coalition forces' but there is no bombing or air strikes.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/16/middl ... index.html

[Bhurishrava]

http://www.dw.de/assad-accuses-turkey-o ... a-18389840

Military and logistic support from Turkey was the key factor in extremists' takeover of Idlib, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said. He has also blamed Ankara for the failure of a UN ceasefire plan in AleppoMilitary and logistic support from Turkey was the key factor in extremists' takeover of Idlib, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said. He has also blamed Ankara for the failure of a UN ceasefire plan in Aleppo.

[RoyG]

RoyG, If you read Bernard Lewis "History of the Middle East", the Abbasid caliphs recruited the Turkish slaves for they feared Arab soldiers. And after a few centuries the Turks deposed them!
But think of this that TSP has to come and defend KSA interests in Yemen against a bunch of rag tag Houthis.

This may give us an opportunity to open up a Shia front in Pakistan which is why they are going slow on the invite. ISIS is the new Saudi proxy army which is helping them expand their sphere of influence and keeping the Persians at bay. Keeping them on a leash to the North while inviting coalition of sunni nations to help defend their southern flank is their short to medium term strategy. The trick is keeping ISIS from cracking the royal cocoon by keeping all the tribal stakeholders pacified.

[Falijee]

Iran not negotiating nuclear deal with US congress - Rouhani

QUOTE: We do not negotiate with the US Senate; we do not negotiate with the US House of Representatives," Rouhani said in a speech in the northern city of Rasht. "We are negotiating with a group called the P5+1."

[Falijee]

Saudi Arabia fools the west again

Toronto Sun Columnist - Tarek Fateh ( ex Paki)

A different perspective in a major western daily

[Singha]

AQ is making its move to capture the eastern part of Yemen and act as a buffer for the KSA against the houthis

http://rt.com/news/250713-qaeda-seize-yemen-military/

[Tuvaluan]

If you were israel and faced with a bunch of cowards and idiots (sunni states) who hate you and a bunch of smart guys (Iran) who hate you, who would you ally with? Asked another way, who would you rather have as a long-term enemy, if both of them being adversaries is a given?

[vijaykarthik]

I added this to my gang. Might make sense here too:

For the interested -sequence as follows:

Mukalla was taken by AQAP on April 2nd [thats when they also freed 120 jailed inmates and also robbed a bank]. They were driven away from Mukalla by the tribes on April 4th but they came back. They have been controlling the port for at least a wk.

Now they have the intl airport in their control too.

The coalition forces arent attacking AQAP positions. However, US is trying to attack from time to time using drones.

AQAP are the largest benefactors of this fight. They have filled up both troop count and coffers (and 'acquired' more real estate) in the last few weeks.
--
IIRC, Mukalla was being used by AQAP to send its troops in and out of Yemen even when they didnt control the port. Now that its under their control...

[vijaykarthik]

Not exactly West Asia but a related and very relevant topic.

Mostly speculation [but backed by data and recent happenings]

Why is it that china is rushing to Pak? Is it possible that the 45bn USD is a "gift" (China+Russia?) for standing up to KSA? I don't see a specific reason for Xi to rush to Pak so quickly for a simple reason of going and talking to the joint parliament. Seens quite shocking to me.

Looks like there is a 45bn USD gift which included [drum roll please] 2bn for the Iran Pakistan pipeline - the exact same one that is hated by KSA and the US. The one that India was forced to give up in 2k9 for a nuclear deal. The same one that was stopped last yr by KSA (by paying 1.5bn USD to Paki as bribe).

So: why?

--
Don't know if it was linked but we see more reports of a NK-Iran détente / reports of NK sending large diameter engines to Iran - the ones which were under the sanctions list and could have brought the ndeal on its knees and toppled it and looks like the US has kept this news from the UN. So, if that's also true, is it that there are forces in the background which are doing their damndest best to kill the n deal at this stage? Doesn't look like the US is able to control all the variables lately.