Monthly Archives: May 2015

Arabian Peninsula, Food, GCC, Iran, Persian Gulf

Watermelon Country: Gulf Wahhabis Go Bananas over Iranian Shi’a Melons……..

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Some years ago a strange urban legend spread in Cairo. The media spread stories of Israeli girls, female tourists, who traveled to Egypt for the purpose of injecting Egyptian men with HIV-AIDS virus through sexual intercourse. Eventually the story died down.
Now a similar urban legend is spreading across some of the Persian Gulf social media. Iran is a major source of fruits and vegetables for the Gulf region. The story is that exported Iranian watermelon is ‘deliberately’ injected with chemicals that would make presumably everybody in the GCC states as smart (or as dumb) as Dhahi Khalfan (the clownish deputy head of the Dubai Police and a strong advocate of the theory). Or as Faisal Al Qassem, a loquacious Syrian opportunist who works for the media of Qatari potentates. Or as some Gulf Salafi activists who jumped at the chance with their own conspiracy theories.

Their worst fear is no doubt that the mullahs have developed a chemical that could convert anybody exposed to it into a Shi’a. Imagine, eat Iranian melon and risk becoming a Shi’a heretic.

Some Gulf tribal Salafis have gone literally bananas, gone almost ape, over this new Persian Safawi Magian Zoroastrian Rifidhi Heretic threat to regional security. Others have started to make fun of the whole thing.


This new bout of Iranophobia (or Shia-phobia) paranoia was activated by the discovery of some holes in the skin of imported melons. Some countries have withdrawn the melons from the market for testing, which is probably a reasonable thing to do.
But a conspiracy to inject chemicals in the melons? Is it possible that a chemical-injected watermelon can make us any dumber than we are? I doubt it………….

That is not why we sometimes fondly call our region: watermelon countries………..


Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
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Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Islamic History, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Queen Balqis Resists the Wisdom and Charm of King Solomon in Yemen………

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“It may be that King Salman of Saudi Arabia and his younger son Mohammad, who is defence minister and chief of the royal court, saw the war in Yemen as a way of securing their power and removing rival factions in the royal family from power. On his throne for only a few months, King Salman has been taking a harder line in the Saudi confrontation with Iran and the Shia. He has not only started an air war in Yemen but has given stronger backing to Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qa’ida affiliate, and other jihadi groups in Syria. These have recently won several victories in Idlib province over the Syrian army and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. A problem in ending the war in Yemen is that it will be difficult for King Salman to come out of it without a success if he wishes to avoid damage to his prestige at the start of his reign. At the same time, Saudi Arabia does not appear to have a plan other than the total defeat of the Houthis and their allies, something that is unlikely to happen…………”

The American bombs, delivered by the Saudis, have been falling for over six weeks, to no avail. Except the continued destruction of the fragile infrastructure of Yemen and the increased misery of its people.

So far there has been not a sign of Brig. Qassem Soleimani in Sanaa or Aden. Not a single Iranian has been seen, apprehended, or photographed anywhere in Yemen. As I noted once “not a soldier, Revolutionary Guard, or bricklayer“. So much for the claims, and the excuse, of “Iranian incursion” in Yemen. Al Qaeda and the Southern Independence Movement (Hirak) and ISIS (Islamic State) are now the only opponents of the Houthi-Saleh alliance. The IS have made their presence felt, but they have been reduced to beheading and shooting other Yemenis since they could not find any Iranians, nor could they find any of the Iraqis or Lebanese that Gulf Salafis and Wahhabi-Liberals claim are all over the region.

This time the wisdom of King Solomon has failed, so far, in bringing the Yemeni Queen Balqis, Queen of Sheba to her knees (forgive the irresistible pun). That is unlikely to change in modern Yemen: the rugged Houthis, northern country folks that they are, are well experienced in fighting superior forces and frustrating them.
So far. But the Saudis have deep pockets, and their Western suppliers are willing to replenish the bombs, for a price……..

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
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Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, France, GCC, US Foreign Policy

Roving Francois Hollande: France Will Not Join Gulf GCC, Catharsis at Camp David………

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“France’s tough line in talks with Iran and a similar analysis to Gulf Arab states on regional crises has sealed strategic new links in the Middle East that will be cemented when President Francois Hollande attends a regional leaders’ summit next week. Those ties, which Paris has sought to nurture since Hollande came to power in 2012 – were highlighted on Thursday when Qatar agreed to buy French-made Rafale fighter jets in a 6.3-billion-euro ($7 billion) deal. Hollande travels to Doha on May 4 to sign the contract before heading to Riyadh at King Salman’s invitation to attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)…………..”

French Socialist leader Francois Hollande has been flying all over our region. He has been spending so much time flying to Persian Gulf capitals that he is almost an honorary member of the GCC. He has also been making the right noises about the nuclear deal with Iran and about Syria and the Saudi bombing of Yemen. All of which makes him a welcome guest.

Mostly he has been showing his support for the ‘right’ leaders and (coincidentally) signing lucrative weapons and other contracts. He is already invited (not sure by whom, maybe the Saudis) to attend the next Gulf GCC summit of leaders as an honorary member. That will be just before the leaders head to Camp David for their session of catharsis with Barack Obama.

The French president wants to make sure our princes and potentates know where he stands on (socialist) principle: smack on the side that has the most purchasing power. He also wants to give them some pointers on how to properly deal with the les Americains.

I expect that once he loses the next presidential election in France, M. Hollande will follow in the footsteps of former British (New Labor) leader Tony (the Weasel) Blair. He will become a roving world lobbyist for two of the world’s Wahhabi powers, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The third Wahhabi power, the Caliphate of ISIS or DAESH is in no mood right now to receive M. Hollande in Raqqa or Mosul. Ditto for Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula- AQAP. But give it some time, and maybe some money.

FYI: No, France has no intention of applying to formally join the Gulf GCC, unlike the escaped former president of Yemen. You see, the wine industry is very important in France, as important as the hijab and burqa are seen as menacing on the streets of Paris. Besides, France will have to wait in line behind Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
[email protected]