Chitchat What happened in Saudi Arabia in the last 3 days ?

gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 16, 2018

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gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 16, 2018

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gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 16, 2018

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gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 17, 2018

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09p2jg2/house-of-saud-a-family-at-war-series-1-episode-2

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09p2jg2/house-of-saud-a-family-at-war-series-1-episode-2
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09p2jg2/house-of-saud-a-family-at-war-series-1-episode-2

gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 18, 2018

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gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 18, 2018

"Finally, reducing and expelling malicious Iranian influence from Syria depends on a democratic Syria. For many years, Syria under Bashar al-Assad has been a client state of Iran. A Syrian central government that is not under the control of Assad will have new legitimacy to assert its authority over the country. The reassertion of national sovereignty by a new government, along with de-escalation efforts and new flows of international aid, will lower violence, set better conditions for stability, and speed up the departure of foreign fighters.

We recognize Syria presents many complexities. Our proposed solutions will not be easy to achieve. But it is necessary to proceed in these ways for the sake of our security and that of our allies. We will not repeat mistakes of the past in Iraq, nor will we repeat the mistakes made in Libya.

Well-intentioned military interventions independent of stabilization and political strategies give rise to a host of adverse, unintended consequences. For this reason, we seek to de-escalate the civil war in Syria, work for peace, and encourage all parties to head to the negotiating table. Continued fighting will likely lead to worsened humanitarian conditions, more chaos, and increased regional military intervention in Syria. Our focus is to build a positive political path forward that honors the will of the Syrian people and sustains the unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

Video here: https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/01/277493.htm

gatehousethetinkertailor · Jan 18, 2018

the first official Western attempt to partition Syria on ethnic-sectarian lines...Washington then created its first anti-Isis and anti-Assad militia, which it called the “Syrian Defence Forces”. Like all such groupouscules, it was neither ethnically “Syrian” – since it was largely Kurdish – and it wasn’t interested in “defending” Syria as a state. And without US air cover, it had no “force” whatsoever. Within hours, the acronym “SDF” appeared, and the media swiftly stopped putting quotation marks around it, thus awarding it a spurious legality. It speedily morphed into “the US-supported SDF”, bravely fought its way south, and finally took Raqqa, a major Syrian city, last October...

The region is, of course, inhabited by others; by Sunni Muslims, Circassian Christians and Armenians, by Turkmen and even Chechens. Hence Colonel Veale’s promise to make sure that future control of the area would be along ethnic – i.e. sectarian – lines. The “Syrian Democratic Forces”, however, had clearly outlived their usefulness. Having played the role of America’s foot soldiers, they had to be reincarnated with another dubious title, this time the “Border Security Force” – soon, no doubt, to be awarded the usual media accolade of an acronym without quotation marks – which would hold bits of Syria far away from the border with Turkey, which cannot (and will not) ensure Turkey’s “security”, and which will, like its old namesake the “SDF”, be totally reliant for its “force” on US weapons, arms supplies, hardware, air cover and, if necessary air strikes...the “BDF” still has only – wait for it – 230 militiamen under arms and in training; the other 29,770 will follow later,"

Be sure, as usual, that the Kurds will be betrayed."