Category Archives: US Foreign Policy

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, GCC, Human Right, Salafi, Torture, US Foreign Policy

In the Shadow of the Fifth Fleet: “five months in custody, enduring beatings, torture, sexual assault and threats of rape……..”

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“When a Bahraini hospital started to take in casualties from the violent crackdown on protesters earlier this year, Rula al-Saffar was one of the first to volunteer. As a medical professor and president of the Bahraini Nursing Society, she was not on the staff of the overwhelmed Salmaniya hospital, but doctors needed all the help they could get. Saffar could not have known at the time that in stepping in to help save lives she was endangering her own. Within weeks she would be arrested, charged, convicted in a trial lasting minutes and sentenced to 15 years in prison, along with 19 other hospital medics………. Saffar was arrested on 4 April after receiving a late-night phone call ordering her to present herself to Bahrain’s Central Investigation Department for interrogation. “The minute I entered they just closed the gate, and suddenly I was blindfolded, handcuffed and started being pushed and cussed at the whole time. “I never knew why was I there. And then this woman started shouting at me, that you hate the system, that you were a protester against the system, against the king. “I kept saying: ‘No, this is not what happened,’ and of course the minute you say no they beat you up and they electrocute you … And I thought: ‘How dare you do this?’ Interrogation … as you see in a democratic country, I thought my country had the same thing, where you have a right for your lawyer, they read your warrant. But this is not what happened to us.” Saffar spent five months in custody, enduring beatings, torture, sexual assault and threats of rape… ……”

Yes sir, those mercenary interrogators from Pakistan and Jordan are sure earning their pay. As do the local thugs of the regime. That must be what the billion-dollar a year GCC aid was intended for. I wonder if they had some of those Salafi shaikhs they have in their pockets sanction such behavior as kosher, in a Salafi Islamic sense. For a price, of course. As for our Wahhabi faux-liberals on our Gulf, many of them think it is alright, as long as the Salafi shaikhs say so. In the shadow of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Cheers
mhg


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Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy

SOFA Repossessed: the Illusion of the Iraqi Vacuum………

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“President Barack Obama said on Friday that all U.S. troops would withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011 as scheduled. Washington and Baghdad had been in discussions over whether some U.S. troops would stay on as trainers, but failed to reach a deal over the issue of immunity for American troops…………”

So Mr. Obama announced about one hour ago.


  • The ignorance (and occasionally stupidity) of some analysts, experts, and former high officials and generals (and some reporters) astounds me. The latest news is about SOFA: lack of an agreement on the status of US troops has led to a decision to withdraw from Iraq. This is exactly what President Obama had promised in 2007 and 2008. Yet it is being treated as some kind of ‘quasi-defeat’. Then there is the phony issue of a “vacuum” in Iraq. Iraq is a large country, potentially the richest in the Middle East if it gets its act together. Its population, Shi’a or Sunni or Buddhists, have a strong nationalist streak that goes back to their struggle against the British mandate in the early 1920s. No country in the neighborhood can “control” Iraq: not ancient Iran now under a theocratic regime, not tribal Saudi Arabia under an absolute monarchy, nor former occupier Turkey which has its own border issues. No doubt there will be foreign influences in Iraq: 
  • There will be a strong Iranian influence, mainly in the middle and the south and the Kurdish north. Yet there has always been a strong Iranian influence in Iraq, even under Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist tyranny. It was not overt, as millions of Iraqis were terrified into repeating the Ba’athist mantra.
  • There will be some Saudi (and Jordanian and Syrian) influence but limited to the west (al-Anbar, etc). There have always been tribal connections with these Arab states, especially in the west and parts of the southwest. And there is the Arab money flowing to the tribal leaders, just as Iranian money is reported to flow to some groups.
  • There will be a strong American influence. There will always be some American influence in Iraq, much more than all these “experts” claim. Possibly Iraq may now have the best American-trained armed forces and security forces in the Arab world. Best trained and well-armed, but not necessarily best led. Then there is the fact that most Iraqis, like most Arabs, like even more Iranians, are fascinated by many aspects of American life. Many aspects but not all aspects of American life. Most Arabs, like even more Iranians, would rather live an American life-style than an Iranian or Saudi lifestyle, with some cultural modifications. Most would rather have an American style political system of government than being ruled by mullahs or tribal Arab princes or the usual kleptocrats and despotic dynasties.
  • Iraq is Arab and she will remain an important Arab state.


