dagblog - Comments for "Qatar’s Support of Islamists Alienates Allies Near and Far"

Middle East Comedians Respond

artappraiser — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 01:27:50 +0000

In reply to Qatar’s Support of Islamists Alienates Allies Near and Far

Middle East Comedians Respond to Islamic State Violence With Black Humor
By Siobhán O'Grady, Passport @ ForeignPolicy.com, 8 Sept. 2014

[....] In an interview with the Associated Press, Nabil Assaf, a producer and writer of the Ktir Salbe Show, said these skits are small acts of resistance that remind Arabs they are still safe enough to laugh. "These people are not a true representation of Islam and so by mocking them, it is a way to show that we are against them," Assaf said. "Of course it's a sensitive issue, but this is one way to reject extremism and make it so the people are not afraid." [....]

The Saudis Can Crush ISIS

artappraiser — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:51:47 +0000

In reply to Qatar’s Support of Islamists Alienates Allies Near and Far

The Saudis Can Crush ISIS
By Nawaf Obaid and Saud Al-Sarhan, New York Times guest op-ed, Sept. 8/9, 2014

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — As ISIS continues to grow, many commentators have been pointing to Saudi Arabia as the source of the group, and most assume that the United States is the only force that can stop it. Both of these assertions are incorrect.

Saudi Arabia is not the source of ISIS, it’s the group’s primary target.

ISIS’ core objective is to restore the caliphate (an Islamic empire led by a supreme leader), and because Saudi Arabia is the epicenter of Islam and the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina, ISIS’ road to the caliphate lies through the kingdom and its monarchy. Indeed, ISIS has even launched a campaign against Saudi Arabia, called qadimun, or “we are coming” to take over the country. Saudi Arabia has put the group on its list of terrorist sponsors, declared that funding ISIS is a crime with severe penalties, and arrested ISIS supporters and operatives over the past several months.

ISIS emerged not from Saudi Arabia but from postwar Iraq and the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s senior officer corps and their local support networks in Iraq and Syria [....]

Related info. about Gulf

artappraiser — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:44:06 +0000

In reply to Qatar’s Support of Islamists Alienates Allies Near and Far

Related info. about Gulf rivalries here:

Why is the United Arab Emirates secretly bombing Libya? – video

theguardian.com, Aug. 29

The United Arab Emirates, a small wealthy Gulf state, has been secretly bombing targets in Libya, from bases in Egypt without the knowledge of the US. We explain how the raids reflect new rivalries in the region and are likely to trigger new strains between the west and its increasingly assertive Arab allies