Posted on 01/04/2016 9:21:48 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Saudi Arabia stews in policy hell: Spengler
By David P. Goldman on January 3, 2016 in David P. Goldman, Spengler, China, Middle East, AT Top Writers
Last week's mass executions in Saudi Arabia suggest panic at the highest level of the monarchy. The action is without precedent, even by the grim standards of Saudi repression. In 1980 Riyadh killed 63 jihadists who had attacked the Grand Mosque of Mecca, but that was fresh after the event. Most of the 47 prisoners shot and beheaded on Jan. 2 had sat in Saudi jails for a decade. The decision to kill the prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, the most prominent spokesman for restive Saudi Shia Muslims in Eastern Province, betrays fear of subversion with Iranian sponsorship.
Why kill them all now? It is very hard to evaluate the scale of internal threats to the Saudi monarchy, but the broader context for its concern is clear: Saudi Arabia finds itself isolated, abandoned by its longstanding American ally, at odds with China, and pressured by Russia's sudden preeminence in the region. The Saudi-backed Army of Conquest in Syria seems to be crumbling under Russian attack. The Saudi intervention in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels has gone poorly. And its Turkish ally-of-convenience is consumed by a low-level civil war. Nothing has gone right for Riyadh.
Worst of all, the collapse of Saudi oil revenues threatens to exhaust the kingdom's $700 billion in financial reserves within five years, according to an October estimate by the International Monetary Fund (as I discussed here).
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
They are a Trojan Horse.
And he was right - he just didn't understand the scale and depth of vote fraud lurking behind the scenes.
The executions and other recent actions show that Saudi Arabia has a different idea about law enforcement and punishment than does the US. It isn't different either in quality or quantity than, say, Iran's, or Iran's many proxy jihadist groups operating throughout the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and the rest of the world. If anything, it shows that the House of Saud is taking a leadership role in dealing with regional problems, rather than playing the role of the hindmost while taking pot shots at the usual actors (the US, and even Israel). Show of hands -- who thinks Pooty-Poot's dictatorship can sustain $20-$40 / bbl crude prices longer and more effectively than can Saudi Arabia? Hmm, a few hands, all of them from Pooty's web trolls.
The Saudi government had nothing to do with 9/11. OBL issued a fatwa against the Saudi Royal family. He wanted them killed. Bin Laden wanted to overthrow the Saudi monarchy (and the governments of Middle Eastern states) and establish an "Islamic Republic" according to Shari'a law (Islamic Holy Law), to "unite all Muslims and to establish a government which follows the rule of the Caliphs.
Sorry, I despise the SA royal family & their terrorist, radical Muslim state. The way they abuse & degrade women should tell you how radical they are.
SA is not a terrorist radical Muslim state. They practice Islam and the head of SA bears the title of "Custodian of the two holy mosques." The Saudis are not unique in the way they practice Islam. Islam is the issue, not the Saudis.
Radical Islamists are already in control of the country and they have been exporting Jihad and Wahhabism since the deal with the Clerics was cemented in the early 1980’s.
I disgree. Any economic problems generated will be well worth. These fat, burnoosed, wife beating, intolerant, medieval swine have been the biggest exporters of Wahhabi clerics, Wahhabi mosques, and anti western Jihaddis. They run the most intolerant brutal theocracy in the Middle East outside of Iran and encourage similar behaviour in neighboring states.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. Saudi Arabia is an enemy, not a friend. The same with Turkey.
SA is a radical Islamic state because their laws originate from a fundamentalist, strict view of Islam. The Saudi royals impose a cruel, fundamentalist theocracy over the people. Ironically, the males of the House of Saud break those same laws, raping & murdering without any consequences.
Several years ago a girls’ school in SA caught fire. The girls were forbidden from escaping because they weren’t wearing the black garbage bags they are forced to wear. IMO, that is unacceptable & proves what an evil country SA is.
I don’t care how many weapons the Sauds purchase from us. I’m not a fan of profiting from arm sales to rogue nations such as SA. Those same weapons are being used to kill Christians & Jews & to spread Wahabbism. I’m deeply ashamed of our relationship with the Saudis.
