West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

[Bheeshma]

Not sure how true but the Yemenis are kick saudis ass left right and center if true. Taif is very close to mecca.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ye ... di-arabia/
May not be scud-d but C version. From the border taif is less than 600 Km.

[Prem]

Iranian plot to sabotage Saudi-India ties foiled

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspec ... oiled.html

A swift and tactical move by India has put paid to the Iranian trickery of sowing distrust in the strong and time-tested relations between Riyadh and New Delhi.A recent Iranian and Hezbollah-backed Lebanese Al-Alam news channel report claimed that Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has allegedly played down the current visit of Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, to Japan and China as insignificant and meaningless. The report on the channel’s English website also claimed that the Indian foreign minister had said that India was not concerned with the visit and did not expect that it would achieve any strategic results.Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian foreign ministry, was quick to rebut the report.The news channel cited a Swaraj interview with the mass-circulation Hindustan Times newspaper.“I wish to warn China against the dubious movements of Prince Muhammad which are backed by the United States,” Swaraj allegedly said according to the channel.According to the report channel, Swaraj said the Indian diplomacy was aware of the prince’s movements and had informed the Saudi embassy in New Delhi of this.
The Indian Foreign Ministry was quick to foil the machinations of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime to fail the Saudi efforts, damage relations between India and the Kingdom and involve Pakistan, China and Japan in the ferocious media game Iran was trying to play.In a tweet on Thursday, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman categorically denied the report. “The statements attributed to the foreign minister are based on lies. They are totally incorrect and fabricated,” he wrote.He said the foreign minister did not give any interview to the Hindustan Times.
On its part, the newspaper denied publishing any interview with the foreign minister.Saudi Ambassador to New Delhi, Saud Al-Satti told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and India are strategic and ever-progressing and that the two sides are determined to develop them further in all aspects.“The attempts of the enemies to seed dissension between India and Saudi Arabia are doomed to failure because their bilateral relations are strong and built on solid bases,” he said.
“The Saudi-India ties are not an easy nut to crack,” the ambassador said.Meanwhile reliable sources said the Iranian lobby in South Asia was trying to fail the Saudi efforts to bring peace to the region. They said the lobby’s fabricated allegations against Prince Muhammad’s drive toward the east would never succeed.

[Austin]

Four Years After Gaddafi, Libya Is a Failed State

Weapons are pouring out of Africa's most oil-rich country while extremist fighters tumble in.

Nearly four years after NATO-backed rebels toppled the former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, the North Africa country has plunged into chaotic unrest.

The failure of last year’s election to achieve political unity in Libya was most evident when Fajr Libya, or “Libya Dawn” — a diverse coalition of armed groups that includes an array of Islamist militias — rejected the election’s outcome and seized control of Tripoli. The internationally recognized government relocated to Tobruk, situated in eastern Libya along the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian border, while Libya Dawn set up a rival government, known as the new General National Congress, in the capital.

As forces aligned with the Tobruk government have fought Libya Dawn, the conflict has gradually become internationalized. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have launched air strikes targeting Libya Dawn, while Turkey, Qatar, and Sudan are believed to have provided the Islamist-dominated coalition with varying degrees of support.

The emergence of Daesh (the so-called “Islamic State”) in strategically vital areas of Libya has further complicated the conflict in Africa’s most oil-rich country and raised security concerns in nearby states.

Libya’s Most Polarizing General

The mercurial general Khalifa Belqasim Haftar has emerged as an influential, yet highly divisive, leader in this bloody conflict.

In early March, the anti-Islamist general was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the Tobruk government. Haftar’s role in the former Gaddafi regime, his cozy relationship with Washington, and suspicions about his long-term ambitions have given him a controversial reputation among many Libyans. Nonetheless, he’s also gaining respect from those who share his vitriol for Islamists.

Haftar was an early Gaddafi loyalist, and played an important role as one of the “Free Officers” in the 1969 revolution that toppled the monarchy led by King Idris al-Sanusi. Gaddafi later said that Haftar “was my son… and I was like his spiritual father.” It was the start of a military career in which Haftar fought on many different sides.

During the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, Haftar led a Libyan battalion. Later, as a commander of Libyan forces in the country’s 1980-1987 war with Chad, he was allegedly responsible for war crimes when his forces were accused of using napalm and poison gas.

In 1987, the Chadian military scored a major victory in the battle of Wadi al-Doum. In addition to killing more than 1,000 Libyan forces, Chad took over 400 Libyans, including Haftar, as prisoners.

Around that time, Haftar’s loyalties shifted.

While held in Chad, Haftar worked with other Libyan officers to coordinate a coup against Gaddafi, before the United States secured his release — by airlifting him and 300 of his men to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and from there to Virginia.

As a newly minted U.S. citizen, Haftar lived in northern Virginia from 1990 to 2011, spending part of this time working with the CIA before returning to Libya in March 2011 to fight once again against the Gaddafi regime. Several sources insist that Haftar was out of the CIA’s hands by 2011, but others maintain that the U.S. government orchestrated his return to Libya that year.

Libya’s Civil War

Last year, Haftar called for the unilateral dissolution of Libya’s parliament and the establishment of a “presidential committee” to rule the country until new elections were held. Haftar cited Libya’s “upheaval” as justification for the armed forces to take over.

Many saw his act as an attempted military coup aimed at crushing the Muslim Brotherhood, which had won second place in Libya’s 2012 elections. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan dismissed his announcement as “ridiculous”.

Although many in Libya’s government viewed him as a rogue general hungry for power, his ongoing campaign against Islamist forces has gradually won him supporters. Last May, Haftar waged a campaign called “Operation Dignity” to “eliminate extremist terrorist groups” in the country. Since then, the Tobruk-based government has by and large come to support the general, viewing him as the government’s best bet in the struggle against its Islamist enemies.

Haftar’s anti-Islamist crusade parallels that of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, who is presiding over a crackdown on Egypt’s Islamists. In making no distinction between so-called moderate Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline factions such as Daesh and Ansar al-Sharia (an al-Qaeda affiliate), Haftar and Sisi are both selling a narrative to the West that their anti-Islamist positions are in sync with the “global war on terror.”

So far, Haftar has been unwilling to negotiate with Libya Dawn — which contains the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing and the “Loyalty to Martyrs” bloc within its coalition. In turn, Libya Dawn refuses to negotiate with Haftar.

The United Nations has begun hosting talks in Morocco between Libya’s various political factions in an effort to unite them against the growing threat of Daesh. Unfortunately, the UN’s efforts to push Libya’s two governments toward dialogue is undermined by the low levels of trust between them, and their mutual belief that only through continued armed struggle can they secure more territory and resources. Indeed, with strong backing from Cairo and Abu Dhabi, Haftar is likely convinced that he can make greater gains through warfare than diplomacy.

The toxic legacy of Gaddafi’s divisive and authoritarian regime, which pitted Libya’s diverse factions against one another, has plagued the prospects for any central authority gaining widespread legitimacy in the war-torn country. Indeed, since he was overthrown in 2011, Libya has turned into a cauldron of anarchy, with little meaningful security existing outside of Tripoli and Benghazi.

Gaddafi’s regime harshly oppressed the Islamist groups that went on to form Libya Dawn, which views its rise to power in Tripoli as hard fought and a long time in coming. They view Haftar as a war criminal from the ancien regime committed to their elimination, which will certainly undermine the potential for Libya’s two governments to reach a meaningful power-sharing agreement. With no peace in sight, a continuation of the bloody stalemate between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based governments seems most likely.

International Implications of Libya’s Turmoil

The fall of Gaddafi launched a geopolitical tsunami across Africa and into the Middle East.

Libya is now home to the world’s largest loose arms cache, and its porous borders are routinely transited by a host of heavily armed non-state actors — including the Tuareg separatists and jihadists who forced Mali’s national military from Timbuktu and Gao in March 2012 with newly acquired weapons from Libya. The UN has also documented the flow of arms from Libya into Egypt, Gaza, Niger, Somalia, and Syria.

Last October, 800 fighters loyal to Daesh seized control of Derna near the Egyptian border, some 200 miles from the European Union. Since then, Daesh’s Libyan branch has taken control of Sirte and gained a degree of influence in Benghazi, the nation’s second largest city and heart of the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi.

The group’s use of Libyan territory to terrorize and threaten other states has raised the international stakes. In February, Daesh beheaded 21 migrant workers from Egypt because they were Coptic Christians, then released a propaganda video containing footage of the heinous act. That lured Egypt into waging direct air strikes against the group’s targets in Derna.

Last November, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis — the dominant jihadist group in the Egyptian Sinai —pledged allegiance to Daesh, as did Nigeria’s Boko Haram more recently. Daesh has also made direct threats against Italy, prompting officials in Rome to warn that Italy’s military may intervene in Libya to counter Daesh’s fighters.

One quarter of Daesh’s fighters in Derna come from other Arab countries and Afghanistan. A major influx of Jabhat al-Nusra fighters from Syria have also entered the fray in Libya, underscoring how Islamist extremists from lands far away have exploited Libya’s status as a failed state. This development was most recently underscored when a Sudanese member of Daesh’s Libya division carried out a suicide attack on April 5th, which targeted a security checkpoint near Misrata. The bloody incident resulted in four deaths and over 20 injuries.

The number of weak or failing states across Africa suggests that such international networks will continue to take advantage of frail central authorities and lawlessness throughout the extremely underdeveloped Sahel and other areas of the continent to spread their influence. In the absence of any political resolution to its civil war, Libya in particular — as a failed state with mountainous oil reserves — will remain vulnerable to extremist forces hoping to seize power amidst the ongoing morass.

Giorgio Cafiero is Co-Founder of Gulf State Analytics. Daniel Wagner is CEO of Country Risk Solutions.

[ramana]

Very confusing article. It mainly creates fear and confusion.

