King Salman’s War

[Valin]

Politico Magazine:

Why the new Saudi ruler will likely ratchet up the region-wide conflict with Iran.

MOHAMAD BAZZI

January 25, 2015

 

In March 2009, the Obama administration’s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, met with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah at his palace in Riyadh. Brennan requested on President Barack Obama’s behalf that the kingdom reach out to then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Brennan asked the Saudis to appoint an ambassador to Baghdad, and to invite the Iraqi leader to Riyadh. Abdullah refused, saying that al-Maliki had “opened the door for Iranian influence in Iraq” and had lied to him.

 

“I don’t trust this man,” Abdullah said, according to a classified U.S. cable disclosed by WikiLeaks. “He is an Iranian agent.”

 

Since his death on Friday at age 90 and his succession by his half-brother Salman, Abdullah has been praised as a cautious reformer and shrewd politician who shaped Saudi policy for nearly 20 years, after his predecessor had a stroke and Abdullah ruled as crown prince in the king’s name. Abdullah introduced modest political reforms, shaped a muscular foreign policy and oversaw economic expansion fueled by periods of booming oil prices. But Abdullah also presided over a proxy war with Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, Iran—a series of battles in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain—that have defined the Middle East since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. He also oversaw Saudi attempts to choke off revolutionary momentum in the region since the Arab uprisings of 2011. The House of Saud was the primary regional force that propped up Bahrain’s Sunni minority regime after popular protests in 2011 and backed Egypt’s military when it ousted the elected president in July 2013.

 

(Snip)

Today, Abdullah’s successor, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, inherits the Saudi policy of containing Iran and its allies, of countering revolutionary sentiment in the region and of maintaining a sometimes tense relationship with the United States. And the stakes appear to be higher than ever for Salman with the apparent takeover of Yemen—which sits on Saudi Arabia’s southern border—by the Iranian-allied Shiite Houthi movement. While Iranian support of the Houthis is not as clear-cut as is Tehran’s support of Hezbollah in Lebanon, it’s also likely that the Iran-obsessed House of Saud will see the hand of Tehran threatening it in yet a new way.

 

(Snip)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

This also mean the Saudis will continue to keep oil prices down...to hurt Tehran

 

[Draggingtree]

The Saudi ‘Reformer’ Who Uses Torture

By DANIEL LARISON • March 12, 2018, 9:23 AM

Many of the detainees seized during Mohammed bin Salman’s purge last year were subjected to physical abuse, and one later died from his injuries:

During months of captivity, many were subject to coercion and physical abuse, witnesses said. In the early days of the crackdown, at least 17 detainees were hospitalized for physical abuse and one later died in custody with a neck that appeared twisted, a badly swollen body and other signs of abuse, according to a person who saw the body.

Mohammed bin Salman’s power grab and subsequent shakedown of detainees were always aimed at consolidating power and extracting money by force. That seemed clear enough at the time, and this report just confirms it. The “anti-corruption” spin was always a pretext for doing these things and never a very convincing one, and it is a measure of how easily seduced by Mohammed bin Salman’s promise of “reform” they are that so many Western observers accepted his explanation at face value. Obviously, torturing people into handing assets over to the state is a crude abuse of power that has nothing to do with fighting corruption.     http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-saudi-reformer-who-uses-torture/

[Valin]

2 hours ago, Draggingtree said:

 The “anti-corruption” spin was always a pretext for doing these things and never a very convincing one, and it is a measure of how easily seduced by Mohammed bin Salman’s promise of “reform” they are that so many Western observers accepted his explanation at face value.

 

You sure this isn't from the Nation?

[Draggingtree]

20 hours ago, Valin said:

 

You sure this isn't from the Nation?

Not even close to what the Nation would write.

[Valin]

10 minutes ago, Draggingtree said:

Not even close to what the Nation would write.

 

Disagree...The Nation Mother Jones and other organs of the left never miss an opportunity to criticize  someone who is 1. less than perfect, 2. an ally of America.

Lets just say right now He is moving in the right direction. And he has A Lot of enemies, even without the reforms he's doing. So many on our side keep talking about how the Arab World and Islam needs to reform itself....well this is what reform looks like...and its a messy process.