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.
interesting.
the west is afraid to take iran on.
the sunnis and shia hate each other.
the saudis see themselves increasingly surrounded by iran’s proxies.
If Assad is deposed Syrian support for Hezbollah will be destroyed? I don’t think so. More likely it would increase plus the Christian minority would be in much more danger.
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?
“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”
Yet, the saudis ride the wahabi tiger and will probably face the same sort of uprising.
He'd better be careful who's side he takes here. Because he and his empire are next!
The analysis is cogent and plausible.
I was listening to WBAP this morning and heard Congressman Burgess say that there would be 193 troops in Iraq by December 23rd and that the draw down was going at a furious pace. People and equipment on their way to Kuwait.
Iran is not yet getting frisky as I have expected so the troop presence must not be far away.
Their pilots shone during GW1.
The only thing that will truly take down Iran is the same thing that took down the Soviet Union without firing a shot: Deregulating the American economy. When oil prices fell as a result, the Russian military machine was without a supporting source of cash. Collapse was then inevitable as there was no other producing basis for the economy.
If true, it could be interesting.
The Saudis have the power in that part of the world.
Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia; this may be their trump card in the world of Islam.
I don’t know enough to comment further, but will say “Fascinating.”
ROFL, oh my, this is the funniest piece of fiction I’ve ever read.
The ruling family in Saudia Arabia are like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. Total losers and posers.
Yeah, Saudia Arabia demands things from Syria and Iran, etc.
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
I believe the crap coming out of Obama’s mouth before this.
Saudi Arabia is about the only country over there not boiling over with unrest. Sounds like the King has decided it is time to nip it. Self-preservation can be a powerful motivator.
It may be a “strategic opportunity” but how can they do it? They are a mess. This can’t be done without yet more American lives lost. How many darn countries are we in now anyway? I’m all for killing terrorists anywhere and everywhere, and smashing Hezbollah too which is evil incarnate. But all this things come with a price...a price usually in American lives and dollars.
Look for Hezbollah and Syrian mischief against Israel. That would change the game instantly.
Pretty good summary. Spot on.
The thousands of royal family princes in the union will go on strike like Verizon landline workers.
They’ll march and threaten to give up the cocaine, booze, prostitutes in Red Sea resorts until Iran and the Shiites are defeated.
We need to be OUT of the ME...present administration can’t be trusted therefore get our soldiers completely out of any combat action...IF the Saudis’ want these countries taken out then by all means do it...just leave the USA and our boys out of the powder keg...
The Saudis have signed a contract with General Dynamics to upgrade all their M1 Tanks (130). The work wil be done at the G.D. Lima, Ohio plant. I believe they also want to buy several hundred of the latest version of the Bradley and other heavy combat vehicles from BAE.
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