You may find this link to be an interesting take on FREEDOM in that part of the world.
Here's a snip of a piece of the world map at that site..
Posted on 08/16/2011 8:00:00 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
After months of protests and regime violence, King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia, one of the last absolute monarchs in the world, has called on Syria’s embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, to stop the “killing machine” repressing his own people and accept at least some of the demands of Syrians calling for an end to Assad’s decade old dictatorship. The king backed up his statement by recalling Saudi Arabia’s ambassador from Damascus, and its clients Bahrain and Kuwait quickly followed Riyadh’s lead.
The Saudis sense a strategic opportunity has opened in Syria, a unique chance to deal a mortal blow to one of their enemies, the Shia terror group Hezbollah, and a serious blow to their regional adversary Iran. Since Israel’s foolish invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Syrian regime of Hafez and Bashar Assad has been Iran’s key partner in creating Hezbollah, arming it to the teeth with thousands of rockets and missiles and sending it to create terror throughout the region. For decades Damascus has allowed Tehran to use its airports and ports to transfer arms to Hezbollah, and more recently it has provided much of its own equipment directly to the Shia group. Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been based in Syria and thousands of Iranian tourists and spies have come to worship at Damascus’ Sayyidah Zaynab mosque, a traditional Shia holy site and an excellent place for extremists to get together under the protective eye of Syrian intelligence.
It was at the Zaynab mosque that Hezbollah and IRGC operatives met with Saudi Shia in 1996 to plan the attack on the American air force base at Dhahran in the Kingdom. Nineteen Americans were killed in the Khobar barracks attack, and dozens of Saudis were injured in a nearby neighborhood. Iran and Hezbollah orchestrated the attack. The Saudis have seen Hezbollah terror attacks on their neighbor Kuwait in the past and have accused the party of being behind Bahrain’s troubles this year. On top of all this the United Nations has determined Hezbollah responsible for the murder of the pro-Saudi former Lebanese prime minsiter Rafiq Harriri in 2005. The Saudi grudge against Hezbollah is deep.
The al-Sauds were especially outraged this July when pro-Assad demonstraters in Damascus and other Syrian cities hoisted Hezbollah flags along side Syrian flags to celebrate the anniversary of Bashar’s assumption of power after his father’s death in 2000. A key editorial in the Saudi paper Asharq al-Awsat at the time warned that this blatant display of support for Hezbollah was a step too far for the House of Saud, saying “the al-Assad regime is now wrapping itself in the flag of Hezbollah” a group that targets Sunni leaders and Sunni interests. This editorial prefigured Abdallah’s public remarks this month.
Riyadh worries that Assad will be replaced by chaos, but it has now come to the conclusion the risk is worth the price. If the Assad regime is destroyed, so too will Syrian support for Hezbollah be destroyed. If a new regime emerges that reflects the will of Syria’s majority-Sunni population, it can become a base for destabilizing the Hezbollah-dominated government in Beirut. The power balance in the Levant could be tilted decisively against Hezbollah and undercut Iranian regional influence.
Abdallah spoke with President Barack Obama at the end of last week,and both called for an end to the Syrian regime’s repression of its people. Undoubtedly the Saudis have also urged Washington to see the strategic opportunity in Syria. Washington and Riyadh will certainly continue to disagree on the merits of democracy in the Arab world, but they can cooperate on fighting Hezbollah. For the Saudis the time has come to settle scores with an old adversary.
Even though this is from WND, it does correspond with Turkey’s FM warning yesterday and the withdraw of UN staff from Syria
Brace for another U.S.-Mideast war
First Libya, now sources say next country warned of NATO attack
Posted: August 15, 2011
8:31 pm Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2011 WND
JERUSALEM – Turkey secretly passed a message to Damascus last week that if it does not implement major democratic reforms, NATO may attack Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, according to Egyptian security officials speaking to WND.
The Egyptian security officials said the message was coordinated with NATO members, specifically with the U.S. and European Union.
Assad has been widely accused of ordering massacres on militants and protesters engaged in an insurgency targeting his regime.
The Egyptian officials said Turkish leaders, speaking for NATO, told Assad that he has until March to implement democratization that would allow free elections as well as major constitutional reforms.
