What does it cost to Saudi Arabia its war in Yemen?

• By  Darius Shahtahmasebi ,www.conjugandoadjetivos.com
• View Original
• September 6th, 2017

The objective of the air campaign brutal Saudi Arabia (when not directed at civilians) are the Houthi rebels fighting alongside former leader of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who lost power in 2012. 

Saleh  maintains  the loyalty of many of the armed forces of Yemen, which gives the survey a somewhat organic component. 

For example, hundreds of thousands of supporters of Saleh  gathered  in the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, a few days ago.

After more than two years since the start of the campaign led by Saudi Arabia, the Saudis are far from achieving a military victory. 

As  he noted  Bloomberg  earlier this year:

And what is the cost of this intervention for oil-rich kingdom?

Al-Monitor  said  more early last year:

While the US and the UK are more than happy to provide an endless supply of arms to Saudi Arabia to commit its massive criminal behavior, Saudi Arabia is struggling to pay them. 

As  he explained  Brookings Institute  :

"Moreover, it is unlikely that the Saudis can afford a deal $ 110 billion in time due to low oil prices and the war more than two years in Yemen. President Obama sold the kingdom 112.000 million dollars in weapons for eight years, most of which was a single, huge deal in 2012 brokered by the then Defense secretary Bob Gates. to get that agreement through congressional approval, Gates also negotiated an agreement with Israel to compensate the Israelis and preserve its qualitative edge over its Arab neighbors. with falling oil prices, the Saudis have struggled to meet their payments since. "

But what motivated the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to sacrifice so much money and civil life?

Iran. Saudi Arabia considers the Houthi movement as an extension of Iranian power and is desperate to prevent an Iranian ally set directly on its border.

The problem for Saudi Arabia is that direct alleged involvement of Iran in Yemen has been exaggerated  . After a flurry of misinformation on this subject, the  Washington Post  admitted last year:

The weapons are made in Iran appear to be entering  Yemen via Somalia  , but this is not a substantive proof of Iranian involvement large scale.

Even reports that  attempt to show  the "crucial support" from Iran to the Houthi rebels explicitly state that the specific accusations against Iran can not be verified. 

This is not at all an attempt to absolve Iran - is a simple matter of evidence. Where is the evidence of Iranian involvement in Yemen scale, and where it comes from?

"The military doctrine is defensive Iran. It is designed to deter an attack, surviving an initial campaign, retaliate against an aggressor and force a diplomatic solution to hostilities, avoiding any concessions that challenges their main interests".

In fact, Iran has spent very little money in this conflict, and has not invested its own military personnel. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has made (and lost) troops  and is discussing the possibility of a possible  economic collapse  .

Source:  ,  TheAntiMedia

with "direct intervention by Israel and Saudi Arabia" ... The conflict in Syria could reach new level

Saudi Arabia increased arrests of dissident intellectuals and preachers

By  Summary Latinoamericano , www.resumenlatinoamericano.org

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Summary Latinoa- American / AlManar / 16 September 2017 - 

Saudi authorities have recently carried out new arrests of dissident intellectuals and preachers, accentuating the repression against potential adversaries of the country 's regime, he said on Wednesday the Israeli daily  Haaretz ,  citing activists who speak on social networks.

According to activists, at least 20 people were arrested amid speculation, denied by the authorities, that King  Salman intends to abdicate in favor of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. 

The young prince is already in charge of internal politics, economy and diplomacy of the kingdom.

According to Saudi sources, cited by the newspaper, three famous preachers are among the detainees: Salman al Audah, Awad al Qarni and Ali Omari. They were arrested last week.

The Saudi group  -rights ALQST Human Rights , based in London, has reported several arrests, including the names of Salman al Audah, Awad al Qarni and several others.

Saudi authorities have not wanted to comment on this information.

The official  Saudi Press Agency  (SPA) said on Tuesday 

the authorities had discovered a group of people was engaged in "covert activities for the benefit of foreigners."

According to Reuters,  the suspects were accused of spying and contact with foreign organizations including the Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh considers a terrorist organization, although that has been supporting in Syria.

On Tuesday night, the Saudi Interior Ministry asked the public on Twitter that used an application called "We are all security", launched in February. 

Attorney General's office later said that any attack or criticism of "national unity" or the "image of the state" (understood as the absolutist rule of the Al Saud family) was a "terrorist crime".

The Saudi government has increased its pressure on dissidents after the Arab Spring of 2011 and again more recently for fear of open opposition to Muhammad bin Salman as crown prince.

Salman al Audah is a famous preacher among the Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood groups.He recently called for ending the embargo Arabia to Qatar.

On the other hand, in a new tweet, the famous Moujtahed tuitero, which is suspected member of the Saudi royal family or someone very close to it, on Wednesday revealed another surprise: 

"The authorities have strictly forbidden any Saudi prince to travel abroad without permission personnel Crown Prince Salman Bin".

"We were notified now: 

Abdel Aziz (a Saudi prince who was arrested by his differences with Bin Salman) is banned from traveling at the moment and is prohibited in addition to all other princes to travel unless they have a personal authorization Bin Salman, "Moujtahd said in his account Twitter.

