Saturday 20 February 2016

The Unholy Alliance...

While global powers bickered over Syria, it was all smiles and warm handshakes for the "Israeli" delegation at the Munich Security Conference, held in Germany last week.

The "Israeli" War Minister, Moshe Ya'alon, used the occasion to brag about Tel Aviv's efforts to deepen the Sunni-Shiite divide, while expressing "Israel's" readiness to supply Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf with nuclear weapons.

"We see signs that countries in the Arab world are preparing to acquire nuclear weapons, that they are not willing to sit quietly with Iran on the brink of a nuclear or atomic bomb," Ya'alon told fellow defense ministers on the last day of the conference.

But he did not stop there. Ya'alon went on to confirm - as if confirmation was needed - that the "Israelis" held a number of clandestine meetings with Persian Gulf monarchs.
"Iran is the bad guy for us and for the Sunni regimes. They are not shaking hands [with Israelis] in public, but we meet in closed rooms", Ya'alon said.

The director at the Institute for Gulf Affairs and expert on Saudi affairs, Ali al Ahmad, is not surprised.

"It's not a secret. I've known about this for decades; these meetings have been going on since the 90s," said al Ahmad.

One of these intimate, behind ‘closed doors' meetings was held just last month when the "Israeli" Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who also happens to be Netanyahu's point man on all matters related to Iran's nuclear energy program, reportedly met with a number of Arab monarchs during a secret trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

According to "Israel's" Channel 2, Steinitz discussed 'shared concerns' with Arab officials - or in other words, ‘bad guy' Iran.

It was reported in November of last year that "Israel" was planning to open a diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi that would be officially accredited to the International Renewable Energy Agency [IRENA], which is based in the UAE capital.

But while all of this is great news for the "Israelis", the Arab monarchs are not quite eager to shout it from the rooftops - at least not yet.

So when Moshe Ya'alon wrapped up his speech in Munich, Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al-Faisal, who was also attending the discussion, made an intervention.

"Handshakes with "Israelis" have not helped the Palestinians much," al-Faisal said in reference to the Arabs' ‘support' for the Palestinian cause.
The exchange that followed between the two - during which Ya'alon claimed that there was no connection between the "Israeli" occupation of Palestine and the current regional turmoil - was amusing at best.

As he concluded his speech, al-Faisal then proceeded to contradict his initial statement by extending his hand and shaking Ya'alon's.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon shakes hands with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal
The warm greeting, in which the two appear to be congratulating one another on a great performance, was later posted on Ya'alon's Twitter page, along with the following caption: "Meeting with Saudi Arabia's Turki al-Faisal at Munich."

According to al Ahmad, "when the British divided the region they facilitated the creation of three states that were meant to endure the ages; Saudi Arabia, Jordan and "Israel". Without the two Arab states, "Israel" would not exist either. Today this is a symbiotic relationship, they survive together and if one fails it endangers the others."

But today the century-long, uninterrupted rule by the Saudi royal family is facing existential challenges. Bankrolling terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, while failing to attain their geopolitical goal of ousting President Bashar al-Assad, Riyadh has also been bombing its southern neighbor Yemen for nearly a year, but is no closer to reinstating the puppet regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

In their latest article, titled 'Start Preparing for the Collapse of the Saudi Kingdom', Sarah Chayes and Alex De Waal warn that, "Saudi Arabia is no state at all. It's an unstable business so corrupt to resemble a criminal organization and the US should get ready for the day after."

Washington, which always used the Saudis as a counterweight against Iran, appears to have already prepared for the ‘day after'. The Americans have signed off on the Iranian nuclear agreement, abandoning plans for a direct military intervention in Syria to topple the Damascus government, and leaving the Saudis fuming.
Enter the 'unholy alliance'.

Al Ahmad thinks that Riyadh now enjoys the full backing of the Israelis and their global assets.

"They have the same approaches and the same enemies. They are cooperating on many different levels. Now the Saudis have the support of the Zionist lobbies, from the economists in the US to the bureaucrats at the UN, all of them working in tandem to label and dehumanize the victims of Saudi aggression, essentially justifying murder," al Ahmad said.
The Turks and "Israelis" have been the only ones who could not be publicly shamed into not supporting terrorist groups in the region while openly targeting forces engaged against factions like Daesh.

The Saudis appear eager to join their ranks, announcing plans earlier this month to deploy ground troops in Syria.

But statements by Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Ankara increasingly reek of desperation, as Moscow's military support for Damascus, Hizbullah and Iran, coupled with Washington's waning influence, completely alters the regional balance of power.

Amid the desperation, Turkey is openly waving the Daesh flag, so it should come as no surprise if the "Israeli" flag is raised above Riyadh, Abu Dhabi or Doha.
Source: al-Ahed News
20-02-2016 | 09:31

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