By Juan Cole Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was in the Gulf on Friday at a conference of defense ministers from the region, including the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran. Hagel underlined American commitment to the security of the Arab states on the littoral of the Gulf, including Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, […]
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Saudi Arabia
Our Gasoline thirst fuels Mideast Fundamentalism, Violence – EVs are the Answer
The Greater Middle East has much of the proven oil and natural gas reserves in the world, and it is those hydrocarbon resources that give the region its central position in US policy. But the dependence by the US and its allies on petroleum is promoting a disturbing religious fanaticism and authoritarianism in the Muslim […]
No Woman, No Drive (Saudi Satire Video)
Hisham Fageeh’s satirical take on a Bob Marley classic: and, ITN reports on this weekend’s protests and interviews Saudi women activists:
Saudi Arabia forces Women to Cancel Driving Protest, Asserts Authoritarianism in Region
A key group of Saudi feminists have called off their planned protests for Saturday against Saudi Arabia’s bizarre ban on women driving. (Some individuals may go ahead). They did so in response to dire threats from the Saudi Interior Ministry (i.e. secret police) of condign punishment against women who got behind the wheel today, and […]
Why the US needs Electric Cars: Saudi Arabia threatens Pivot away from US
The royal family of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy with no constitution and no elected legislature, is in a snit about US foreign policy. King Abdullah doesn’t like even the mild American criticism of the Sunni Bahrain monarchy’s brutal crackdown on the majority Shiite community in that country. He is furious that President Obama went […]
Saudi Arabia in Unprecedented Withdrawal from UN Security Council over Syria, Palestine
Saudi Arabia mysteriously withdrew, after having campaigned for and won a seat on the UN Security Council. They said it was over Western inaction on Syria and the the Palestinians. The UN Security Council consists of 5 permanent members (China, Russia, US, Britain and France), essentially the victors in WW II. These 5 get a […]
Why US Clout in the Middle East is Gone (Hiro)
Dilip Hiro writes at Tomdispatch.com: What if the sole superpower on the planet makes its will known — repeatedly — and finds that no one is listening? Barely a decade ago, that would have seemed like a conundrum from some fantasy Earth in an alternate dimension. Now, it is increasingly a plain description of political […]
It’s not about Democracy: Top Ten Reasons Washington is Reluctant to cut off Egypt Aid
another 80 people died in violence in Egypt on Friday, as Muslim Brotherhood crowds protested the military crackdown on their sit-ins that cost hundreds of lives this week. Some of the violence resulted fro police heavy-handedness, some from an armed Brotherhood attack on a police station. The continued unrest upped the pressure on the Obama […]
Defecting Saudi Prince: Royal Family in Panic at Arab Revolts, Thousands imprisoned
Russia Today got a scoop on Monday with an interview with a defecting Saudi prince: “In recent weeks Saudi Arabia has launched an offensive against anti-regime activists arresting many and sentencing some to years in jail. Total number of political prisoners has now surpassed 40 thousand according to some reports. The crackdown has even forced […]