THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY STARTED TWO WARS
TO PROTECT THEIR SAUDI PAYMASTERS....
AND THE FUCKING SAUDIS INVADED US 9-11
AS THANKS!
Saudi crown prince charges Iran with “act of war”
By
Jordan Shilton
8 November 2017
Hot on the heels of purging his main rivals for the Saudi throne,
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the
Middle East, accusing Iran of an “act of war.” This makes clear that the
consolidation of power in the hands of the most hardline, anti-Iranian faction
of the Saudi royal family threatens to trigger a catastrophic regional conflict
across the war-ravaged Middle East.
Bin Salman’s allegation was made in the wake of the firing of a
missile from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, which was intercepted and destroyed by
the Saudi Air Force. Riyadh has been waging a bloody war since 2015 against the
Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Bin Salman seized on the incident to provocatively threaten a
military conflict with Tehran. “The involvement of Iran in supplying missiles
to the Houthis is a direct military aggression by the Iranian regime,” he said
Tuesday, “and may be considered an act of war against the Kingdom.”
Fanning the flames of conflict between the two regional
competitors and strengthening bin Salman’s hand in his anti-Iran policy, US President
Donald Trump denounced Iran Monday, blaming it, without any evidence, for being
behind the missile launch. The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded to
Trump’s incendiary allegation by denying Iranian responsibility.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded angrily
via Twitter, criticising Riyadh for carrying out “wars of aggression, regional
bullying, destabilising behaviour and risky provocations.” Yet, he added, Saudi
Arabia “blames Iran for the consequences.”
Bin Salman’s war threats followed the dramatic arrest of 11
princes and 38 government ministers and former ministers last weekend. The
crackdown, carried out by bin Salman in conjunction with his father, the aging
and ailing King Salman, exposed the deepening crisis confronting the regime in
Riyadh and the extremely unstable situation throughout the Middle East.
The 32-year-old bin Salman was named as crown prince in June by
his father after the arrest of former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif. Bin
Salman was appointed Saturday by King Salman to head up an anti-corruption
body, and a few hours later he launched the latest wave of detentions under the
self-serving pretext of clamping down on corruption.
The transparent aim was to strengthen Salman’s branch of the royal
family and ensure a smooth succession to bin Salman when the 81-year-old king
abdicates or dies. Among the most high profile figures arrested were Prince
Miteb bin Abdullah, the son of the former King Abdullah and head of the
National Guard, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire with substantial
investments in numerous European and US companies.
The crown prince’s declared determination to confront growing
Iranian influence throughout the region is exacerbating the already tense
conflicts that have been enflamed over the course of more than a quarter
century of uninterrupted wars waged by US imperialism. The first Gulf War of
1991, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the bombardment of Libya in 2011 and the
ongoing war in Syria and Iraq have claimed the lives of millions, forced
millions more from their homes and upended the regional balance of forces.
Everything suggests that Saudi Arabia and its US backer are taking
coordinated steps to challenge Iran more forcefully. The entire US ruling elite
is deeply troubled by Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East and the fact
that, notwithstanding the expenditure of vast amounts of blood and treasure,
Washington has proven incapable of bringing the world’s most important
oil-exporting region under its control. Instead, the US is losing ground to
Russia and increasingly China, which is emerging as an economic player.
The same day as bin Salman ordered the arrest of his rivals,
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his surprise resignation while in
the Saudi capital. Hariri, a Sunni leader who ruled in cooperation with the
Shiite and Iranian-aligned Hezbollah, appears to have been forced out by Riyadh
to create the conditions for a more direct confrontation with Hezbollah. In
neighbouring Israel, which is preparing for war with Hezbollah, the government
of Binyamin Netanyahu has encouraged the Saudis in their hardline approach to
Iran. Tel Aviv has also stepped up its air strikes in the Syrian conflict,
aiming to contain Iranian influence and stop weapons shipments to Hezbollah.
Prince Salman’s purge was explicitly endorsed by Trump, who stated
during his ongoing Asia trip that it was a good thing for the crown prince to
take action against corruption and that he has “great confidence” in him.
Trump laid the groundwork for the development of an anti-Iranian
Sunni alliance in the Middle East during a trip to Riyadh in May. In the course
of a provocative speech, he lambasted Tehran as the region’s main sponsor of
terrorism. Last month, Trump refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015
nuclear accord negotiated under the Obama administration, setting the stage for
a further ratcheting up of tensions with Tehran and a direct military conflict
involving the United States.
Predictably, the US media has generally responded positively to
bin Salman’s crackdown on his domestic opponents. The only expressions of
concern came from those worried that bin Salman’s aggressive clampdown could
discredit and weaken the Saudi monarchy. Bruce Riedel, a 30-year CIA veteran
and director of the Brookings Intelligence Project, told al-Jazeera, “There
will be much discontent behind the scenes in the family, and the Kingdom is
headed for instability.”
Riyadh, which has served as a key prop of Washington in the Middle
East since 1945, is growing increasingly concerned about the undermining of its
geopolitical position. Washington’s failure to launch a direct intervention to
topple the Assad regime, its decision to conclude the 2015 nuclear deal with
Iran and its refusal to grant its unreserved support to Riyadh’s economic and
diplomatic blockade of Qatar earlier this year have intensified the Saudi
ruling establishment’s crisis.
The Saudi ruling elite is responding to the thwarting of its
ambitions to become the regional hegemon by lashing out ever more recklessly
and aggressively. The bloody war in Yemen conducted by Riyadh since 2015
against the Houthi rebels, has killed tens of thousands of civilians and
produced a devastating humanitarian disaster. The Saudis have failed to achieve
their strategic ambitions and have instead been increasingly isolated, with
only limited support coming from the Gulf states for the conflict.
The blockade against Qatar, which was motivated by the Saudis’
frustration at Doha’s burgeoning ties with Tehran, especially in the energy
sector, has also failed to produce the desired outcome, with only the UAE,
Bahrain and Egypt joining the Saudi offensive. Kuwait and Oman have remained
neutral, effectively crippling the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council.
The strengthening of Assad in Damascus, with the aid of Russia and
Iran, has enabled Tehran to plan the establishment of a land corridor running
through Syria to Lebanon and the Mediterranean coast, which would substantially
enhance Iranian influence across the entire region at the expense of Riyadh,
Tel Aviv and Washington.
Saudi Arabia’s domestic economic and social crisis is yet another
factor contributing to the explosive situation. The royal family sits atop a
social powder keg, with its vast wealth and that of the business elite offering
a glaring contrast to the poverty experienced by wide sections of the kingdom’s
population. These social tensions have worsened due to the sharp decline in oil
prices since 2014, which has roiled the Saudi economy, compelled the adoption
of austerity measures and increased dissatisfaction with the fabulous levels of
wealth enjoyed by the country’s rulers. Added to this is Saudi Arabia’s
overwhelmingly young population, two-thirds of which is under the age of 30.
It is clear to see why the House of Saud is deeply concerned about
maintaining its brutal dictatorial rule. Ever since the Egyptian and Tunisian
revolutions of 2011, the greatest fear in Saudi ruling circles has been the
emergence of a popular movement in opposition to the existing set-up, something
which it has sought to prevent by means of ruthless repression.
The rampant levels of social inequality and increased discrediting
of the ruling elite will only encourage the Saudi rulers to act with even
greater aggression throughout the region. Riyadh’s twin aims are to divert
social tensions outwards against external enemies, and to strengthen the
unstable monarchical regime.
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