America under Biden is in free fall, and the Saudis and Emiratis know this. They also know that Old Joe has chosen sides against them. “Saudi Arabia, UAE Leaders Reportedly Decline Calls With Biden Amid Ukraine Crisis,” by Josephine Harvey, Huffington Post, March 8, 2022: The de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United […]
Why Biden Agreed to a $650 Million Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia
President Biden is known to dislike the Saudis for their poor human rights record at home, their causing a “humanitarian crisis” in Yemen, and for their murder of Jamal Khashoggi, for which he especially blames Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Why, then, did he just agree to sell $650 million in advanced weaponry to […]
Saudi Arabia sentences 69 Hamas jihadis to prison terms up to 21 years
Hamas is a Muslim Brotherhood (MB) offshoot. The MB is banned in Saudi Arabia as it is in Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Many may view the Saudi verdicts as positive, which they are, but Saudi Arabia has a mixed record. It is a global funder of jihad terror, despite talk of […]
Saudi Crown Prince: ‘Constitution of Saudi Arabia is the Koran,’ but pledges some reforms
Only time will tell if he is sincere, and how much the nation’s Wahhabi clerics will allow him to do. But one statement from this article is flatly false: MBS says “there should be no punishment related to a religious matter except when there is a clear Quranic stipulation, and this penalty will be implemented […]
Both Saudi Arabia and Iran Do Terrible Things: America Must Choose
Eyal Zisser makes the case for realpolitik here: “The Moral High Ground Cannot Replace Foreign Policy,” by Eyal Zisser, Algemeiner, February 28, 2021: A month after taking office, US President Joe Biden has decided to stop sitting on the sidelines in the Middle East. However, it is not Iran — the aggressive force seeking […]
Saudi Arabia and Speed Bumps On the Road to Normalization
The normalization of ties between Morocco – the fourth Arab state to do so – and Israel has led many to conclude that surely Saudi Arabia will be the next, or if not, then the next after Oman. Such a prospect is not quite that simple. The latest report on Saudi Arabia and rapprochement with […]
An October Surprise?
Here’s an idea for an October Surprise that could transform the political landscape. It has nothing to do with the announcement of a coronavirus vaccine. Nor with Black Lives Matter. Nor with defunding the police. Nor with once-in-a-century wildfires and hurricanes that, in their intensity, happened to be just like those wildfires and hurricanes we’ve […]
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ‘endangers ties with Western allies,’ making ‘many in London and Washington nervous’
Saudi Arabia is the focus of much attention these days, with hopes high that it, too, will normalize relations with Israel. In the meantime, there are many unresolved issues. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, has stated that there will be no deal with Israel “without peace with the Palestinians,” which would include […]
Saudis execute 134 so far this year, many by beheading and crucifixion
“Barbaric crucifixions are on the rise in Saudi Arabia…” What did anyone expect? “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they […]
Khaled Beydoun: The Saudi Regime Does Not Represent Islam (Part Two)
He has also liberalized Saudi society. It may seem from a Western perspective to be a minor matter, but it was huge for the Saudis: giving women the right to drive represents an enormous step forward, in curbing the misogyny of mainstream Islam. At the same time, recognizing that he would have to proceed cautiously […]