dagblog - Comments for "'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'"

Hmmm, FP is getting

moat — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 23:37:15 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

Hmmm, FP is getting progressively more restrictive with their content. I might sign up for the minimum access but most will not. I preferred their previous policy.

The Saudi throw down at the UN makes sense from the point of view of having a lot more capital capital than political capital. After decades of working a cartel, perhaps they are more comfortable working outside of the big tent than pretending to be a part of the club. It is not like a "big" power has never screwed them before.

I am not sure what they are giving up by making this move but the gesture clearly states that what is going down in Syria is existential for them.

Saudi Arabia?s Image Falters

artappraiser — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:11:04 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

Saudi Arabia’s Image Falters among Middle East Neighbors
Mixed Views of Saudi Influence, Record on Civic Freedoms
Survey Report

Pew Research Global Attitudes Project, Oct. 17,2013

Two opinions headlining Asia

artappraiser — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 18:40:09 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

Two opinions headlining Asia Times Online right now:

Bandar Bush's mad, mad world

Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is threatening a "major shift" in relations with the United States over Washington's perceived inaction on Syria and detente with Iran. Sure, with the entire Saudi plan to defeat the Shi'ites in the Middle East in flames, there are reasons to be angry, but plenty of others to suggest that Bandar has gone completely nuts.

- The Saker (Oct 25, '13)

Will the House of Saud pivot to China?

The House of Saud's anger with the Obama administration begs the question of whether Riyadh dreams of pivoting to China. Cash-rich and oil-thirsty, the aspiring superpower would make a welcome hands-off partner. So far, King Abdullah offers no evidence of escaping the US "special relationship". But when the petrodollar system crashes and burns, the pivot begins.

- Pepe Escobar (Oct 25, '13)

Whatever happened, it's

artappraiser — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 20:22:47 +0000

In reply to Maybe so. I am actually

Whatever happened, it's important to keep in mind that it was last minute. As described in Lynch's article (pages 3-4,) the Saudi ambassador made public statements that they were thrilled to have won a seat on the council after lobbying and preparing for it for so long, only to be contradicted by his government shortly thereafter.

Maybe so. I am actually

artappraiser — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 20:14:16 +0000

In reply to "If the Saudis were to join

Maybe so. I am actually surprised as in many matters in the past the royals have shown themselves to be more sympathetic both to modern life and pragmatism than not only the mutaween but many of their own citizens. Behind the scenes, it was often like: "is there some way we drag our people into the present without endangering our rule?" on this or that issue. So I wonder whether they really do see Sunni vs. Shia animosity as a major part of the future, with nothing about it going away soon.

I also think back to how they were generally quite comfortable with the Bush administration view of the world, even though they were disturbed at times that Shrub & Co. didn't really understand any of their world to any extent. So now I wonder if they are reviewing their support of the Iraq adventure as a big mistake as now they have Shia ruling Iraq (or at least trying to, and causing a lot of trouble in the process.) I wonder if they are segregationist on all that; they certainly are within the kingdom. I know they'd rather nobody in the neighborhood have nukes, it's a "separate but equal" approach on that.

"If the Saudis were to join

EmmaZahn — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 17:00:34 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

"If the Saudis were to join the U.N. Security Council they would have to follow the U.S. and Russia's lead," Landis told Foreign Policy. "There would be heavy pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop subsidizing Salafist militias in Syria and they don't want to do it. Russia and America would say ‘Look, you are part of the United Nations and you have to sever your ties with the Syrian rebels and stop sending them arms and money.' But Saudi Arabia doesn't want to rein them in."

The king must have received a visit from the mutaween after the vote.

In May, 2012, the head of the mutaween, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, stated that anyone using social media sites, such as Twitter, "has lost this world and his afterlife".[15]

If they think Twitter is so dangerous, what must they think of the UN.

Top of the Agenda: Saudi-U.S.

artappraiser — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 16:17:54 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

Top of the Agenda: Saudi-U.S. Rift Seen Over Syria Policy
Daily News Brief @ Council of Foreign Relations, Oct. 22, 2013

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief, told European diplomats the kingdom will scale back its cooperation with the United States to arm Syrian rebels and work instead with allies such as France and Jordan in an effort to topple the Assad regime (Gulf News). Secretary of State John Kerry met in Paris with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal, to calm tensions in the long-standing alliance and advocated the advantages of membership in the UN Security Council, which Riyadh spurned after being elected to a seat last week (Reuters). The United States reportedly cancelled delivery of drones to Turkey, highlighting another rift in U.S. relations with a Middle Eastern ally (JPost).

Analysis

"The main driver for the Saudis in this is rolling back Iranian influence. Most people see this in a sectarian light: the Saudis are Sunni, the Iranians are Shia, Bashar al-Assad is a Shia. But I think that for the top levels of the Saudi decision-making structure, the sectarian issue is not nearly as central as the pure balance of power logic," says Gregory Gause in a CFR Interview.

"As we saw from the debate here in late August/early September, there's not a lot of enthusiasm about the United States getting directly involved in Syria. So there is no agreement at all with Turkey on this major issue," says Senior Fellow Steven Cook in a CFR Interview [.....]

On Syria and Iran, it seems

artappraiser — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:40:25 +0000

In reply to 'This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work'

On Syria and Iran, it seems that Saudi Arabia is more hawkish than Netanyahu's Israel (or AIPAC et. al. for that matter,) and very upset with the Obama administration's stances:

The Saudis have made no secret of their displeasure over U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to call off his cruise missiles and negotiate a deal with Russia to work to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program. On October 7, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal abruptly cancelled plans to deliver his government address to the U.N. General Assembly; the move was widely viewed as a response to the Security Council's endorsement of the Syrian chemical weapons deal. "They saw that as a complete capitulation," said one U.N.-based diplomat.

In protest, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief announced that Riyadh will dial back cooperation with Washington to train and equip Syrian rebels. "Our interests increasingly don’t align," a U.S. official told the paper.

A further sign of pique: the Saudis didn't even inform America's top diplomats in New York that they planned to abandon the Security Council. The Saudi protest at the U.N., according to Davidson, constituted a kind of cry for attention, an effort to "shock and wake up their erstwhile allies."

From Riyadh's perspective, the Syrian civil war represents a pivotal front in an existential political and religious struggle for influence in the region, pitting Iran's Shiite rulers against predominantly Sunni Arab rulers. "There is a realization in Riyadh that it is time for the major Arab powers to prepare a response for maintaining order in the Arab world and to counter Iran's expanding infiltrative policies," Nawaf Obaid, a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, wrote in Al-Monitor. "The kingdom and its regional allies will increase their support to the Syrian rebels and prevent a collapse of collateral nations, such as Lebanon and Jordan. The removal of the tyrannical regime in Damascus is simply too important for the future of the Arabs."

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