[Austin]

British ambassador to Saudi Arabia converts to Islam, attends Hajj

https://www.rt.com/uk/359422-saudi-amba ... m-convert/

[Austin]

Saudi Arabian Uncovered Secrets - BBC Documentary

[Prem]

http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-t ... ent-349467

There is a signal in NSA Ajit Doval’s surprise presence at Saudi event

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, one of the best-known intelligence officers in the country, recently surprised everyone when he visited a five-star hotel here to attend a gala event on the occasion of Saudi National Day.Doval, who is a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has a strong say in foreign policy, is not known to attend these gala events. But his presence today is indication of the growing importance of Saudi Arabia in India's foreign and strategic policies. He was also seen having a long tete-a-tete with Saud Al-Sati, Saudi Ambassador to India. The two chatted for close to 20 minutes, with photographers clicking away, a signal of India cementing its strategic relations with one of the Gulf's most important countries.The marked strengthening of ties with Saudi Arabia, known as a traditional ally and benefactor of Pakistan, also comes as Riyadh has joined the global chorus condemning the horrific Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that saw 18 soldiers martyred.In a message on Thursday, the Saudi envoy had mentioned the "robust security cooperation" between the two countries as "important not only for us but also for the entire region and beyond" and said the two countries were working together not only to eliminate the "menace of terrorism" but also in strengthening defence cooperation.In early August, the Saudi King had personally intervened to provide succour to thousands of Indian workers who had lost their jobs and were stranded in the Kingdom after a major construction company shut down. From providing food and medicines and facilitating exit visas for the Indian workers, King Salman also earmarked Saudi Riyal 100 million ($26 million) to provide relief to the workers. Around three million Indians work in Saudi Arabia.Modi had met the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the rising power in Saudi Arabia, in early September on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in China and invited Riyadh to invest more in India's infrastructure, particularly in the railways.
While ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are fraternal, it has been lately looking at New Delhi as a strategic and investment partner and diversifying ties much beyond the energy basket.

( In Case Persians get Imperial itch again)

[panduranghari]

Kingdom Comedown: Falling Oil Prices Shock Saudi Middle Class

Besides cushy jobs, such middle-class Saudis also received substantial overtime payments and regular bonuses. At the time of his ascension to the throne early last year, King Salman ordered a hefty bonus payment to government employees.

Such largess is looking like a thing of the past.

Besides cutting state handouts such as subsidized electricity and water, the government also plans to reduce money it spends on public wages to 40% of the budget by 2020 from 45% as part of its ambitious plan to transform the oil-dependent economy. It aims to cut one-fifth of its civil service as well.

Saudis are beginning to speak out about a sense of anxiety about the economy. “I think we are going through a difficult period,” said Emad al-Majed, a Riyadh-based pharmacy technician. “There will be suffering.”

Mr. Majed, who has two children, took a bank loan to purchase an apartment last year, a decision he said made him reconsider his spending habits.

“If you are used to a certain level of spending, how can you be told to limit your expenses and cancel some stuff?” he asked. “It is a good idea, but in practice it will be difficult for so many people.”

Saudi nationals are reluctant to gripe about rising costs, but there is clear discontent, some analysts say. In a region engulfed in political and sectarian strife, Saudi Arabia can ill-afford similar turmoil.

“Discontent so far has been mildly expressed,” said Robin Mills, chief executive at Qamar Energy, a Dubai-based consulting firm. “If the slowdown continues and starts affecting local jobs, that could change.”

For the kingdom’s fiscal position to improve significantly, analysts say oil prices would need to rise to $70 a barrel, up from about $46 now.

[Austin]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-2 ... o-override

[kit]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/28/news/ov ... o-911-bill


Families of those killed in the terror attacks on 9/11 are now legally allowed to sue Saudi Arabia, after Congress voted Wednesday to override President Barack Obama's veto of the legislation, the first override of his presidency.

[sooraj]

Egyptian Katju

Egyptian lawmaker says women should prove they are virgins to go to college

Egyptian lawmaker Elhamy Agina is at it again.

After stating that women should undergo female genital mutilation in order to reduce their sexual desires", he has said that all Egyptian women must undergo compulsory virginity tests prior to being admitted into the countrys universities.

Any girl who enters university, we have to check her medical examination to prove that she is a Miss, Agina told Egypts Youm 7 newspapers, according to a translation in the Egyptian Streets news website. Therefore, each girl must present an official document upon being admitted to university stating shes a Miss.

Aginas use of Miss was widely interpreted by Egyptians on social media as referring to a woman who is a virgin. And they took to Twitter and Facebook to ridicule Agina and call for punitive measures against him.

[Philip]

While the West,UK rants and raves at the Russians and Syrians,even dramatically like arch-war criminal Zulfie Bhutto walk out of the UNSC,heer's factual evidence of British war crimes in Iraq and the legal imbroglio taking place.Look at the report though,"army abuses",not war crimes!
Russia is always accused of war crimes but (once) Great Britain,just army abuses,as if they were high on heroin!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... mpensation

The truth about British army abuses in Iraq must come out
Nicholas Mercer
Politicians and military chiefs dismiss victims’ claims and blame moneygrabbing lawyers. But the 326 cases already settled by the MoD tell a different story
Daoud Mousa, father of Baha Mousa who was killed in British army custody in Basra in 2003, with photos of his grandchildren, 2004
Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Monday 3 October 2016 06.00 BST

In the past few days a number of politicians and former generals have criticised the so-called hounding of British soldiers by what they claim are just money-grabbing lawyers launching ill-founded cases into alleged wartime abuse. Criticising the work of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat), Tim Collins, the retired colonel who led British troops in Iraq, said the allegations were being made by “parasitic lawyers”. Theresa May has said she wants to end the “industry” of vexatious claims. And Tony Blair, who launched the military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, said: “I am very sorry that our soldiers and their families have been put through this ordeal.”

May vows to protect UK troops who fought in Iraq from legal 'abuse'

This is an orchestrated narrative: cases are carefully selected and dropped into the public domain, and the press and public lap them up. The reality, of course, is somewhat different.

First, the idea that the claims are largely spurious is nonsense. The Ministry of Defence has already paid out £20m in compensation to victims of abuse in Iraq. This is for a total of 326 cases, which by anyone’s reckoning is a lot of money and a shocking amount of abuse. Anyone who has been involved in litigation with the MoD knows that it will pay up only if a case is overwhelming or the ministry wants to cover something up.

Second, allegations have been made about abuse of prisoners and civilians from the outset of the Iraq war in 2003. Three colonels in the divisional headquarters complained about mistreatment of prisoners within the first four weeks. In two public inquiries (into the deaths of Baha Mousa and Hamid al-Sweady), it was revealed that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – the most respected body in the world in matters of international humanitarian law – had complained about prisoner abuse.

Modern armies now have to comply with international humanitarian law and are rightly held to account if they don’t
Third, the complaints before the Ihat are not just from lawyers. They are also from serving and former members of the armed forces with no financial interest in the outcome, concerned merely that the government abide by the rule of law. These cases are sub judice but they are likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Some witnesses are too frightened to speak. I spoke to a former chaplain about five months ago. He too had come across soldiers beating up Iraqis, and simply told them to stop. He didn’t report it.

Baha Mousa was beaten to death in a unit interrogation facility, with no fewer than 93 sites of injury over his body. Fifteen-year-old Kareem Ali drowned in front of British soldiers who had forced him into a canal, then stood back and did nothing. And in the case of Faisal al-Saadoon, currently in the court of appeal, it appears that an Iraqi was gratuitously shot in the stomach and had his car vandalised whilst his head was being smashed into a pavement. Are these cases really “spurious” or “vexatious”?

Even more disturbing, many of these investigations may lead to the door of the MoD itself. The Baha Mousa inquiry heard that his military interrogators were using the so called “five techniques”, banned in 1978, which violate the Geneva conventions; the interrogators said they “answered to London” (the MoD) and not the chain of command. If this is correct then the MoD is at fault: the five techniques now amount to torture.

Many of the allegations concern physical, sexual and religious abuse during interrogation. The conduct appears systematic, and the MoD has video recordings. It could easily verify any claim and now needs to come clean: I cannot believe that any defence chief would wish to defend physical, sexual or religious humiliation in interrogation.

Finally, it has been well documented that there were secret detention facilities in the UK area of operations which appear to have bypassed prisoner of war facilities. If this is correct, it is in violation of the Geneva conventions and, if the prisoners were spirited out of the country, then that could amount to a grave breach. Soldiers were ordered to take part so the fault lies with their political masters. Trooper Ben Griffin is currently under an injunction from the high court (obtained by the MoD) for threatening to speak out about prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. How extraordinary that the MoD has to gag soldiers for speaking out about prisoners when nothing, according to the ministry, has happened.

As one judge remarked, the legacy of the Iraq war has been litigation. Modern armies now have to comply with international humanitarian law and are rightly held to account if they don’t. There are many serving and former servicemen and women, including myself, who want to see an army that abides by the highest standards. This should be the aspiration of all of us. This does not impede operations; it enables them. If you stop the violations, you stop the litigation – it’s as simple as that.

[ramana]

How is Yemen doing? More how is KSA doing in Yemen?

[Rudradev]

Yemen remains more or less divided along the cold-war territorial boundaries. What used to be ARY (Western Yemen around the Bab-al-Mandab strait forming the southern inlet to the Red Sea) is in Houthi/Saleh hands. What used to be DRY (The rest of Yemen along the South of the peninsula) is in the hands of pro-Saudi Hadi govt plus Wahhabi irregulars.

