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As The Post's Liz Sly recently noted, the war in Syria has become a tangled web of conflict dominated by "al Qaeda veterans, hardened Iraqi insurgents, Arab jihadist ideologues and Western volunteers." On the surface, those competing actors are fueled by an overlapping mixture of ideologies and political agendas. Just below it, experts suspect, they're powered by something else: Captagon. A tiny, highly addictive pill produced in Syria and widely available across the Middle East, its illegal sale funnels hundreds of millions of dollars back into the war torn country's black market economy each year, likely giving militias access to...

Forced back into court by an act of Congress and faced with tens of billions of dollars in potential civil liability, oil-rich Saudi Arabia is asking a U.S. judge again to throw out a lawsuit brought against it by thousands of 9/11 victims.Lawyers for the kingdom moved last week to dismiss the massive case pending in federal court in New York City, citing “baseless accusations that Saudi Arabia conspired to commit a horrific crime against its longstanding ally the United States by knowingly funding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.”The plaintiffs are survivors of the attacks, family members of...

The sprawling project will cover 34,000 square kilometers (13,100 square miles) across a lagoon of 50 "untouched natural islands." It will include resorts, hotels and other residential units that will allow travelers easy access to scuba diving and rock climbing.

"Qatar's demands to internationalize the holy sites is aggressive and a declaration of war against the kingdom," Adel al-Jubeir was quoted saying on Al Arabiya's website. "We reserve the right to respond to anyone who is working on the internationalization of the holy sites," he said. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said no official from his country had made such a call. "We are tired of responding to false information and stories invented from nothing," Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera TV. Qatar did accuse the Saudis of politicizing hajj and addressed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on...

McCain Institute for International Leadership executives refuse to disclose how much money big donors have contributed to the nonprofit that’s named after Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned. [snip]“McCain-Feingold” — that required public disclosure of all contributions of at least $250 in federal elections.Spokesmen for the McCain Institute and for the Arizona State University (ASU) Foundation — where the nonprofit’s finances are held — refused to divulge any dollar amounts from big ticket donors despite repeated requests by TheDCNF.

I see that Prince Abdul-Rahman bin Abdulaziz al Saud died the other day. If you're having trouble keeping track of your Saudi princes, well, I don't blame you. Unlike the closely held princely titles of the House of Windsor, the House of Saud is somewhat promiscuous with the designation: there are (at the time of writing) over 10,000 Saudi "princes" running around the country - and, in fact, at this time of year, more likely running around Mayfair and the French Riviera, exhausting the poor old blondes from the escort agencies. I believe that's Abdul-Rahman at right, although to be...

As next in line to be king of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Nayef was unaccustomed to being told what to do. Then, one night in June, he was summoned to a palace in Mecca, held against his will and pressured for hours to give up his claim to the throne. By dawn, he had given in, and Saudi Arabia woke to the news that it had a new crown prince: the king’s 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman. The young prince’s supporters have lauded his elevation as the seamless empowerment of an ambitious leader. But since he was promoted on June...

The woman, who has been questioned by Riyadh police, told them that the video was broadcast on her social media account and was attributed to her without her knowledge... On Sunday, the spokesperson for the Presidency of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ... said the group was monitoring the issue and taking the “necessary steps” to address a viral video depicting a “girl in offensive clothing.” ... The video showed the woman walking along an empty street in the historic town of Ushayqir, according to the police statement. Ushayqar officials have called on...

Saudi Arabia is the chief promoter of Islamist extremism in the UK, a new report has claimed. The Henry Jackson Society said there was a "clear and growing link" between Islamist organizations in receipt of overseas funds, hate preachers and Jihadist groups promoting violence. The foreign affairs think tank called for a public inquiry into the role of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations..........

