dagblog - Comments for "US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling' "

This video at AJE is a

we are stardust — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:52:07 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

This video at AJE is a discussion of the GCC accusations of Iranian meddling.

The GCC supporters claim that they are simply going to the aid of their fellow nations; the Iranian says 'hey, it's an internal matter.' Their Penninsula Shield says it's to: It is intended to deter, and respond to, military aggression against any of the GCC member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

You'd think that meant 'outside aggression', but not as they're interpreting it. And the host points out that the new head of the GCC is a former general, and asks what that means in terms of girding up for defense, or at least militaty responses. The Iranian seems a bit outnimbered. Discussion of the secular divide start about half-way through.

Gates meets Saudi King amid

artappraiser — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:42:35 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

Gates meets Saudi King amid tensions
By Laura Rozen, The Envoy @ Yahoo News, April 6, 2011, 3:57 PM ET
Defense Secretary Bob Gates was in Saudi Arabia today for a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah, at a low point in U.S.-Saudi relations.

Gates' one-on-one meeting with the Saudi monarch Wednesday was expected to be "lengthy and tense,"....

The Saudis have signaled their displeasure in ways subtle and harder to ignore. Gates was in neighboring Bahrain last month and had been due to meet the King when the Saudis abruptly informed the U.S. delegation that a visit at that time wouldn't be possible, as the King was unwell.

Two days after Gates' meetings in the region, some 2,000 Saudi troops, along with 500 police from the United Arab Emirates, moved into Bahrain. The maneuver completely blindsided Washington, and starkly demonstrated Riyadh's sharp displeasure with what it perceived as the United States badgering Bahrain's Sunni leaders to do more to strike up a national dialogue with anti-government protesters, many of them from Bahrain's Shiite majority.

The "Arab spring"--and Washington's encouragement of political reforms among allied Arab regimes--has created profound anxiety in Riyadh, and empowered Saudi counter-reformers, writes former CIA and NSC official Bruce Riedel....

U.S. Says Iran Is Meddling In

artappraiser — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:17:06 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

U.S. Says Iran Is Meddling In Bahrain
By Nathan Hodge, Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2011

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the US has "evidence" of Iranian meddling in Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries hit by political turmoil. Mr. Gates didn't reveal what proof the US has of alleged Iranian interference. But he said face-to-face discussions in Riyadh on Wednesday with Saudi King Abdullah centered in part on ways Iran has sought to take advantage of the recent political turbulence in the region.

[...]

At the invitation of the Bahraini royal family, Saudi Arabia has sent troops into neighboring Bahrain to quell the protests, a move that has driven a wedge between Riyadh and Washington.

The U.S. has criticized the incursion and instead tried to persuade Bahrain's rulers to soothe the protesters with political liberalization. The Saudis were disturbed by the Obama administration's willingness to jettison its longtime Egyptian ally, Hosni Mubarak.

With those tensions as a backdrop, Mr. Gates wanted to reassure Saudi Arabia's leaders of continued U.S. military cooperation. Saudi Arabia is currently the top buyer of U.S. military hardware, and committed last year to a $60 billion arms package. The deal, the largest U.S. arms sale in history, includes F-15 fighter jets and a range of helicopters.

A senior defense official said Mr. Gates would report "good news" on the progress of the weapons sale. The official also said Mr. Gates would discuss potential upgrades to Saudi Arabia's ballistic missile defenses.

[....]

Notice that despite having

acanuck — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:03:06 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

Notice that despite having "hard evidence," Gates's accusations of Iranian meddling were remarkably content-free. Here's the only sentence that needs to be understood:

Saudi Arabia is currently the top buyer of U.S. military hardware, and committed last year to a $60 billion arms package. The deal, the largest U.S. arms sale in history, includes F-15 fighter jets and a range of helicopters.

And now the Saudis are musing about whether they shouldn't develop their own nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?

Interesting sentence in this

artappraiser — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:15:49 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

Interesting sentence in this article:

What is Sudan hiding about the air strike it blamed on Israel?
Tuesday's attack by fighter jets demolished a car and killed its two passengers, which reportedly included an Islamist responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas.
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz, April 7, 2011

...If Israel is responsible for the attack, as foreign media reports suggested yesterday, it would appear to be another step in Israel's global campaign to stop Iranian arms smuggling into the region....

A New Persian Gulf By Nader

artappraiser — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:01:14 +0000

In reply to US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran 'meddling'

A New Persian Gulf

By Nader Uskowi, Uskowi on Iran, April 6, 2011

Recently I wrote a post titled “Saudi Call to Arms.” The subject was Saudi prince Turki Al-Faisal’s call on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states to transform GCC into an EU-type union, with unified armed forces and its own nuclear weapons. I argued that Prince Turki’s call should be taken seriously, as serious and thoughtful as he has always been. Since Turki’s speech, the GCC has in a dazzlingly rapid pace showcased a newly found willingness to actively intervene in the events affecting the region.
Today, Qatari Mirage and F-16 jets are actively engaged in the Libyan conflict.....

Gulf between Arab-Iran rivals grows stormy
By Brian Murphy, Associated Press, April 6, 2011, 5:28 am ET

CAIRO – Inside a Kuwaiti palace, military brass hosted senior NATO envoys to discuss closer ties and possible joint naval maneuvers. At the same time in Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was belittling the Western-allied Gulf states for casting Iran as a regional menace.

The contrasting events this week highlight much more than the Gulf's well-known tensions between Iran's regional ambitions and the close Gulf Arab bonds with Washington and other Western allies.

This is a lesson in the new tone of the Gulf after the jolt of the Middle East uprisings:....