Despite the apparently overwhelming advantage in resources and conventional military strength, the Saudis found their so-called "Decisive Storm" (launched April 2015) to be incapable of making any substantial territorial gains. On the contrary, the Houthis were expanding into territories controlled by the Saudi-sponsored Hadi regime. To save their hides in ground battle, the Saudis enlisted AQAP/Al-Nusra type Wahhabi irregulars, and themselves concentrated on the brave task of carrying out airstrikes against soft targets in Houthi-controlled territory. However, rather than simply fighting for the Hadi regime, AQAP/Al-Nusra began to seize the choicest prizes for themselves, securing control over Aden and its surrounding areas after repelling a Houthi thrust that had almost been successful in capturing the city.

Seeing how this was going (essentially an ISIL-type ground campaign of Wahhabi militias backed by US-supplied high-tech weaponry in the air/at sea)... Washington stepped in in April 2016. As usual, the Americans came in blowing hot (massively upgrading their supply of armaments and spares to the Saudis) and cold (calling for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds). This was likely an initiative by DC pundits who were trying desperately to stymie the SAA/Russian offensive going on at the same time, but couldn't very well ask for a ceasefire in Syria on humanitarian grounds while openly helping the Saudi air force to bomb Yemeni civilians. The ceasefire in Yemen went into effect on May 12th 2016.

Within 4 days the Saudis broke the ceasefire citing "failure of the Houthi forces to give up heavy weapons captured in the conflict" and pressed the attack, using wahhabi irregulars in their ground offensive while Saudi aircraft continued airstrikes on Houthi cities. Houthis responded by shelling across their northern border into KSA. The lines twisted back and forth as they seem to in many West Asian conflicts, including Syria, but no permanent gains were made on either side. Essentially the KSA has been fought to a WWI-type stalemate by a far less wealthy, less well-equipped opponent (it is as if the Kaiser's mighty war machine had been stopped dead by the resistance of Lichtenstein.)

That is pretty much how the situation remains today. The only difference is that the US seems to be publicly losing interest in having any association with the Saudi effort. US media is complaining about humanitarian disaster and airstrikes against civilians, US senators are going on TV and (in that charming I-just-woke-up way they have) asking if it's possible that "American aid" was used by Saudi forces to kill civilians. Combine this with the new legislation that allows 9/11 survivors in the US to litigate against KSA (a legislation that Obama made a token attempt to veto, which Congress overturned) and the picture becomes clear. KSA is being left to fight its own battle against the Houthis, like the Pakis in K-P and FATA. Given how inept the KSA forces have proved to be, it's anyone's guess if they'll win.

[K Mehta]

That LSV hit is huge.

[Philip]

When was the vessel hit? Meanwhile,what's happening in Yemen is exactly what the WEst/US is condemning the Russiand and Syrians for in Syria.Just compare this report with that of Aleppo.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... n-hospital

Yemen famine feared as starving children fight for lives in hospital
Civil war has created ‘very severe needs’, the UN warns, while a blockade aimed at hurting Houthi rebels has made the situation worse

Six-year-old Salem Abdullah Musabih is held by his mother in an intensive care unit in the Red Sea port of Hodaida. Photograph: Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters
Emma Graham-Harrison and agencies
Tuesday 4 October 2016
Dozens of emaciated children are fighting for their lives in Yemen’s hospital wards, as fears grow that civil war and a sea blockade that has lasted for months are creating famine conditions in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country.

The UN’s humanitarian aid chief, Stephen O’Brien, described a visit to meet “very small children affected by malnutrition” in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. “It is of course absolutely devastating when you see such terrible malnutrition,” he said on Tuesday, warning of “very severe needs”.

What is happening in Yemen and how Saudi Arabia's airstrikes are affecting civilians - explainer
Read more
More than half of Yemen’s 28 million people are already short of food, the UN has said, and children are particularly badly hit, with hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation.

There are 370,000 children enduring severe malnutrition that weakens their immune system, according to Unicef, and 1.5 million are going hungry. Food shortages are a long-term problem, but they have got worse in recent months. Half of children under five are stunted because of chronic malnutrition.

A sea blockade on rebel-held areas enforced by the Saudi-coalition supporting the president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, stops shipments reaching most ports.

Its effects can be seen in centres such as the Thawra hospital, where parents cram waiting rooms seeking help for hungry and dying children. In April, between 10 and 20 children were brought for treatment, but the centre is now struggling with 120 a month, Reuters reported.

A woman waits to weigh her son in an intensive care unit in Sana’a. Photograph: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
Among them are Salem Issa, a six-year-old so emaciated he looks years younger and is now too ill to eat. “I used to feed him biscuits, but he’s sick. He won’t eat,” said his mother.

The crisis may get worse after Hadi ordered changes at the central bank. Aimed at squeezing the funds of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, the move could leave ordinary Yemenis short of cash and make food shortages worse by depriving traders of the financial cover the bank has offered.

Ibrahim Mahmoud, of Yemen’s Social Development Fund, told Reuters only an improvement in the country’s financial system and an emergency aid effort could prevent the spread of hunger.

“If there is no direct and immediate intervention on behalf of the international community and state organisations, we could be threatened by famine and a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

Oxfam’s humanitarian policy adviser, Richard Stanforth, said: “Everything is stacked against the people on the brink of starvation in Yemen. The politicisation of the central bank and attempts by the parties in the conflict to use it as a tool to hurt one another ... threaten to push the poorest over the edge.”

UK supports call for independent UN human rights mission to Yemen
Read more
Hadi moved the central bank headquarters from Sana’a, the capital currently controlled by Houthi rebels, to the southern port of Aden which his government holds. He also appointed a new governor, who said the bank had no money.

“It risks leaving the salaries of more than a million Yemenis unpaid. There may be a long-term effect on the Houthis, but the immediate effect will be on normal people trying to put food on the table,” the Yemeni economic analyst Amal Nasser said.

The sea blockade and daily airstrikes, which have hit civilian targets including hospitals, are part of a campaign to push rebels out of the capital.

There have been widespread calls for an independent inquiry into the conflict, including from senior British MPs. More than a third of Saudi-led bombing raids are thought to have hit civilian sites, and human rights groups say violations are also being perpetrated by Houthi rebels.

Yemen famine feared as starving children fight for lives in hospital
Civil war has created ‘very severe needs’, the UN warns, while a blockade aimed at hurting Houthi rebels has made the situation worse

Emma Graham-Harrison and agencies
Tuesday 4 October 2016
Dozens of emaciated children are fighting for their lives in Yemen’s hospital wards, as fears grow that civil war and a sea blockade that has lasted for months are creating famine conditions in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country.

The UN’s humanitarian aid chief, Stephen O’Brien, described a visit to meet “very small children affected by malnutrition” in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. “It is of course absolutely devastating when you see such terrible malnutrition,” he said on Tuesday, warning of “very severe needs”.

What is happening in Yemen and how Saudi Arabia's airstrikes are affecting civilians - explainer

More than half of Yemen’s 28 million people are already short of food, the UN has said, and children are particularly badly hit, with hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation.

There are 370,000 children enduring severe malnutrition that weakens their immune system, according to Unicef, and 1.5 million are going hungry. Food shortages are a long-term problem, but they have got worse in recent months. Half of children under five are stunted because of chronic malnutrition.

A sea blockade on rebel-held areas enforced by the Saudi-coalition supporting the president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, stops shipments reaching most ports.

Its effects can be seen in centres such as the Thawra hospital, where parents cram waiting rooms seeking help for hungry and dying children. In April, between 10 and 20 children were brought for treatment, but the centre is now struggling with 120 a month, Reuters reported.

A woman waits to weigh her son in an intensive care unit in Sana’a. Photograph: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
Among them are Salem Issa, a six-year-old so emaciated he looks years younger and is now too ill to eat. “I used to feed him biscuits, but he’s sick. He won’t eat,” said his mother.

The crisis may get worse after Hadi ordered changes at the central bank. Aimed at squeezing the funds of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, the move could leave ordinary Yemenis short of cash and make food shortages worse by depriving traders of the financial cover the bank has offered.

Ibrahim Mahmoud, of Yemen’s Social Development Fund, told Reuters only an improvement in the country’s financial system and an emergency aid effort could prevent the spread of hunger.

“If there is no direct and immediate intervention on behalf of the international community and state organisations, we could be threatened by famine and a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

Oxfam’s humanitarian policy adviser, Richard Stanforth, said: “Everything is stacked against the people on the brink of starvation in Yemen. The politicisation of the central bank and attempts by the parties in the conflict to use it as a tool to hurt one another ... threaten to push the poorest over the edge.”

UK supports call for independent UN human rights mission to Yemen

Hadi moved the central bank headquarters from Sana’a, the capital currently controlled by Houthi rebels, to the southern port of Aden which his government holds. He also appointed a new governor, who said the bank had no money.

“It risks leaving the salaries of more than a million Yemenis unpaid. There may be a long-term effect on the Houthis, but the immediate effect will be on normal people trying to put food on the table,” the Yemeni economic analyst Amal Nasser said.

The sea blockade and daily airstrikes, which have hit civilian targets including hospitals, are part of a campaign to push rebels out of the capital.

There have been widespread calls for an independent inquiry into the conflict, including from senior British MPs. More than a third of Saudi-led bombing raids are thought to have hit civilian sites, and human rights groups say violations are also being perpetrated by Houthi rebels.

[Aditya_V]

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/ ... dian-ocean

Cross posting from Levant Thread as it is more relevant here

[JE Menon]

http://swarajyamag.com/

India & The GCC States - A Visibly Shifting Paradigm

[Philip]

https://www.rt.com/news/362194-us-ship- ... le-attack/

US Navy destroyer comes under missile attack off Yemen coast – Pentagon
Published time: 10 Oct, 2016 03:42

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason departs Naval Station Norfolk © Eric S. Garst / AFP

Two missiles fired from the Yemeni shore targeted a US Navy guided missile destroyer, a Pentagon spokesman has said. The rockets, which failed to hit the ship, allegedly came from territory controlled by Houthi rebels.
READ MORE: Yemen funeral bombing: US to ‘immediately review’ support for Saudi-led coalition

“USS Mason detected two inbound missiles over a 60-minute period while in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. Both missiles impacted the water before reaching the ship,” Reuters quoted Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis as saying.

