Free Republic

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement published on state news agency SPA. "The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations," the statement said. A long list of Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states were mentioned. The announcement cited "a duty...

Three Sunni-led countries joined Saudi Arabia on Monday in severing or downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran, worsening a geopolitical conflict with sectarian dimensions in one of the world’s most volatile regions. The diplomatic protests from the three countries — Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates — came as Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran two days earlier as a pretext for diverting attention from its problems. Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the embassy on Saturday, along with the Saudi Consulate in Iran’s second-largest city, Mashhad, after the Saudis executed...

Over the weekend, a series of dramatic events stemming from Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr plunged the Mid-East further into chaos. The torching of the Saudi embassy in Tehran prompted Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties with the Iranians and on Monday, Bahrain quickly followed while the UAE recalled its ambassador. Now, the stage is set for a full blown sectarian showdown complete with protests by oppressed Shiites in the Gulf states, anti-Sunni sentiment in Iran and Iraq, and, in a worst case scenario, a direct (as opposed to a proxy) conflict between the Saudis and the Iranians....

DUBAI - At a time of civil war, anarchy, extremism, and impoverishment in the Middle East, the city-states of Dubai and Abu Dhabi stand out as the places where Arabic speakers are flourishing, innovating, and offering a model for moving forward.But can it last? I recently visited the United Arab Emirates to seek answers.To begin with, some basic facts: Once called the Trucial States by British imperialists, the UAE consists of seven small monarchies bordering the Persian Gulf. They banded together in 1971, as the British retreated, to form a single federation.The country has been doubly blessed: oil and gas...

Earlier this week, we told a fascinating story about an unprecedented, multi-year smuggling ring involving Turkey, Iran, and Dubai (as well as China, Russia and countless other nations) which saw corruption reaching to the very top of the political and financial establishment: from president Erdogan in Turkey, to one of Turkey's richest people, Iran-born Riza Sarraf, to Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the son of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and one of the world's richest people. The smuggled object in question was gold, billions of dollars worth of gold. The focus of the story was the previously unknown...

Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, has a new project. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Late one night last November, a plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touched down in this glittering seaside capital. Whisked through customs by an Emirati intelligence officer, the group boarded an unmarked bus and drove roughly 20 miles to a windswept military complex in the desert sand. The Colombians had entered the United Arab Emirates posing as construction workers. In fact, they were soldiers for a secret American-led mercenary army being built by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater Worldwide, with $529 million...

Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, and Chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, has declared Thursday, December 24, an official holiday for the public sector to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), postponed from December 23. A circular issued by the Minister of Education stated that the decision is in implementation of the provisions of Paragraph 5, Article 100 of the Cabinet Resolution No. 13 of 2012 and regulations of the decree of Federal Law No. 11 of 2008 on human resources in the federal government and its amendments, which defines the...

President Obama and his administration continue to support the global Islamist militant group known the Muslim Brotherhood. A White House strategy document regards the group as a moderate alternative to more violent Islamist groups like al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The policy of backing the Muslim Brotherhood is outlined in a secret directive called Presidential Study Directive-11, or PSD-11. The directive was produced in 2011 and outlines administration support for political reform in the Middle East and North Africa, according to officials familiar with the classified study. Efforts to force the administration to release the directive or portions of...

Charges of unlawful assembly and use of uniform in public were brought against 11 members of a group trying to enforce aspects of strict Islamic Sharia law in the North Rhine-Westphalia city, a spokeswoman for the Wuppertal police told The Local. Officers stopped the 11-man group on the street on Wednesday. Some were wearing orange vests bearing the words 'Shariah Police', in violation of federal German law, the spokeswoman said. The group has been stopping young people at local drinking and gambling establishments and urging them to abstain from activities deemed to be ungodly according to Islam. The Wednesday incident...

Trump lettering an billboard was torn down from complex two days ago; Came after Trump called for a total ban on Muslims coming to the U.S.; But signs at the billion-dollar development have now been restored; While no official explanation has been given, it is speculated that the decision could be down to 'contractual obligations'

On Friday Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal slammed Donald Trump for proposing a ban on Muslim immigrants in the US until the government could alleviate security concerns. Prince Alwaleed called Donald Trump a "disgrace" for his popular plan. @realDonaldTrump You are a disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America. Withdraw from the U.S presidential race as you will never win. @Alwaleed_Talal) December 11, 2015 On Sunday Donald Trump responded to the Saudi Prince in epic fashion. "@Michael2014abc: @Alwaleed_Talal @realDonaldTrump Has your country, Saudi Arabia, taken ANY of the Syrian refugees? If not, why not?" Donald J. Trump...

