Saudi Arabia

Submitted by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

The New Year’s execution by Saudi Arabia of the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was a deliberate provocation.

Its first purpose: Signal the new ruthlessness and resolve of the Saudi monarchy where the power behind the throne is the octogenarian King Salman’s son, the 30-year-old Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

 

Second, crystallize, widen and deepen a national-religious divide between Sunni and Shiite, Arab and Persian, Riyadh and Tehran.

 

The House of Saud isn’t exactly what it appears to be, as the Saudi Arabia royal family was actually born out of a zionist Western plot to exert control over the Middle East on behalf of the UK and U.S. The west wished to dominate the Arabian Peninsula, with its vast oil reserves and geopolitical advantages offered by its highly sought after location, and they have done exactly that.

Authored by Nick Cohen, originally posted at The Spectator,

Sweden’s feminist foreign minister has dared to tell the truth about Saudi Arabia. What happens now concerns us all

Margot Wallström’s principled stand deserves wide support. Betrayal seems more likely...

If the cries of ‘Je suis Charlie’ were sincere, the western world would be convulsed with worry and anger about the Wallström affair. It has all the ingredients for a clash-of-civilisations confrontation.

“It’s not as if you have an Iranian alternative. And if you have no alternative, your best choice is to stop complaining about the Saudis.”

That’s a quote from a “senior Gulf Arab official” who spoke to The New York Times about Washington's position on the sectarian strife playing out across the Mid-East.

As a refresher, an already volatile situation took a decisive turn for the worst over the weekend when Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, sparking outrage across the Shiite community.

A day after it joined Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic ties with Iran, Bahrain has halted all flights to and from the Islamic republic. Bahrain’s transport ministry announced the move Tuesday in a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency. Kuwait also recalled its ambassador from Tehran on Tuesday amid a growing regional dispute surrounding Saudi Arabia’ execution of a Shiite cleric on Saturday.