Duff told Reuters that there were “no injuries to our sailors and no damage to the ship.” He reportedly said the failed attack originated in an area controlled by Houthi rebels, who are being targeted in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. The Saudis have been supporting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was ousted in a Houthi rebellion in November 2014.

The reported attack comes a day after the White House announced an “immediate” review of US support for the Saudi-led coalition, after a funeral hall bombing in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, left over 150 people dead on Saturday.

On Monday, the Houthi movement denied its involvement in the attack on the US Navy destroyer.

“[The Houthi movement] denies targeting any ship off Yemeni waters," an official from the group told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday expressed Washington's “deep concern” about the bombing, and welcomed Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's “commitment to launch a thorough and immediate investigation of the strike, and urged him to take urgent steps to ensure such an incident does not happen again,” according to a US statement.

Armed people demonstrate outside the United Nations offices against Saudi-led air strikes on funeral hall in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, October 9, 2016 © Khaled Abdullah1,000s of Yemenis rally outside local UN office after deadly airstrike blamed on Saudi-led coalition
Kerry also “reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the Deputy Crown Prince stated his desire to institute a renewable 72-hour cessation as soon as possible, provided the Houthis will agree.”

Kerry added he still supports Riyadh's demand for Houthis to "pull back weapons from Saudi Arabia's border and respect its territorial integrity," saying he appreciates Riyadh's "support" for a start of the UN-led negotiations with the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni leader who allied himself with the rebels.

The Saturday attack on the funeral hall in Sanaa prompted tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets of the Yemeni capital, with many upset at the inaction of the international community when it comes to the Saudi-led coalition's actions in Yemen.

The US, along with other Western nations including the UK and France, has been contributing both intelligence and weapons to the Saudi campaign in Yemen.

Washington has offered Riyadh $115 billion worth of arms during Barack Obama's two terms as president, according to the Center for International Policy, an anti-war think-tank.

The latest deal between the US and Saudi Arabia included 153 Abrams tanks and other military equipment which is worth an estimated $1.15 billion and was approved by the White House in August.

[Philip]

Is ISIS abandoning Mosul to relocate its depleted manpower to Syria,where it can be used to stonewall the regime and Russia?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... rga-latest

Mosul assault: forces launch mass attack on Iraqi city in bid to oust Isis – latest
The Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are converging on Iraq’s second-largest city, which has been in the hands of Islamic State since 2014
LIVE Updated 1h ago
Iraqi soldiers in convoy of Iraqi military vehicles heads toward Qayyarah base in northern Iraq, ahead of an expected offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State.
Monday 17 October 2016 05.46 BST
Half a million children in the firing line
2h ago
Battle for Mosul begins
'The mortar fire is intensifying' – audio

Martin Chulov Martin Chulov

Iraqi PM promises the nation will 'celebrate victory as one'
Haider Al-Abadi ✔ @HaiderAlAbadi
The hour has struck. The campaign to liberate Mosul has begun. Beloved people of Mosul, the Iraqi nation will celebrate victory as one
Iraq’s prime minister announces operation to retake Mosul from Isis

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting line – which we cannot confirm – in its piece on the battle for Mosul, suggesting that Isis has decided to give up on the city.
A mid-ranking Islamic State commander said in an interview over Facebook that the group has made a tactical decision to partially abandon Mosul, recalling their “human resources” to Syria where they hope to strengthen their foothold. “There will be no big great epic battle in Mosul,” the commander said. “The tactic now is hit-and-run.”

Mona Mahmood and Emma Graham-Harrison wrote on Sunday about how Mosul’s one million residents were bracing for the assault.

Those stuck in Mosul are digging makeshift bomb shelters, stockpiling food and, as the battle draws closer, mostly staying at home to avoid bombs or provoking militants.

Isis has banned mobile phones, but after midnight the city is alive with whispered calls, as the people of Mosul catch up with loved ones outside the city, or sometimes plan their own escape.

?

[Aditya_V]

So US attacked Yemeni Radar sites due to a Radar malfunction in one of thier ships??

[kit]

So US attacked Yemeni Radar sites due to a Radar malfunction in one of thier ships??

..really !

[LokeshC]

So US attacked Yemeni Radar sites due to a Radar malfunction in one of thier ships??

Ha ha. What next, second strike protocol activation after faulty satellite signal of a detection of a nuke explosion?

[IndraD]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 890310.cms

Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince, has emerged as the most dynamic royal in Saudi Arabia. He has a hand in nearly all elements of Saudi policy. He is directly observing war with Yemen, presenting himself as new face of modern Saudi.
The centralization of authority in Prince Salman has angered many of the Saudi royal family. Including the likely successor Nayef.

[Philip]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... amic-state

Five key questions about the battle for Mosul
Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have begun a ground assault to oust Islamic State from the city in northern Iraq
Iraqi forces advance towards Mosul in an attempt to retake it from Islamic State.
Nadia Khomami

Monday 17 October 2016 of planning, a long-awaited ground assault on the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in the country, has begun.

Why is Mosul significant to Islamic State?
Mosul is Iraq’s second biggest city and was overrun by Isis in mid-2014. Since then, the terror group’s “caliphate” has shredded state authority in the region’s heartland, led to a mass exodus of refugees, attempted a genocide of minorities and created grave doubts over the future of Iraq.

Live Battle for Mosul: Isis stronghold under attack from Iraqi and Kurdish forces – latest news
The Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are converging on Iraq’s second-largest city, which has been in the hands of Islamic State since 2014
Read more
The formation of a caliphate across the borders of already existing countries is essential to Isis ideology, and the terror group is the first in modern history to control its own state in such a way. Without a caliphate, Isis would find it significantly harder to call on recruits to join in its war against the rest of the world.

But the jihadis have suffered a string of territorial defeats this year in both Iraq and Syria – only on Sunday they lost the town of Dabiq to Syrian rebel fighters backed by Turkey. The loss of Mosul would be one of its greatest, because the city was acquired after beating the US-backed Iraqi army. It was from Mosul’s Great Mosque that Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a rare public speech in 2014 in which he declared himself the new global caliph and called on followers to “do jihad in the cause of God, incite the believers, and be patient in the face of this hardship.”

Losing Mosul would also make it easier for Isis’s opponents to recapture the group’s Syrian capital of Raqqa, because major supply routes from Iraq would be cut.

For these reasons, the assault is expected to be a protracted and difficult one, with Isis thought to have between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters ready to defend Mosul. These fighters are hidden among a dwindling civilian population of approximately 600,000, most of whom are expected to flee as the battle intensifies.

Isis have had months to prepare and will seek to use hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, snipers, bombs, berms and trenches to slow down the Iraqi forces.

Who is involved in the attack?
The offensive is a joint operation by more than 30,000 troops from the Iraqi army, Kurdish peshmerga and a Shia paramilitary force. Also on the ground are US, British and French special forces, which have been advising the peshmerga and will play a prominent role in calling in airstrikes against Isis targets inside the city.

The US has recently deployed an additional 600 troops to aid in the retaking of Mosul, bringing the total number of US personnel to more than 5,200, according to the Pentagon. The US said on Sunday night that it was proud to stand with its allies in the offensive, and in a statement, the defence secretary, Ash Carter, called it “a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver Isil [Isis] a lasting defeat”.

He added: “The United States and the rest of the international coalition stand ready to support Iraqi security forces, peshmerga fighters and the people of Iraq in the difficult fight ahead. We are confident our Iraqi partners will prevail against our common enemy and free Mosul and the rest of Iraq from Isil’s hatred and brutality.”

Brett McGurk
Godspeed to the heroic Iraqi forces, Kurdish #Peshmerga, and #Ninewa volunteers. We are proud to stand with you in this historic operation.

October 16, 2016
How long is the offensive expected to take?
War planners expect the fight to last weeks, if not months. Kurdish forces predict stiff resistance from Isis, which has already lost the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi, Sinjar and Falluja and a vast area of land close to Erbil.

Despite more than a year of US-led airstrikes, mortars continue to rain down on Kurdish forces. Isis is also believed to have placed thousands of improvised explosives in villages on the road to Mosul, which are likely to make the going slow.

Isis has also used mustard gas against Kurdish forces – up to 19 times in the past two years. The militants thought responsible for the group’s chemical weapons programme are believed to have all been captured, or killed, but a risk remains of further attacks.

Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga attack Isis stronghold of Mosul
What does the offensive mean for the people of Mosul?
Militants have banned civilians from leaving Mosul, and have set up checkpoints on roads out and blown up the homes of those who do flee as punishment and to deter others. But while leaving can mean trekking through minefields, and the risk of discovery and punishment by Isis, those who stay know they face airstrikes, street battles, a potential siege by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the grim possibility of being used as human shields by Isis.

Isis has used civilians for protection in other cities it lost control of in recent months, and militants have already moved into residential areas to try to blunt the impact of US airstrikes, which are now landing near ordinary homes. Those stuck in Mosul are digging makeshift bomb shelters, stockpiling food, and, as the battle draws closer, mostly staying at home to avoid bombs or provoking militants.

The United Nations and other aid organisations warned that a huge number of civilians were in immediate danger as the operation got under way. “I am extremely concerned for the safety of up to 1.5 million people,” the UN deputy secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, Stephen O’Brien, said. “Depending on the intensity and scope of the fighting, as many as 1 million people may be forced to flee their homes in a worst-case scenario.”

Save the Children said the lives of more than half a million children “now hang in the balance”. The Norwegian Refugee Council said safe exits from Mosul must be provided or civilians “will be faced with the bleakest of choices: stay behind and risk their lives under attack, or risk their lives trying to flee”.