There will be no vacuum in Iraq. There will, however, be opposing or conflicting influences.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Iraq, Libya, NATO, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy

New Libya: One Last Questionable Atrocity or Two, Saddam and Muammar………

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I watched the grisly, nay ugly, savagery in the footage of Mu’ammar Qaddafi in captivity: at first wounded but very much alive, then dead naked and being dragged about. There is no way he was shot while trying to escape, but that is alright now, everyone wants the new Libya to start with a ‘clean’ slate. Nobody wants the new Libya to start with the usual extra-judicial atrocities that the old dictatorship committed.
Which brings me to the new ‘regime’, which will be what it is until a ‘proper’ government is elected by the people. That is why most Arab regimes are ‘regimes’: unelected, possibly unelectable, and I don’t mean just the republics. Now this killing of Qaddafi also helps the National Transitional Council clean its own slate, given that many of its members served in high positions under Colonel Qaddafi. It saves a lot of embarrassing and inconvenient court testimony by Qaddafi and his lawyers and witnesses. A lot of local names to be talked about: who did what under Qaddafi. With the dictator dead, there is no need to embarrass anyone. Then there is no need to embarrass Western leaders who dealt with the dictator and helped him, for a price of course. (I wonder what Berlusconi and Sarkozy and Tony Blair and many others feel now).
Saddam Hussein was tried for three years before being executed. (I recall the media in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain thought that was extra-legal, as if their own regimes care much for legal niceties: in both these countries people vanish without legal niceties, sometimes forever). But then the new Iraqi government was mostly composed of former exiles and not composed of his former officials. Nobody to embarrass with court testimony.
Cheers
mhg


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Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, US Foreign Policy

Kabul: Clinton Talks Taliban Reconciliation, as Ahmadinejad Stalks in a Holding Pattern….

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“US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has encouraged Afghanistan’s wary leadership and civic leaders to keep up Taliban reconciliation efforts and boost counterterrorism co-operation with Pakistan, as the Obama administration presses ahead with troop withdrawal plans. On an unannounced visit to Kabul, Clinton told civic leaders on Thursday that the US would not abandon Afghanistan and pledged that reconciliation would not come at the expense of women’s and minority rights. Clinton, who arrived in the capital on Wednesday, was to see President Hamid Karzai and other top Afghan officials to repeat her message later on Thursday. She assured women’s rights activists, educators and politicians that their concerns “are being heard at the highest levels of the US government”. “These are some of my heroes,” she told reporters before the start of a meeting at the US embassy……. Clinton’s trip comes after Karzai expressed frustration with attempts to woo Taliban fighters away from the fighting amid increasing attacks by the Taliban-allied, Pakistan-based Haqqani network. In her meetings with Afghan officials, Clinton was also to underscore the importance of linking Afghanistan to its neighbours, a consideration for a regional conference in Istanbul, Turkey.………”

Apparently Clinton read Karzai parts of the riot act (long overdue). But keeping minority and women rights, such as they are, will be hard with the Taliban in government. Meanwhile Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has delayed his own approach to Kabul until she leaves. His jet was practically in a holding pattern as he follows her into the Afghan capital.
Come to think of it, Ahmadinejad has away of descending onto Kabul right on the heels of departing American potentates. I recall hims descending into Baghdad right after Dick Cheney had left: the difference was that he entered the city in broad daylight. He did the same in Kabul once: arriving just as Cheney left. Do you suppose he is trying to send a message with his stalking (well, not him, but his mullah bosses)? It is possible he was trying to tell Cheney that Iran will always be lurking across the border: to the northeast of Iraq, to the West of Afghanistan.
They say Hillary is heading to Pakistan. I wonder what Ahmadinejad’s post-Kabul travel plans are.
Cheers
mhg


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Culture, GCC, UAE, US Foreign Policy

Kim Kardashian Invades UAE: a GCC Invitation? About Snooki of Arabia………….