Hundreds Vote Illegally in North Carolina after Court Bans Election Integrity Law FBI Court Filing Reveals Grand Jury Targeted Hillary Clinton JW Goes To Federal Court Monday on Another Obama Administration Email Scandal Hundreds Vote Illegally in North Carolina after Court Bans Election Integrity Law Obama Justice Department holdovers must be pleased with their work. In July 2016, they were successful in undoing North Carolina’s voter integrity laws in order to allow all manner of illegal voters the ability to cast ballots. Our Corruption Chronicles blog tells the story . Less than a year after a federal appellate court...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night that IDF actions had made it clear that Israel does not tolerate the trickle of fire from any foreign warfront and pushes back forcefully. He spoke after an Israeli air strike was conducted against a Syrian position near Quenitra Saturday in response to two Syrian mortar shells flying into Golan and exploding-albeit harmlessly.....

The latest development, in the ongoing Arab state GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) initiative to stem the destabilizing behavior of Qatar, is a list of demands presented to Qatar. If you have followed the regional issues for the past few years you’ll quickly identify how each of the demands cuts to the core of the destabilizing issues.... "Kuwait has given Qatar a list of demands from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations that includes shutting down Al-Jazeera and cutting diplomatic ties to Iran. That’s according to a list obtained by The Associated Press from one of the countries involved in the...

Annual 'Al Quds Day' march sees usual chants of destroying Israel and the US, adds calls for killing of Saudi royal family. Chants against the Saudi royal family and the Islamic State group mingled with the traditional cries of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" at Al Quds Day rallies across Iran on Friday. The annual show of solidarity with the Palestinian Arabs, which sees hundreds of thousands take to the streets, was launched by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and is now marked by its allies across the Middle East. This year's commemoration comes amid an intensifying...

see link in post below

The Egyptian parliament approved on Wednesday the demarcation of the maritime border with Saudi Arabia, which includes handing over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir located in the Red Sea at the southern entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba to Saudi Arabia. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdelaal announced the parliament's approval of the agreement after the vote. The approval of the Parliament is the last step before the final ratification of the Convention by the President of the Republic and thus its entry into force. The National Defense and Security Committee of the Egyptian parliament had agreed earlier today to unanimously...

The government of Egypt is in the midst of carrying out a deal which would return two islands in the Straits of Tiran (the stretch of water between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba) to Saudi Arabia. It seems that Egypt’s president (and the legislature which his party largely controls) is ready to turn over the islands which Saudi Arabia gave to them for protection more than half a century ago, but the public is largely and loudly opposed to the move. (Associated Press) In a raucous and tense meeting, Egyptian lawmakers on Sunday began reviewing a disputed...

The Senate on Tuesday narrowly turned back a bipartisan bid to rebuke Saudi Arabia and reject President Donald Trump's plan to sell the kingdom more than $500 million in precision-guided munitions, sparing the new Republican administration an embarrassing defeat. The vote Tuesday was 53-47, clearing the way for the sale to be finalized. The precision munitions are part of Trump's proposed $110 billion arms package to Riyadh, which the administration said would create U.S. jobs while also improving a key ally's military capability. But opponents of the deal, led by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have been...

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is throwing his support behind a push to block part of President Trump's $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia. “The human rights and humanitarian concerns have been well documented and are important: of equal concern to me is that the Saudi government continues to aid and abet terrorism via its relationship with Wahhabism and the funding of schools that spread extremist propaganda throughout the world," Schumer said in a statement. The Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution of disapproval from Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Al...

Amir gives some background information on Qatar and why this conflict has arisen. His usual brilliant analysis that we find nowhere else. And of course his more general message to us in these troubled times.

Saudi Arabia’s national football team have been criticised for failing to observe a minute’s silence held before Thursday’s match against Australia in Adelaide. The [Australian] Socceroos lined up in the centre of the pitch before the World Cup qualifier and held the brief silence as a tribute to the two Australians killed in the terrorist attack in London at the weekend. As they did so, the Saudi Arabia team continued jogging, passing the ball between each other and taking their positions on the field.