One of the pressing questions is how to cater for what will potentially be the largest single refugee exodus at any point since mid-2014. The new wave of refugees is likely to be far more difficult to manage than the war itself, and authorities and aid agencies were desperately trying to finalise plans ahead of the attack.

Why have sectarian concerns featured in the buildup to the fight?
Advertisement

Sectarian tensions remained high in the region throughout the post-Saddam years, and peaked before Isis swept into the city in 2014. As the terror group arrived, Iraqi forces who were mostly Shia and had alienated the local population, quickly surrendered the city. Restoring trust with Baghdad and re-establishing basic governance therefore loom as the biggest challenge of the post-Isis period.

Iraq’s central government remains weak and has little influence in Sunni areas of the country. The US, which maintained a presence in Mosul until 2010, no longer has an occupying presence in Iraq. Obama has made clear that the 6,000 troops his administration has re-deployed are there only to fight Isis and not to provide military muscle in support of a diplomatic push to hold the country together.

As for the offensive, Shia militias and Kurdish peshmerga forces who have played vital roles in the war against Isis are not slated to enter the largely Sunni Muslim Mosul. The Iraqi military, which is largely made up of Shia soldiers and officers, will take the lead in the battle.

Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces, which performed well in the four-week battle to retake Falluja in June, are expected to lead the fight. Peshmerga units are planning to take up blocking positions to the north and east, where they will also receive and screen refugees. The popular mobilisation units, known in Iraq as Hashd al-Shabi, have been confined to a blocking role to the west of Mosul.

An Iraqi intelligence official said: “There is an agreement about the structure, and the order in which [forces] come in. This is the last battle in Iraq and everyone wants to be included. It was a wise move to let the Shia militia be involved but in designated areas, and under control. I don’t think after two years fighting Isis you can keep out the Shia in the last battle of Iraq.

“If we cannot reassure Sunnis they will fight to the death. There are small elements trying to assassinate [Isis], and trying to make them feel uncomfortable, but it largely depends on the tribes. We are trying to tell the Sunnis inside this is coming, and people reaching out to them and saying they have a second chance.”

PS:So its alright to proceed with the "mother of all battles" for Mosul,while it isn't kosher to fight for Aleppo!
Western hypocrisy sublime.

[Y. Kanan]

Is ISIS abandoning Mosul to relocate its depleted manpower to Syria,where it can be used to stonewall the regime and Russia?

Putin was telling the truth; recall this earlier story:
America ‘plotting to allow 9,000 ISIS fighters to escape terror capital Mosul so they can attack Russian troops’, Moscow outrageously claims
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1968311/a ... ly-claims/


"Moscow outrageously claims" indeed...

[Philip]

Anglo-Saxon special forces also on the "Mosul or Bust" bandwagon.The Western emtities appear to beoffering a deal to ISIS,in that if they allow a "victory" of sorts in Iraq,the West will help them overthrow the Assad regime with full support in Syria,where they will fight as if they were "Syrian rebels".This change of "numberplate" is exactly what the Pakis do with their own terror jihadis when they are cornered for conducting terror attacks.
This scheme will help them overcome being listed on UN and other nations' terror list.However,from the report,ISIS is well dug in and the battl;e for Mosul,like Stalingrad,could be "centimetre by centimetre"
This is the perfect time for the Assad regime and Russians to launch a perfect storm upon the ISIS/rebels in Aleppo and exterminate the vermin.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... econd-city

Battle for Mosul: Iraqi forces converge in decisive battle against Isis
British, US and French special forces and paratroopers support push by peshmerga from east and Iraqi army from south
Iraqi forces deploy in al-Shourah, 30 miles south of Mosul, as they advance towards the city.

Martin Chulov and Fazel Hawramy, near Mosul Julian Borger and Patrick Wintour
Tuesday 18 October 2016 07.20 BST

Iraqi forces, supported by US-led airstrikes and special forces, advanced on Mosul from the east and the south on Monday in the first phase of a long-planned offensive to retake the city from Islamic State.

The advance on Monday evening aims to liberate Iraq’s second biggest city, an Isis stronghold where its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of a caliphate two years ago.

The Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, advanced steadily in long armoured columns across the Nineveh plain to the east of Mosul, pausing at each deserted village to allow engineers to search for mines and booby traps left by Isis.

Peshmerga officials claimed their tanks had destroyed two Isis suicide truck bombs. By the end of the first day in the attempt to oust the jihadi group from their last major Iraqi stronghold, Kurdish leaders said their forces had captured 200 sq km (77 sq miles).

IS suicide bomber blows up Iraqi tank in Mosul takeover
Most of the local population on the Nineveh plain has fled since Isis seized the area in the summer of 2014.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi army has also moved into villages to the south of the city, where local tribes had ousted Isis on their own.

Early reports suggested the peshmerga advance from the east met relatively little resistance while the Iraqi army and Shia militias advancing from the south faced tougher opposition and more difficult terrain.

Battle for Mosul: Isis city under attack from Iraqi and Kurdish forces – as it happened
The Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are converging on Iraq’s second-largest city, which has been in the hands of Islamic State since 2014
Read more
Under a US-brokered agreement negotiated in the run-up to the offensive, thepeshmerga and Shia militias such as the Iranian backed Hashd al-Shaabi are supposed to stop short of entering Mosul itself, which is mostly Sunni, allowing the Iraqi army’s counter-terrorism force, federal police and local tribal fighters to conduct the house-to-house fighting in the city, with the aim of minimising sectarian conflict in the aftermath of the battle against Isis.

US, British and French special forces are playing a supporting role in the offensive, some giving coordinates on enemy targets for airstrikes. The US has a total 5,000 troops in Iraq, many serving as advisors to the 12 Iraqi brigades that have been specifically trained for the battle of Mosul. An ABC correspondent covering the peshmerga advance reported that US troops from the 101st Airborne Division were operating openly with the Kurds.

“Early indications are that Iraqi forces met their objections and are ahead of schedule on this first day. Peter Cook, the Pentagon spokesman, said.

He said Isis has an estimated force of between three and five thousand inside the city, which has a population of about a million.

“They have had two years to dig in and to plan IED’s [improvised explosive devices- booby-traps],” Cook said. “This is an enemy with a capacity to make life difficult.”

He added that when Iraqi forces identify an Isis stronghold, they may pass on the coordinates to US “forward air controllers” serving behind the front line. Any subsequent air strike would have to be approved by the US command and the Iraqi authorities.

“There are Americans on the outskirts of the city, but Iraqis are in the lead, and the Americans are operating behind the forward line,” Cook said.

Addressing his troops at Khazer, east of Mosul, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Masoud Barzani, said: “This is the first time the peshmerga and Iraqi forces have worked together against Daesh [Isis] … we hope this will become a concrete foundation for our future relations with Baghdad.

“The liberation of Mosul is not an end to terror and terrorism but this was a good lesson so in the future we will resolve our differences through understanding and working together. We reassure the people of Mosul that both the peshmerga and the Iraqi army will do everything not to cause any loss to the people and no revenge killing will take place.”

Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, the commander of US military operations against Isis, said in a statement: “This operation to regain control of Iraq’s second-largest city will likely continue for weeks, possibly longer. Iraq is supported by a wide range of coalition capabilities, including air support, artillery, intelligence, advisers and forward air controllers.

“But to be clear, the thousands of ground combat forces who will liberate Mosul are all Iraqis.”

“Everyone is staying at home because we don’t know what else to do. Daesh are mostly moving around on motorbike and have small and heavy guns,” said Abu Mohammed, a 35 year-old in the east Mosul. “The planes started bombing Mosul around one in the morning today and they are in the sky constantly and occasionally striking targets.”

“Daesh are moving into civilian houses and mixing with the population. For example Daesh has placed a large depot of IED’s in a house next to my cousin’s house. I begged him to leave his house and bring his family to stay with me as the house could be targeted by coalition. He refused and said: Whatever destiny brings,” said Mohammed (not his real name).

Another resident, Abu Sabra, aged 22, said: “Daesh is collecting tires in the city in order to burn them at Bashiqa junction to prevent the planes from targeting them.”

He added that the jihadists had lined up shipping containers along the sides of the roads in Mosul.

“There is no money and even though the food is cheap we can not buy. This evening we only had fried potatoes,” Abu Sabra said. He said Isis was shooting anyone seen trying to flee Mosul, but there were growing signs of potential resistance to Isis from inside the city.

“I can see sign that people want to resist Daesh because they have had enough. In my neighborhood , some people openly use their mobile phones which is forbidden. Others who still have their guns hidden, are preparing to join the peshmerga or the Iraqi army when they enter the city to fight Daesh.”

Analysis If the Mosul offensive is a success, what could this mean for Isis?
Defeat as a territorial power in the region could dramatically change the entire landscape of Islamic militancy
Read more
The UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) warned that up to 100,000 Iraqis may flee to Syria and Turkey to escape the battle for Mosul, and the organisation appealed for an additional $61m (£50m) to provide tents, camps, winter items and stoves for displaced people inside Iraq and new refugees needing shelter in the two neighbouring countries.

Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said the US had contributed more than $1bn since 2014 to address the humanitarian situation. “There’s a lot of investment that’s gone into this effort in advance of the operation and I think that will begin to pay dividends as we make progress against Isil in Mosul,” he said. “There has been an intense focus on making sure that when Isil is cleared from communities in Iraq there is a clear strategy for stabilising those communities.”

The Pentagon said seven million leaflets would be dropped over Mosul in the coming 48 hours advising civilians to stay in their homes and advising them on how to stay as safe as possible in the course of the looming battle.

