The fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states held a joint ministerial meeting with their Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Saudi capital of Riyadh at this point in time in global politics conveys a powerful message in itself. To drive home the message in no […]
Tag: Saudi Arabia
EU Stumbles Over Russian Oil Slick
The European Union officials are insisting that oil sanctions against Russia are coming. On Sunday, France’s Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili was certain that “we will reach (an agreement) by the end of the week.” But the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has warned EU that it would be […]
Normal Butcheries: Saudi Arabia’s Latest Mass Execution
Great reformers are not normally found in theocratic monarchies. Despite assertions to the contrary, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains archaic in the way it deals with its opponents. In its penal system, executions remain standard fare. With liberal democratic countries fixated with the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, […]
Fanaticisms At The Service Of The United States
The United States could reorganize the entire Middle East by reconciling Sunnis and Shiites, Saudi Arabia and Iran. They would then impose another cleavage: for or against political Islam. This new divide would allow them to revive jihadism in a much broader way.
Macron’s revenge for AUKUS betrayal
What distinguishes great powers like France is their sense of history and their profound understanding of the temporality of historical experience — or, how their past, present, and future are thought to be connected in their international diplomacy. That is why the AUKUS pact between the US, UK and Australia […]
Oil Price Stalks Another Superpower
In the geopolitical folklore, Afghanistan is supposed to have caused the end of the Soviet Union but in reality, the war wouldn’t have been a “bleeding wound” by 1989 had it not been for the precipitous fall in the Soviet income from oil exports. The expert opinion is today that […]
The US Intelligence Community Sets Out Its Priorities
On Thursday, 30 September 2021, the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee approved the fiscal year 2022 budget for intelligence and intelligence-related activities. These activities cover the work of the Defense Department, the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, […]
Sportswashing At Tyneside: Saudi Arabia Moves Into English Football
The recent acquisition of the Newcastle United football club by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, along with financier Amanda Staveley and the billionaire Reuben brothers, was a source of much excitement for some former players. Old boy Alan Shearer did little to conceal it. “We can dare to hope again,” […]
Biden Makes Eye Contact With Saudi Crown Prince
What is absolutely certain about the visit by the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, is that it couldn’t have been for extending an invitation to the Summit for Democracy that President Joe Biden […]
The Middle East Is Reorganizing
The Middle Eastern states, divided not by themselves but by the powers that colonised the region, are reorganising themselves according to their own logic. Of course these new alliances are still fragile, but the West will have to deal with them.
The Coup That Didn’t Happen In Jordan
The aborted coup in Jordan has nothing to do with an internal rivalry within the royal family, even if it did find a leader. It is about opposition to Donald Trump’s questioning of the normalisation of Arab-Israeli relations and Joe Biden’s reactivation of a three-quarter century old conflict. Washington wants to resume the “endless war” in the greater Middle East.
Yemen War A Quagmire For Saudi Arabia
With the world’s largest oil export terminal coming under missile and drone attack — a giant Saudi Aramco complex capable of exporting roughly 6.5m barrels a day, nearly 7% of global oil demand — the war in Yemen surges in the global media. During the night on Saturday, the Houthis […]
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