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“Kim Kardashian says beauty of Arab women ‘unique and exotic’. During her first visit to the Middle East, reality star Kim Kardashian told Al Arabiya morning show that the beauty of Arab women is “unique and exotic,” adding that she was inspired by their love for fashion. “I was seeing a lot of different women today and they are so stylish and so beautiful and I like how they do their makeup and just how they dress. They love fashion here, which really inspiring to me,” Kardashian said, Asked about what she does to maintain her body shape, the reality star said, “I work out a lot and I also take vitamins and supplements. I take Quick Trim if its bikini season and I want to really get in shape quickly.” The reality star and her mother, Kris, on Friday evening opened the Millions of Milkshakes store in the Dubai Mall. Regarding her reality television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” the reality star said it was her mom who came up with the idea brought to producer Ryan Seacrest…….. Kim was seen wearing a traditional burqua and a niqab in Dubai. She tweeted on of her pictures wearing the dress……………..” Alarabiya (Saudi)

No doubt she met the potentates of the UAE. I recall Michael Jackson went to Bahrain and met the king, who seemed to be beaming with excitement. That was just before the King’s wacko son decided to sue Jacko for several million dollars he had given him with the idea that they would become an item, professionally and musically speaking. Jacko probably realized that if these people had any talent at all it is for repression, corruption, and kleptocracy.
No news yet if Kardashian plans to visit Riyadh and feast on camel ‘qoozi with the potentates over there. Who knows, with the Jordanian and Moroccan GCC membership bid going nowhere, they might offer membership to Kim. Maybe they ought to invite her to the next summit. And what about Snooki?
Cheers
mhg


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Hezbollah, Iran, Media, Middle East Nuclear, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Unreliable Sources: on Ignatius, Saudi Intelligence, Pakistani ISI, Arab Spring……….

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Update on the David Ignatius-Saudi Intelligence-Pakistani ISI joint effort which I posted on here. Looks like quite a racket going on between Ignatius and the Saudi officials and media. He quotes an anonymous “Saudi official” about the Washington plot and ties it to the Bahrain uprising and Hezbollah and the drug trade and global warming and Fukushima. The Saudi media in turn publicizes his column with fanfare, quoting him in turn, claiming the Washington Post has reported that all these are connected. Of course, the Saudis do not say that they were the original source of the Ignatius allegations (along with some Pakistani ISI person). Not bad, but not new or original either. CNN and others reported on this without noting the Saudi-Pakistani source.
Cheers
mhg


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GCC, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Reactions: Middle East Region, Saudi Region, Georgetown Think-Tank Region, Cafe Milano Region………….

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“Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said on Tuesday that such ‘ludicrous’ claims hinged on the hostile joint stances adopted by the US and Israel against the country. “These threadbare attitudes, which are based on the age-old and hostile American-Zionist policies, are a ridiculous show in line with certain [instances of] scenario fabrication of divisive ends on the part of the enemies of Islam and the region,” Mehmanparast said. He also condemned all acts of terrorism, adding that Washington was employing the legerdemain to divert attention from the growing domestic protests it was facing. The Iranian official asserted, “Plotters of such manufactured scenarios seek to sow division and help the Zionist regime [of Israel] out of its current isolation.” He emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran was an establishment founded on Islamic ethics and values and that the country had always warned that the enemies of the region were plotting against it……….”