The start of the offensive, which has been months in the planning, was announced in an address on state television by Iraq’s prime minister in the early hours of Monday morning. Haider al-Abadi said: “We have been battling Isis for more than two years. We started fighting Isis in the outskirts of Baghdad, and thank God we are now fighting them in the outskirts of Mosul and, God willing, the decisive battle will be soon.

“These forces that are liberating you today, they have one goal in Mosul, which is to get rid of Daesh and to secure your dignity. They are there for your sake.”

After a month-long buildup, the last urban stronghold of Isis in Iraq has for several days been almost completely surrounded by a 30,000-strong force.

On Monday morning just before dawn, columns of peshmerga fighters could be seen lined up for the offensive to the north-east of the city. The forces had taken control of seven villages and the main road linking Mosul with the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital, Irbil, by 10am BST, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported.

Soldiers had earlier stood by bonfires singing battle hymns while in the distance the sound of airstrikes reverberated along with a regular artillery barrage.

Analysis Five key questions about the battle for Mosul
Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have begun a ground assault to oust Islamic State from Iraq’s second biggest city
Read more
South of the city, Iraqi forces, which had driven hundreds of miles for what Baghdad has hailed as a last battle against the terrorist group, moved into their final positions on Friday.

Skirmishes have flared outside Mosul over the last few days with an airstrike on one of its main bridges on Sunday. It is not clear who was responsible for the strike on the al-Hurriya bridge but Amaq, the news agency associated with Isis, blamed US forces. It is thought that the destruction of the bridge could hinder Isis fighters trying to flee the city.

Early on Monday, a dense, noxious haze hung over the mountains and the plains leading to Mosul – caused by oil fires lit by Isis in anticipation of the attack.

Isis is believed to have heavily mined the roads leading into its territory with large numbers of improvised devices and the Iraqi government has previously warned Mosul residents to stay in their homes.

In a reflection of the widespread concern over potential sectarian conflict once Isis is ousted, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said on Monday that Mosul would turn into a bloodbath and descend into mass killings if the Iraqi government allowed Shia militias to enter the city.

In a rare press conference in London, Jubeir said: “We oppose any kind of involvement by the Shia militias. If they go into Mosul ... I would expect the negative reaction will be tremendous and if there are mass killings, it could end up being a bonanza for violent extremists, and recruitment for Daesh. It could add fuel to the sectarian fires raging in the region and so we have urged the Iraqi government not to use the Shia militias. That is the greatest danger that we see.”

He said that although there had been reassurances from the Iraqi government about the deployment of Shia militias, he was not sure the Iraqi government was fully in control.

[Philip]

Another report which indicates that even if ISIS is thrown out of Mosul,further conflict may take place between the "victors".

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 66416.html

Iraq’s ‘ramshackle’ Mosul offensive may see Isis defeated but it will expose deep divisions between the forces involved
US-led air support will be crucial to victory against the jihadis, but the hatred felt between the various ‘allies’ mean it may not be the last battle within the city
Patrick Cockburn

A Kurdish Peshmerga convoy drives towards the front line in Khazer, about 20 miles east of Mosul Bram Janssen/AP
The Iraqi government and its allies may eventually capture Mosul from Isis, but this could be just a new chapter in the war.

It will only win because of the devastating firepower of the US-led air forces and sheer weight of numbers. But the fight for the city is militarily and politically complex. The Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga, Shia Hashd al-Shaabi and Sunni fighters from Mosul and Nineveh province, which make up the anti-Isis forces, suspect and fear each other almost as much as they hate Isis.

The Western media is portraying the first advances towards Mosul as if it is as orderly and well-planned as the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944. But in private Iraqis, who have seen many decisive victories turn out to be no such thing, are more sceptical about what they are seeing. One Iraqi observer in Baghdad, who did not want his name published, said that “the whole Mosul offensive seems to be a ramshackle affair held together by the expected high level of support from the US air force and special forces”.

READ MORE
When Mosul falls, Isis will flee to the safety of Syria. But what then?
Mosul offensive: US ‘confident’ it will reclaim Isis stronghold after first day of attack
Isis loses '10,000 fighters and quarter of territory in 18 months'
Mosul offensive: Desperate Iraqis paying up to $1,000 to flee Isis stronghold as assault begins
At least 12 US generals and 5,000 US troops are reportedly in Iraq and they will play a crucial role in the coming struggle. The observer added: “I don’t think that the Iraqi forces, Peshmerga, Hashd and Sunni volunteers can singly or jointly take back the city without the physical and psychological props provided by the US.”

The US participation is crucial because although the Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga have been successful driving back Isis since it won a succession of blitzkrieg victories in 2014, they have relied on US-led air support. This has carried out 12,129 air strikes against Isis in the past two years, enabling Iraqi government forces and their allies to recapture cities like Ramadi, Fallujah, Baiji and Tikrit while the Peshmerga captured Sinjar. But these successes would scarcely have happened without the coalition air umbrella overhead, allowing the anti-Isis units to avoid fighting and act primarily as a mopping up force.

There are now about 25,000 Iraqi army, Hashd and other volunteers in and around the Qayyara area 40 miles south of Mosul, while some 4,000 Peshmerga are advancing from the east. The earliest part of the campaign in the open countryside should be the easiest because air power and artillery can be most easily deployed. Villages and towns, many of them formerly inhabited by Christians or the Shabak minority, on the Nineveh Plain east of Mosul are empty and can be bombarded without risk of civilian casualties.

Assault on Mosul gathers pace
But military and political calculations change when the Kurds reach the built up outskirts of Mosul, which may still have a million people it. They are pledged not to enter the city which is the biggest Sunni Arab urban centre in Iraq, though it used to have a substantial Kurdish minority. The Shia paramilitaries of the Hashd are also not supposed to enter Mosul because of Sunni sensitivities, but they can besiege it.

The Iraqi army has a number of experienced combat units such as the Golden Division, but these are limited in number and have complained in the past of being fought out because they are too frequently deployed. The nature of the fighting in Mosul will differ and be more difficult than in Ramadi and Fallujah, both of which were surrounded while in Mosul Isis has not been yet been encircled and cut off from the rest of Iraq. The US would probably be inhibited in employing its airpower in Mosul so the Iraqi army and its elite counter-terrorism units might suffer heavy casualties in street fighting with the 4,000 to 8,000 Isis fighters believed to be in the city.

Iraqi forces advancing towards Mosul from al-Shourah (AFP/Getty Images)
This supposes that Isis will want to stand and fight for Mosul in a way that it did not in other Iraqi cities. Ever since it lost some 2,000 fighters, mostly to US air strikes, in its abortive four-and-a-half month siege of the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani in 2014-15, its commanders have been reluctant to let their forces, which are overwhelmingly light infantry, fight from fixed positions that can be precisely targeted and obliterated by shelling and bombing. They might do better in Mosul, but the end result would likely be the same.

But not to fight for Mosul would be a bad blow to Isis. It contains one-third of the population under its control in Iraq. It is the heart of the “caliphate” that was declared here just over two years ago. It was the capture of Mosul by an Isis force of a few thousand defeating a garrison numbering at least 20,000 that astonished the world in June 2014. Isis leaders themselves saw their victory as miraculous and a sign of divine assistance. The loss of the city would, on the contrary, be evidence that the caliphate has no miraculous formula for victory and has gone into irreversible decline.

Yet if Isis is going to fight anywhere, it would be best to do so in Mosul where it has been long entrenched. If the Iraqi army counter-terrorist forces get bogged down in street-fighting, Baghdad might face a number of unpalatable choices. It could ask the US-led coalition to escalate the bombing, but this might be embarrassing and lead to comparisons with the Russian and Syrian bombardment of East Aleppo over which the Western powers frequently express their revulsion.

Another alternative would be for Baghdad to use the Hashd paramilitaries, but this would be seen as an anti-Sunni move. Turkey is struggling to be a player in deciding the fate of Mosul and maintaining its Sunni Arab character. It local proxy is the former governor at the time of the Isis capture of the city, Atheel al-Nujaifi, who has 5,000 militiamen trained by the Turks, many of them former policemen in Mosul. The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has furiously demanded that a Turkish force of 1,500 soldiers at Bashiqa close to the front line return to Turkey and has exchanged abuse with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

READ MORE
Isis loses '10,000 fighters and quarter of territory in 18 months'
Turkey will fight Isis in Mosul, President Erdogan says
Isis ‘ready and waiting’ for Mosul offensive with booby traps, suicide bomber squadrons and network of spies
Isis has always benefited from the divisions of its opponents and nowhere are these more glaring than in and around Mosul where so many sectarian and ethnic fault lines meet. These divisions have helped Isis survive for so long, but its savagery has also united leaders and parties who otherwise might fight each other. This is true of the Baghdad government and the Iraqi Kurds, who took advantage of the defeat of the Iraqi army in northern Iraq in 2014 to take over a swathe of disputed territories which expanded the area of Kurdish control by 40 per cent.

This shifting mosaic of different parties and interests makes the course, intensity and outcome of the battle for Mosul highly unpredictable. One way or another it looks likely that Isis will lose, but it is less certain who will win and fill the vacuum left by the overthrow of the caliphate. There are many contenders for this role, making it possible that the present battle for Mosul will not be the last.

More about: IsisMosul offensiveMosulIraqFallujahPeshmerga

[Singha]

my prediction is due to fear or $$, a lot of medium level daesh commanders and their cadre will be willing to stop fighting and leave the city and the Daesh mukhabarat/SOF will be unable to retain control for long with their executions.

whether these cadres are given amnesty and allowed to go off and create more mayhem in syria or only the biggies are pardoned and let go, while the foot soldiers sent to long jail terms remains to be seen.

PMU & nineveh protection militia units are surely monitoring the western desert trails leading out of the city and will be loathe to show any mercy.