We need to become Energy independent & drill in the U.S, then we could tell the Sauds to go to hell. But, unfortunately, that’ll never happen because it makes too much sense.
I couldn’t agree more.
We will agree to disagree. The fall of the House of Saud would be catastrophic for the global economy and our national security interests in the region. Iran and its surrogates would result in Iranian hegemony over the entire region.
Enemies? You have no idea of our relationship with the Saudis including our military and economic ties. Turkey is a member of NATO.
We need to become Energy independent & drill in the U.S, then we could tell the Sauds to go to hell. But, unfortunately, that’ll never happen because it makes too much sense.
Most of our oil comes from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. It really doesn't matter where the oil comes from since oil is a global commodity. The Saudi oil will just go some place else.
BS.
I know Turkey is a NATO member but that means nothing now. NATO lost respect and credibility when they attacked Serbia to help the muslims.
I’m just saying that we should get our oil from other sources & give the finger to the Saudis. They aren’t worth the life of one American soldier. Neither are the Turks and their little Hitler wannabe President.
Again, you don’t seem to realize how treacherous & dangerous the Saudis are. Google “Saudis funding Common Core” and you might be surprised. Actually it’s the Saudis, Qatar and Libya who are the main donors behind common core.
Again, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Have a good night.
Have a good night Kabar.
Iran will be the one to take over Saudi if ISIS is defeated. There will be nothing stopping Iran. Unless Israel lends both sides some nukes....well not lend, lol...kinda facilitates.
Lots of dead moslums in the near future.
, I wish that Iran & Saudi Arabia would destroy each other. The world would be a better place if those nations no longer existed.
That’s the plan.
“If the Saudi royal family is ousted from power, it would be a disaster for us and the region.”
The Saudi royal family has long sold themselves to the West as the only ones who could manage their religious extremists for benefit of the West, while selling themselves domestically as the only true muslims wily enough to hoodwink the infidels into being subverted to eventual islamic rule. They base their right to rule on their upholding the harsh wahabbi interpretation of islam.
Do have any thoughts on what might make the Saudi royal family truly put an end to covertly exporting their islamist revolution, if they are to remain in power?
What is the alternative to regime change, which could end Saudi support of terrorists, extremist missionary activity, and subversion of other societies?
Wrong on all accounts. The Saudis aren't selling anything except oil. The "West" has never asked the Saudi Royal Family to manage their religious extremists. The official title of the ruler of Saudi Arabia is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. As the destination of the Haj, the Saudis are obliged to adhere to the fundamental tenets of Islam. They have millions of visitors annually for the Haj. They are entrusted with the two of the three holiest sites in Islam.
Do have any thoughts on what might make the Saudi royal family truly put an end to covertly exporting their islamist revolution, if they are to remain in power?
I don't accept the premise that they are covertly exporting the Islamic revolution. They openly donate to the construction and maintenance of mosques and Islamic schools around the globe. Any Saudi government would do likewise. They also contribute to US Presidential libraries. The Saudis live in a rough neighborhood. They pay protection money to lots of people.
What is the alternative to regime change, which could end Saudi support of terrorists, extremist missionary activity, and subversion of other societies?
Another phony strawman. The Saudis do whatever they deem is necessary to protect their national interests. Your quarrel is with Islam itself. I agree with that. Islam needs to be reformed and reconcile itself with modernity.
I have lived a total of nine years in three Muslim countries--Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. Each practiced its own version of Islam. The Saudis are the most orthodox and least tolerant of other religions. Indonesia was the most liberal. Iran under the Shah was liberal until Khomeini took over. I was there when it happened and the change was over night.
Currently, Islamic fundamentalism is growing in power including in places like Indonesia and Turkey. These societies are being changed for the worse. We, meaning the modern world, need to confront this threat both ideologically and with force if necessary. So far, they are winning and we are losing. It truly is a clash of civilizations and cultures.
Just nuke Mecca, Riyadh, Medina, Qom, and Tehran and be done with it.
In a decade the rad levels will be low enough that Exxon, Trump, and Hilton can move in and do something productive with what’s left.
L
Yeah, right. Those 1.3 billion Muslims will just shrug their shoulders and walk away from their religion.
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