Moujtahed It is recalled that in an earlier tweet announced the release of Prince Abdel Aziz, son of the late King Fahd ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud. But it is impossible to know the current situation of Prince Abdul Aziz after his release. It was why Moujtahed has publicly questioned whether the prince has been released completely or under.

Failure Arabia Qatar Crisis

Saudi failure in the crisis in Qatar

• By  Summary Latinoamericano ,www.resumenlatinoamericano.org
• View Original

Summary Latinoamericano / AlManar / September 14, 2017 - 

The Saudi government has threatened to change the regime in Qatar if it is proposed , said Wednesday the digital version of the newspaper  Al Arab .

The threat emerged during the recent meeting of the  Arab League in Cairo, Egypt,  where the Saudi ambassador,  Ahmed al Qatan,  said, loving him,  Riad overthrow the Qatari government. The diplomat said that the kingdom can  "do whatever you want" .

Qatari Foreign Minister  Bin Saad Al Muraiyi downplayed that statement and said that  Riyadh  does not have capacity  to bring down the power to the government of his country.

Incidentally, he took the opportunity to denounce what he called  vicious media campaign against Qatar , conducted  by "rabid dogs supported by some regimes".

"Even the animals were forgiven, because you drove them savagely" , said  Al Muraiyi,  referring to the camels stranded on the border between  Qatar and Saudi Arabia after Riyadh  and its Arab allies imposed a maritime Doha air blockade, land and.

Al Muraiyi  declared that  Iran,  where he has just returned Qatari ambassador, is an honorable country, adding that relations between Tehran and Doha were consolidated from the crisis created by  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain,  who broke all link with  Qatar.

That quartet Arab countries  demanded 13 demands to return to normal, including away from Iran, end alleged support for terrorist organizations, shutting down a Turkish military base and the closure of the chain Al Jazeera.

Doha,  however,  refused to meet such demands, because they violate the country's sovereignty.

For its part, the newspaper pan - Arab  Rai al Youm , citing diplomatic sources in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf,  said that  Saudi Arabia  has been trying to E EUU received in Washington  by  Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al - Thani , a member of the royal family Qatari who  Riad is enthroned in Qatar  after the alleged overthrow of the emir of that country.

Saudi Arabia  also aims, according to the newspaper, put pressure on  Kuwait  to invite  Sheikh Abdullah  to the next summit of  Cooperation Council of the Gulf.

But for  Mohammed Ayou b, professor of International Relations at the University of  Michigan , and member of the  Center for Global Policy in Washington ,  the Saudi policy  towards  Qatar  is  a big failure  for multiple reasons.

The Saudi regime believed that the blockade would put Qatar on his knees  on the assumption that  the small Qatar relied heavily Saudi neighbor  on the issue of food supply, trade and air traffic and thus,  Qatarwould  not resist the embargo economic and prohibition of using land, sea and airspace of  Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.  However, such assumptions are not met, says Ayoub.

Qatar  has rejected all demands Saudis, including the closure of  Al Jazeera , and "above all,  the reduction of relations with Iran,  a country with which  Qatar shares the largest gas field in the world". 

Iran not only now supplies food to Qatar,  but its land, sea and airspace is used by  Turkey and other countries to send food  and other products to the emirate. Qatar Airways  also uses the Iranian air corridors to reach many of their destinations.

Saudi Arabia  has failed  either  to  US support its anti-Qatari stance,  since  Washington  valued relations with the small emirate, which  houses the largest US base in the region , used for operations of the Pentagon in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Despite the anti-Qataris President Donald Trump statements , which showed a complete ignorance towards the strategic value of  Qatar for the US , the response of the State Department was very different , " says Ayoub , adding that any threat of force against  Qatar  would face an American opposition.

Based on these factors,  Qatar  can challenge  Saudi Arabia and the UAE  (Egypt and Bahrain Qatar barely count). 

Qatar on August 23  announced that it would seek  to "strengthen relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields"  and made  back its ambassador to Tehran  after a telephone conversation between the ministers of Qatari and Iranian Affairs. 

This was a remarkable victory for Iran and a defeat of Saudi control  over the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Another factor to consider is that  the crisis of Qatar  has contributed to  improving relations between Iran and Turkey,  since the latter has taken the side of the emirate, which is its only ally in the region. 

This has led, in turn, to a  deterioration of ties between Ankara and Riyadh. Turkey  has sent troops to a base in  Qatar  and has condemned  the anti-Qatari requirement to block such a base is dismantled.

Turkey's parliament  has authorized the deployment of  3,000 to 5,000 Turkish soldiers  in  Qatar  to help the emir to confront any  coup attempt supported by Saudi Arabia  or any external aggression.

Thus,  the Saudis failures, the  result mainly of the misjudgments of Prince  Muhammad bin Salman , have paved the way for  recent victories  of  Iran. 

"The Iranian skillful diplomacy and boundless patience have finally led Iran to make significant gains. 

Iran's approach to Qatar and Turkey,  two predominantly Sunni countries,  has also served to demolish the myth of a clash between Shiites and Sunnis .

"This instrument Saudi propaganda has now lost all credibility , " said Ayoub.