[Prem]

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-his ... mome_share
Archaeologists Discover that Earliest Known Arabic Writing Was Penned by a Christian
( The inscription look like Lande language)

The oldest known Arabic writing found in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 AD belong to a Christian context and predates the advent of Islam with 150 years.In December 2015, researchers from a French-Saudi expedition studying rock inscriptions in southern Saudi Arabia published a 100-page-long report in France’s Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres that reported that the oldest Arabic text, carved on a large rectangular stone that was found in Saudi Arabia, is simply of a name, “Thawban (son of) Malik,” decorated with a Christian cross. The same cross systematically appears on the other similar stelae dating more or less to the same period.The discovery is sensational since it shows that the origins of the Arabic alphabet used to write the Koran belongs to a Christian context. This pre-Islamic alphabet is also called Nabatean Arabic, because it evolved from the script used by the Nabateans, the once-powerful nation that built Petra and dominated the trade routes in the southern Levant and northern Arabia before being annexed by the Romans in the early 2nd century.The Muslim tradition preserved in the book of Koran portrays the pre-Islamic region as chaotic and filled with unrest that Mohammed manages to unify with the help of the powerful message of IslamHowever, the Islamic text makes no mention of the numerous Christian and Jewish communities across the Saudi peninsula that flourished during the days of Mohammed.Recent studies of works by ancient Christians and Muslim records have re-shaped our image of the societies that existed in the region and shed new light on the complex history of the region before the advent of Islam. One of the important kingdoms in Arabia at the time was the Jewish kingdom of Dhamar-Ali Yahbur ( Dharmali Japur Himar)Himyar.The kingdom was founded in the 2nd century AD, and around 380 AD the elites of the kingdom of Himyar converted to some form of Judaism. By the 4th century,Himyar had become an important player in the struggle for regional power. The Kingdom of Himyar’s headquarters was situated in what is today Yemen, from where its expansionist rulers led a series of campaigns conquering into its neighboring states, including the legendary biblical kingdom of Sheba

.

[Philip]

Most interesting post above Prem! There are also some conspiracy theorists that Islam was created by the Roman Cathos to control the barbarians of the bedou.

The mother of all waits! If the good general says 2 months,with the motley posse led by multifarious entities,it may actually take 20..if at all.
Cometh November's US election and a new US pres. will be in charge of the troops . Syria,Iraq,Libya....the West's theatre conflicts are on many fronts with a western global economy in decline.V.wise of Putin and Russia to concentrate on the core regions,the UKR/Crimes and Syria.Russia is most wise not to get invovlved in "Mespot",where the Yanquis,Brits and their fellow travellers are cleaning up all their sh*t!

*This must be v.disappointing to the embedded western journos,like the CCN crew,who've come under attack,who were expecting a quick-fix victory within days.It seems that ISIS was not invited to the party.They've been patiently preparing a "hot meal" for the uninvited visitors,Menu a right royal desert feast as follows:

*Saudis {in the) Soupe- Soup
*IE Drumsticks of Ammonia,Mosul Mortars, accompanied with Sweetbread of Crusaders,British (virgin) Brain sauce- -Starters
*Assorted roasted camels (Baghdadi,Peshmerga,Soothi,Qatari),with Turds of Kurds-Main course.
*Mousse a la Special Farces-Dessert

To drink: Bloody (Anglo) Fairies,Dry Martins (Sheik-en not stirred),Bedou Beers (for queers..don't ask for the ingredients!)--For Infidels
Camel's milk perfumed with the Attar of Qatar--For devout locals.
Sweetmeats: Turkish Delight,Basra Dates,
Coalition Cheeses-Big and small accompanied with assorted "crackers" courtesy ISIS!
Enjoy!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... qi-general

Two months to take Mosul from Isis, says Iraqi general
Poor weather and complex regional politics mean it will take two weeks to reach the city says Gen Sirwan Barzani
Julian Borger in Washington
Tuesday 18 October 2016
Iraqi forces advancing on Mosul could take two weeks to reach the city and two months to liberate it from Islamic State (Isis) control, a general involved in the battle has said.

Sirwan Barzani, a brigadier general of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces told CNN that bad weather could prolong the battle yet further.
Battle for Mosul: 'This is going to take a long time – Isis won't give up'

The general made his assessment on the second full day of the battle, as peshmerga forces approached village by village across the Nineveh plain from the east, and regular Iraqi army units and some Shia militias advanced along the highway from Baghdad in the south.

President Obama warned of a gruelling campaign ahead.

“I’m confident that we can succeed, although it’s going to be a tough fight and a difficult fight,” the president said at a joint press conference in Washington with the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi. “It is Iraqis who are doing the fighting. And they are performing effectively and bravely, and taking on significant casualties. There will be ups and downs in this process, but my expectation is that ultimately it will be successful.”

In his interview, Gen Barzani said: “My expectation is two months for the fight inside Mosul, but weather is one of the factors that can delay the process.”

He said that it would take the advancing troops two weeks just to reach Mosul, but noted an agreement with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad that peshmerga forces will not enter the city to take on Isis in the streets. That will be left to the regular army, federal police and Sunni tribal militias.

The same prohibition on entering Mosul also applies to Shia militias, known as the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU’s) or Hashd al-Shaabi. Their deputy commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, said on Tuesday, however, that his forces would fight to the west of Mosul for the town of Tal Afar.

In interviews with the Guardian, residents of the multi-ethnic city said one of their principal fears if and when Isis was defeated was that Shia forces, responsible for past sectarian atrocities, would carry out reprisal killings against Sunnis.

In a further illustration of the complicated regional politics likely to dog Mosul’s future, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, invoked a century-old Ottoman manifesto, the Misak-ı Millî (National Oath), to bolster his country’s claims on Mosul.

Erdoğan told an international law conference in Istanbul that those who doubt Turkey’s claims should read the Misak-ı Millî and understand what the place means to us” according to the Kurdish news agency Kurdistan24.

Turkish involvement in the battle for northern Iraq and in particular its military presence in Bashiqa, 10 miles north of Mosul, where it has trained Sunni militias, has infuriated the Iraqi government of Haider al-Abadi.

Europeans must get ready for jihadis fleeing Mosul, says EU security expert
Read more
“They say Turkey should not enter Mosul. Come on! How do I not enter? I have a 350 kilometers [217 miles]-long border with Iraq. And I am under threat from that border,” Erdoğan said.“They tell us to withdraw from Bashiqa. Nobody should expect us to do so.”

The US defence secretary, Ash Carter, is due to visit Turkey on Friday, in a bid to soothe tensions between US allies in what Washington sees as the most decisive battle against Isis.

There are 18,000 Iraqi army troops involved in the offensive and about 10,000 Kurdish peshmerga, against an estimated 5,000 Isis fighters thought to be inside Mosul city and its outskirts. Of the 5,000 US military personnel in Iraq, only about 100 are near the frontlines, advising Kurdish and Iraqi army units and helping target air strikes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. A spokesman said that four US air strikes were carried out on targets inside Mosul on Mo

[Singha]

they are just being cautious on timelines thats all. will move carefully to avoid traps and VBIEDs.

in a standup fight even against numerically inferior opponents, ISIS has always come second best. they specialize in quick raiding parties, like mongols spreading fear & panic well ahead of the march with beheadings and other atrocities to collapse morale.

when people dig in and refuse to give up , as in deir azzor, their lack of being a proper military is exposed.

[ramana]

Mosul siege should go into the Levant Thread.

[Lalmohan]

i wonder if IS has now lost most of its trained Iraqi army sunni defector manpower and expertise? (through attrition and fatigue). they are now left with the yahoo's and 'hitlerjugend' and a few older ideologues (who prefer to do do rear echelon probing only)

not sure how many of them will make the last stand - supposedly many of the euro-jehadis have been trying to defect

i am also guessing that their ability to manage armour/arty and proper comms is also now degraded - and all they have now is the shoot'n'scoot model

[Singha]

Last para is on dot.

Their arty is now svbied and suicide vests..no evidence of anything beyond mortars used in mosul

[Lalmohan]

this suggests that their best hope is to draw more mechanised forces into a fully urban battle and inflict large casualties through attrition - using terror and human shields as their last resort

[Philip]

Russia's planned lease of the Tartus naval base for 49 years from Syria in an indication that Russia is here to stay the long haul in the Meditt/ME.With Tartus and other air and mil bases in Syria,plus logistic facilities in Iran,Russia is ensuring first that the Crimea and eastern UKR remains secure.This is its primary goal.Entry of NATO/US naval forces into the Black Sea in a spat/crisis can be intercepted and taken out well before the Dardanelles and Bosphorous chokepoints. From these bases Russia can with the long reach of its missiles from various platforms,strike deep into the heartland of the ME,into every state.It will turn Syria into an "imptegnable bastion",which will be a de-facto Russian mil base for the entire region.From here it will exercise its influence all over the ME apart from securing the security of the Crimea. The RU naval carrier task force entering the Meditt bound for Tartus speaks volumes for Russian intentions.It also provides an alternative to the US for regional states who have been swift to seize upon like Egypt with large oirders for Rusian weaponry (2 French-built Mistrals and over 50 KA-52 maritime attack helos,MIG-29/35 aircraft,etc.)

http://lawstreetmedia.com/issues/world/ ... ddle-east/

Why is Russia Getting Involved in the Middle East? By Michael Sliwinski | October 20, 2015
In September, Russian forces began a controversial air campaign in Syria in an attempt to increase the nation’s involvement in the Middle East. While some leaders have welcomed Russia’s increased involvement, many in the west have been skeptical of President Vladimir Putin’s motives. As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s position weakens amid an ongoing civil war, Russia has stepped in and with Iran’s help is ensuring he stays in power.