He gave the usual boring expected Iranian litany of explanation. But his claim that it is a fabrication is a point to consider: it will resonate strongly in most of the Arab world, except for the Saudi part on the Gulf. I expect that most Arabs tend to think it is either a fabrication produced in Washington (and/or Riyadh) or grossly exaggerated. Contrary to what we see on CNN from Middle East “experts” opining that it will help discredit the Iranian regime in the region. They must mean the “Georgetown think-tank region”.
At least he did not blame Israel directly: that is so old and uncool these days. He did however say that it was aimed to help Israel. It no doubt does, but only in Saudi Arabia and the “Saudi part” of the Gulf GCC. A Saudi man-about-town related to the royal family (Turki al-Sudairy) wrote a column yesterday saying that Iran was enemy number one and Israel enemy number two. He did got some strong critical reaction from Saudi dissidents on the Internet. He also mentioned some nonsense about the Iranian “prime minister”. Iran has no prime minister, but our Gulf palace faux-liberals don’t read enough to know that.
Cheers
mhg


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Algeria civil war, Iran, Middle East Nuclear, nuclear Iran, Sanctions, Saudi Arabia, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

Quoting Frank Sinatra: Was the Iranian ‘Plotter’ Entrapped?………….

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“And all at once it seems so nice
The folks are throwing shoes and rice
You hurry to a spot that’s just a dot on the map
And then you wonder how it all came about
It’s too late now there’s no gettin’ out
You fell in love, and love is the tender trap…………..” Frank Sinatra (The Tender Trap)

“The question now is: Can the claim possibly be true? Before addressing the question, let me first emphasize that there is almost nothing that the Tehran hardliners might do that could surprise me………… Having said that, however, I must state that at this point, I am highly skeptical about the entire episode. In fact, the more I learn about the claim and the indictment, the more I think this may be a classic case of entrapment on the part of the FBI/DEA agents, of the kind that has happened too many times in the past in the United States to be ignored. But let us analyze the claim carefully to see whether it is plausible at all. Hence, for the sake of argument, let us assume that the claim is true. The question is, What would the hardliners have gained, had they succeeded? As I see it, nothing but more trouble and intense international pressure, not to mention the further wrath of the United States and Saudi Arabia………One may argue that the targets of the operation were Saudi Arabia and Israel. But this seems even more absurd. If the IRI really intends to harm Saudi Arabia, due to the increasing tension with the Riyadh government, why should it try to do it here in the United States and in Washington?……….. As for attacking the Israeli Embassy in Washington, that appears even more absurd…………Thus, at this point, I find the claim that the IRI was involved in the plot highly unlikely. The more information that becomes available, the more it appears like a frame-up of Manssor Arbabsiar, a classic case of entrapment………….”
Cheers
mhg


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Iran, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

The Bombed B-Movie Actor and B-Movie Actress of Georgetown and Tehran and New York …….

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“Just 24 hours after American officials announced that they had disrupted an Iranian plot that sounded like a rejected Quentin Tarantino script — centering on an Iranian-American used-car salesman’s failed attempt to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington — a number of prominent American experts on Iran have suggested that Iran’s government might not have been behind the scheme at all. Even before the experts spoke up, it was hard to escape suggestions that the plot was too good, or too bad, to be true. In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, my colleague David Sanger observed that the alleged plot “sounds a little bit B-movie clumsy.”…….”

In that case, if this is like a B-movie, who is the B-movie actor? Or is it a B-movie actress? Are they in Tehran or in Washington or maybe somewhere in the great State of New York?
Cheers
mhg


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Iran, Iraq, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

Update on Suggested Newt Gingrich Hike in the Middle East…………

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Update about that possible Newt Gingrich hiking trip to the northern Iran-Iraq border. It might also help identify him if he takes his hair-dresser along. Oh, and the TV make-up kit: that is an important identification tool, unless he wants to go incognito. All that will also help identify him once the mullahs decide to release him sometime after November 2012 (not that he has a chance, but the mullahs want to relive their Reagan-Carter 1980 glory days).

Cheers
mhg


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