The United Arab Emirates has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight in that country’s raging conflict, adding a volatile new element in a complex proxy war that has drawn in the United States and Iran. It is the first combat deployment for a foreign army that the Emirates has quietly built in the desert over the past five years, according to several people currently or formerly involved with the project. The program was once managed by a private company connected to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, but the people involved in the effort said...

United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said on Wednesday he did not regret last year’s OPEC decision not to cut the production ceiling in the face of falling prices. “I am sure that the decision was right and I am confident that the market will stabilise,” Suhail al-Mazrouei said at an industry conference in Dubai. “We are not regretting the decision we took, we had no option,” he said. “Yes it’s painful for many producers around the world and we share that pain, but it doesn’t mean that we need to do something that is not sustainable.” The Organization of Petroleum...

PHARES: ...the president has a different strategy. He's getting a lot of pressure by the Iranians. Otherwise he should have long time ago allied himself, partnered with Arab moderate forces such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, they are fighting terrorism very much and very well in Yemen, in Sinai, in Libya, elsewhere, but the reason that he's not going to these moderate Arab forces and asking them on the ground to be boots on the ground is because the Iranians are pressuring him because the Syrian Regime is pressuring him. They don't want those areas, those Sunni areas to...

The tragedy of Paris this past weekend may eventually prove to have been the beginning of the end for the Al-Baghdadi Gang in Al-Raqqah. Wantonly attacking the citizens of two UN Security Council members in a week wasn't just heinous, it was stupid. So if the Coalition air forces have been running through a lot of ordnance pummeling troops and infrastructure, the pace is only stepping up. Getting them the weapons, though, hasn’t been easy. As Air Force Secretary Debbie James stressed at last week’s Dubai Air Show, her department has been trying to speed up its part of the...

Not sure just what the exact explanation is for how hyper-wealthy Arab states in the Middle East have been able to avoid even lifting a finger to help any of those pouring out of Syria and Iraq- but in the end, they seem to have been a lot wiser than we in the West (not that that's difficult these days or anything)... Arab societies are extremely tribal, so I imagine Sunni royalty view most Syrians and Iraqis largely with contempt, more potential enemy than 'family' -yes it seems Muslims can't even assimilate with other Islamic cultures if they happen to...

There are times I think Obama does this sort of thing because he knows we'll go ballistic. Late Sunday night (!), the Pentagon announced that 5 Guantanamo detainees were being transferred to the United Arab Emirates. This, despite the fact that today, the president will sign the Defense Reauthorization Act, which contains specific language that would restrict such transfers. The Hill: The Pentagon announced Sunday evening that it has transferred five Guantánamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates, just ahead of President Obama signing a defense bill that would place restrictions on moving prisoners from the facility. "The United States is grateful...

We’ve all heard the phrase regarding  the 3 most important aspects of real estate: location, location, location! I’ve been thinking about our current Middle East “refugee” problem and I think I’ve developed the optimal solution, using this basic principle. Instead of sending refugees on dangerous journeys to locations that are already densely populated, where social services are already hopelessly strapped and they’ll have to struggle to integrate with the existing culture why not reverse the direction of their emigration?  Why not send them someplace where resistance is not futile, where society is already amenable to their religion of peace and...

The UAE Joint Aviation Command (JAC) will acquire three AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotors for search and rescue missions, the command announced on November 10 at the Dubai Airshow. The JAC will be the launch customer for the SAR variant of the twin-engine tiltrotor. The JAC’s selection of the AW609 gives the program a needed boost following the October 30 crash of an AW609 prototype in Italy that claimed the lives of two crewmembers. UAE military officers did not express concern about the aircraft during the press conference. Plans call for deliveries to the JAC to begin in 2019. The command also...

While all the talk in the run-up to the Dubai air show was about the prospects for large commercial orders being announced, it was the United Arab Emirates air force that opened sales, with a surprise, $1.27 billion contract with Saab for advanced surveillance aircraft. Announced during a press briefing on 9 November, the agreement – which was reached on the first day of the show – covers the provision of two Bombardier Global 6000 business jets, following their extensive modification by the Swedish company. “I am extremely happy to announce the first deal that has been signed,” Maj Gen...