The situation in Syria is becoming increasingly complex as the Islamic State seeks to expand its control in the midst of a civil war between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime. But Russia’s intervention in Syria is only part of an emerging trend for the country, as it seeks to exert its influence outside of its borders. Recent developments have caused many to ask why Russia is intervening and what it hopes to gain. Read on to see what Russia has been doing to grow its influence and expand its role in the Middle East.

HISTORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Russia’s intervention in Syria is not the first time that the country has been involved in the Middle East. In fact, the country has a long history in the region. The Soviet Union was a major supplier of the Arab forces who fought against Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Yom Kuppur War. The USSR later invaded Afghanistan in 1979, occupying the country for nearly 10 years. In 1990, it lost a key ally in the region when what was then South Yemen merged with the North. Growing U.S. influence in the region further hurt the Soviet Union’s control of the region, particularly after the success of the Operation Desert Storm, a significant victory for the United States over Saddam. Shortly afterward, the Soviet Union collapsed and its influence in the Middle East largely receded.

The following video depicts Russia’s difficulties in Afghanistan:
RUSSIA’S RETURN

Russia worked its way back into the region as an alternative arms supplier to the United States. Many Middle East countries saw Russia’s more lenient human rights perspective as an appealing reason to do business with the country. This shift allowed Russia to attract many Middle Eastern countries away from their traditional supplier, the United States, which was quick to abandon authoritarian leaders during the Arab Spring.

While the Arab Spring helped Russia increase its arms exports, the region was already an important market for Russia. Between 2006 and 2009 Russia’s largest arms buyers were in the Middle East. While the Arab Spring increased demand for weapons in the Middle East, Russia did not immediately expand its sales to new countries. However, its traditional customers did significantly increase their demand–most notably Syria, which increased its purchases by 600 percent.

The breakthrough for Russia came later in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, as countries who were normally loyal customers of the United States began looking to Russia. This movement started with Egypt, whose relationship with the United States soured during the Arab Spring and the subsequent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Mohammad Morsi. Seeing an opportunity, Russia secured a deal with Egypt. A potential deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia, arguably the United States’ closest ally in the region outside of Israel, highlights Russia’s ambitions for its weapons industry. However, the Russians also supply Iran, Saudi Arabia’s most significant regional enemy.

The video below details Russia’s displacement of the US in formerly pro-Washington areas:

In addition to expanding its weapons exports in the Middle East, Russia recently started conducting military strikes in Syria, making the ongoing civil war even more complicated. At the end of September, Russia began a controversial airstrike campaign, which largely helped the Assad regime by targeting Syrian rebels. These actions have had an impact on the relationship between Russia and several key nations within the region as well as observers in the west.

The accompanying video provides an in-depth look at Russia’s actions in the Middle East:
Turkey

Russia’s relationship with Turkey is potentially its most complicated. Turkey relies on Russia, as well as Iran, for energy and trade, which amounted to $31 billion in 2014. The leaders of the two nations are often compared to each other, with President Erdogan reminding many of Putin based on his leadership style and his motivations to remain in office.

However, the relationship has been strained recently with Russia’s bombings of anti-Assad rebels and its repeated violations of Turkish airspace. There is also a historical legacy hanging over the two countries dating back to the time of the Ottoman Empire, which repeatedly fought the Russian Empire.

Syria

Even before Russia’s recent intervention in Syria, the two were close allies. This relationship has existed for years based, initially, on military contracts that Russian arms dealers had with Syrian buyers. Their relationship was strengthened back in 2010 after Russia’s U.N. Security Council veto–Russia, along with North Korea and China, blocked a resolution to force President Assad to step down. Since then, Russia has been Syria’s strongest backer outside of the Middle East. Russia also successfully negotiated the transfer and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons in 2014, diffusing a particularly controversial issue with the United States.

All of this serves as the backdrop for Russia’s recent incursion into Syria and its civil war. It started with Russia sending advisors and fighter planes but has continued to include ground troops, artillery, and stationing ships off Syria’s coast. Russia’s intervention in Syria has been particularly controversial because of the targets that the country has chosen to attack. While Russia initiated its air campaign with the intention to focus on ISIS and fight terrorism, many of the strikes have benefited the Assad regime.

Iran

Russia’s relationship with Iran is also particularly complex. Recently, Russia played an important role in securing the deal to stop Iran’s nuclear weapon program. But after the deal, Russia quickly unfroze an $800 million deal–previously suspended during negotiations–to give Iran a missile defense system. Additionally, it approved an oil-for-goods deal, which allows Russia to buy up large amounts of Iranian oil in exchange for food and other goods. But oil is also an area that could create conflict between the two countries. Iran’s now-unsanctioned supply of oil, when dumped on the market, could lower the international price of crude oil even further. Lately, the falling price of oil has hurt Russia’s economy, particularly in light of sanctions after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Since the Iranian Revolution, the two nations have been joined by their desire to keep the West at a distance. Even as sanctions are lifted on Iran, this relationship is likely to endure, allowing Iran to continue its anti-western rhetoric. Both nations are also united in strong support for the Assad regime in Syria. However, this shared sentiment flies in the face of more distant history–one that involved Russia either trying to acquire Iranian territory or intervening in the country’s affairs, as it did in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. More recently, Russia continues to arm Iran’s regional enemies and has gone along with American sanctions on the nation.

Iraq

Along with its collaboration with Iran and the Assad Regime in Syria, Russia also recently agreed to share information with Iraq in its fight against ISIS. Doing so has put the United States in a challenging situation, as it has been sceptical of Russia’s increased presence in the region, but has also advocated for international action against the Islamic State.

Russia also has a history of supporting Iraq, most notably in the form of funding during the Iran-Iraq war. Following the American invasion in 2003, it has also worked to normalize relations with the new government, especially in order to re-secure lucrative energy contracts.

CONCLUSION

So why is Russia wading back into the Middle East, especially given its history in the region? For most, an interest in the Middle East generally relates to the wealth of oil found there, but for Russia it is more complicated than oil alone. While Russia has worked to get energy contracts there, it is also one of the leading producers of crude oil and is widely regarded as having the largest proven reserves of natural gas. Traditionally, the Middle East had been a major market for Russian weapons, but as the politics of the region changed the United States took hold of the market. But in the wake of the Arab Spring, Russia has been working to expand its weapons exports, while also strengthening ties to its regional allies, like Syria and Iran. The revenue from arms sales is even more important considering the growth of sanctions from the west and the falling price of oil, a crucial source of revenue for Russia.

While a more involved position in the region may help Russia economically, either through energy or weapons, that does still not seem to be the major impetus for its invasion in Syria. Ultimately, Russia’s growing role in the Middle East may simply be a product of its efforts to grow its influence around the world. Russia seems to be positioning itself to be an effective alternative to the United States and its recent actions best reflect that goal. This move, while viewed critically in the West, has also been welcomed by leaders in the Middle East as a counterweight to American influence. Russia’s recent involvement in Syria, combined with its important role in the Iran nuclear deal, lends it even more regional significance.

[IndraD]

Outrage after UK govt admits training Saudi pilots despite Yemen war crimes allegations https://www.rt.com/uk/363784-uk-saudi-p ... ing-yemen/

"It is shameful that the UK government is not only arming Saudi pilots, it is training them as well. The indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, in clear breach of international humanitarian law, is now well documented,” The Independent cited Brake as saying.

[Prem]

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/bollywood ... iddle-east

Bollywood craze grows ever stronger with audiences in the Middle East

DUBAI // Emirati Soad Al Harmoodi does not miss any of her favourite television soap operas. But it is not Arabic shows that keep her glued to the screen – it is Hindi series and the latest Bollywood releases.“I like watching Hindi films and soaps,” said the 26-year-old housewife. “There is comedy, action and romance – all in one movie. I do watch some English and Arabic films and series, but prefer the Hindi movies.Mrs Al Harmoodi is not alone. The rising number of viewers in the Middle East and North Africa has prompted television stations in the UAE and across the region to dub popular Indian soaps and films into Arabic.“Zee Aflam was the first Bollywood channel in Arabic to be launched, in 2008,” said Manoj Mathew, Zee Network’s senior vice president and business head for the Mena region, Pakistan and Turkey.“Today there are 35 channels that show Bollywood and Indian content in Arabic in the region. Initially, it used to be Emiratis who used to watch Hindi films, but now there are many Arab expatriates from Egypt and North Africa as well.”The network’s Zee Alwan shows Indian drama series in Arabic, while Zee Film Hindi is a general-entertainment channel broadcast with Arabic subtitles.Mr Mathew said cultural similarities was one of the reasons for the channels being such a hit with Middle Eastern viewers.“There was always a connection between Hindi and Urdu languages and the people here. People speak and understand these languages. There is also a lot of trading connection. They are already exposed to the culture. Middle Eastern and Indian family values and cultures match, unlike the Middle East and Hollywood.”Saeed Al Musallam, an Emirati entrepreneur and a die-hard Bollywood fan, couldn’t agree more.“We are surrounded by Indians here,” said Mr Al Musallam, 47, who went to school in Nasik, India, as well as in the UAE. “We are so inter-related. Our relationship with India and Indians dates back 700 years, if not more. Indians have been settled here for many years. It was always Indian movies that were shown here, not the English movies.”He said he rarely watched Arabic cinema.“I don’t relate to Arabic films from Egypt. I don’t know the actors as well. India is a two-and-a-half-hour flight from here. I relate to Indians more than to Arabs from Egypt. And Egyptian cinema doesn’t have as much to show as Indian cinema does. The Bollywood films are funny and I go to watch them to have a good time.”Although he prefers to watch the films in Hindi, his wife watches the Arabic versions.“My wife watches the TV series in Arabic. More than half the nation watches these episodes. It is not just here, but people in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi and Oman also like them.“I prefer watching in Hindi because the dialogue, expression and the nuances are lost in Arabic.”

[IndraD]

RT
Saudi Arabia poised to be reelected to UN Human Rights Council