Read more: Brace for next U.S.-Mideast war http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=333897#ixzz1VIZfaeSQ
#Syria RT @blakehounshell: hearing now that the withdrawal of UN staff was in the works even before Lattakia events.
40 minutes ago
Research President Reagan's plan which used the Saudi's to drive down the oil prices. The main cash export for the USSR was oil and by putting the price below the USSR's cost to produce, this broke the USSR.
http://conservapedia.com/Essay:How_Ronald_Reagan_won_the_Cold_War
The boy emperor was educated in Indonesia.
The boy emperor is a sunni.
He used every means at his disposal, and because oil is fungible American production alone would not be sufficient to crash oil prices. The goal was to cut off the cash flow.
Note how the left has done everything possible to regulate higher oil prices. Then they turn around and wail about "corporate greed"???
Crocodile tears.
See Energy Racketeering: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
I, for one, wouldn’t mourn Iran, Syria, or Hezbollah.
However, I’m not so sure I like the idea of Saudi Arabia turning into the sole “player” in that part of the world. As Arab/Islamic regimes go, they’re saner and more pragmatic than most, but that’s a low bar.
[ If the Saudis actually have the fortitude to accomplish this, it will be amazing. Unfortunately all the countries in the Middle East except Israel seem to be paper tigers. And what is the deal with women prohibited from driving an automobile? ]
The Saudi Royals are litterlly shiite-ing themselves right now. I bet some wish they had women drivers (ie. tanka nd convoy drivers) because they may very well need every able bodied individual they can get as they are becomming increasingly more surrounded.
It's in their strategic interests.
Since Ronald Reagan's foolish withdrawal from Lebanon, the Syrian regime of Hafez and Bashar Assad has been Iran’s key partner in creating Hezbollah, arming it to the teeth with thousands of rockets and missiles and sending it to create terror throughout the region. "
fixed it
I wouldn’t trust the Saudis with a 10 ft. pole.
They have proven to be speaking with forked tongue.
There are no good answers here.
If Assad goes the Brotherhood surges.
There is a reason Israel has not made peace — no partners. Sometimes things must get terrible before they can get better.
Much of the problem lies with the West’s reluctance to wage successful war where many people, also what we used to call the enemy, die.
Saudi's are killers and slave traders, maybe the 82 billion in military supplies America sold them is giving them a little backbone but if I remember they NEEDED us when Mecca was rioting years ago, needed us when Saddam yelled at them and Kuwait fell like a cheap lawn chair. They did nothing during the million man death war between Iraq and Iran.
Saudi royalty wouldn't dirty their hands, it's below their "class." plus they like their gambling and whores and faraway wars more than getting their hands dirty in their own neighborhood. BTW what is happenenig to the dhimmi Christians and Jews in Syria?
The muzzies are sad that Israel went after the PLO in Lebanon after the UN moved to support a PLO base of terrorist operations there.
Think WWIII might shift attention away from Barry’s reelection campaign and this country’s financial woes?
Who would dare put it past the Left?
They won’t succeed w/o the Zionists help...
You may find this link to be an interesting take on FREEDOM in that part of the world.
Here's a snip of a piece of the world map at that site..
... forgot to say, scroll down at the link for a look at the standing of most countries of the world.
Israel’s most foolish mistake was bugging out of Lebanon after Arafat left for north africa. They had been working with more reasonable elements including the Maronite Christians to set up stable military supervision. Then on orders from the leadership the Israeli military was ordered to depart immediately without making the handover. This left the power vacuum which Hezbollah filled quickly. I wish I could find the book in which I read this tidbit.
As to what is up with no women driving in SA. That is part of the strict application of Sharia law as interpreted from the teachings of a mullah Wahabi in the 17th century. This came out of the most povery stricken backward area of Saudi Arabia. But they were savage fighters. The current Wahabist religious police go around scolding, punishing, and beating people who do not follow strict Saria/Wahabi law in SA. This includes women not being allowing to go anywhere outside without a male relative accompanyment. The Saudi financed Madrassa religious schools are spreading this severly outdated form of Islam throughout the world. The Taliban in Afghanistan follow it, and would not allow women there to work to feed their families even when their menfolk were all dead!!
The question is, if Syria is liberated from Assad with Saudi help, how much influence will this super conservative form of Islam have in a formerly secular state?
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