Saudi Arabia Retreats From The Troubles Its Clown Prince Caused

Israel tests nuclear capable ballistic missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km over Tel Aviv. IDF's 215th division drills for war. Hezbollah's armies are back at Israel's borders...

B I hate to break it to you but Yemen is a side-show. We're about to see a major event next week and I've been trying to tell this to people in this thread but getting little attention. The Saudi IPO was finnished just in time, the US Budget postponed until December 20 all for a reason. And the Jerusalem Post posting an article on how a war with Iran might begin, to condition and prepare people. We're this close now and the Abraham Lincoln is back in the Gulf from its port call in Bahrain, so let's please focus on the essential.

Posted by: Alexander P | Dec 6 2019 19:13 utc | 1

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@1, Alexander P,

Measure the distance from Iranian anti-ship missiles to the Abraham Lincoln. If the ship is within range, no war will begin against Iran.
When US naval vessels are out of missile range from Iran, then you might keep a close eye on things.

Similarly, if Israel begins a war against Hezbollah, there will first be a large movement of Jews out of Haifa and Tel Aviv. That's the clue that the IDF is getting ready to start something they can't finish.

Yemen was no sideshow. It was an event that proved asymmetrical warfare can punish and win against all odds and every disadvantage of wealth, numbers, superior arms, and SuperPower support.

Posted by: Red Ryder | Dec 6 2019 19:23 utc | 6

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How timely your article is! Trump helped and protected that butcher MBS and now karma returned to bite him in the ass. A Saudi national training in Florida shot up a U.S. naval base in Pensacola Florida killing 3 and wounding countless other service members.

naval station shooter

That's what happens when you aid and abet the real enemy. But noooh, let's attack Afghanistan or Iran instead!

TRUMP IS KISSING THE SAUDI RING. FLORIDA HAS THE POWER TO THROW TRUMP OUT OF OFFICE.

Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2019 19:33 utc | 7

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North Korea is a cautionary tale. Moves toward peace are not always what they seem.

It seems to me that everything ultimately hinges on the Iranian conflict. Nothing will really be resolved until peace or war with Iran.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2019 19:37 utc | 8

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@ Posted by: Alexander P | Dec 6 2019 19:13 utc | 1 with the scenario of escalation of conflict in the ME

I agree that what you posit is possible and desired by some but question the details. Empire needs a REAL war to distract the Western masses and focus that energy on a Trumped up (pun intended) enemy.

B's posting though is interesting in that it speculates a change to Saudi Arabia leadership which could change the dynamics in the region significantly. And given more of b's posting about developments in Yemen and Qatar, who knows what will evolve.

In the mean time the West is still under the dictatorship of global private finance and is warring against China that has a public finance core to its civilization.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 6 2019 19:45 utc | 9

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@6 Not if the Lincoln is the False Flag target, their sacrificial lamb. The carrier was in the Arabian Sea near Oman until November 20, there was no reason for it to be moved into the Gulf now. Now it is within sight of Iranian oil fields. Currently no other carrier is in the area and we know that they are capable of sacrificing an old and soon to be decommissioned Carrier for their nefarious plans.. And two days ago the Pentagon said Iran was moving short range missiles into Iraq. I don't think under such a scenario they could previously start evacuating Israeli cities but if the Lincoln gets attacked/sunk then Israel will certainly move and evacuate!

Posted by: Alexander P | Dec 6 2019 19:48 utc | 10

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Last week I noticed that a news report on the Oman negotiations referred to Khalid bin Salman as "KbS". One would not use the three-letter acronym ("JFK", "LBJ") unless he was seen as a potential challenger to MbS.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Dec 6 2019 20:08 utc | 13

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Amazing the effort to maintain the Narrative while admitting defeat:

"'Yemen is of particular importance to us, and Iran’s intervention there is devastating. The only solution in Yemen is political, and the Houthis are the ones who started the war, not us.'"

One of the major blocks deterring Iran's proposed HOPE collective security agreement now seems to be moving out of the way. IMO, its adoption is the only rational way forward to providing the groundwork for the region's BRI projects to begin. Then the biggest nut/knot can start being cracked/cut--Occupied Palestine. It's genuinely possible to envision the evolution of Eurasia once the Evil Outlaw US Empire's removed from the scene. And the same applies to the bigger planetwide picture.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 6 2019 20:20 utc | 14

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and this will not sit well, flashback memories:

Terrorism Probe Opened After Pensacola Shooter IDed As Saudi National Mohammed Alshamrani; Was There For Pilot Training

"The AP is reporting that the suspect in Friday's shooting at a Navy base in Pensacola, Fla. is a Saudi Arabian national. He was attending aviation school in the US, which should raise eyebrows: The last group of Saudi nationals who sought flight lessons in the US pulled off 9/11."

And Really Alexander P @ 6. U.S.A will not take on Iran. Oh they may try a Bagdahi - only $15 man? or a frame up

Why the english markings?

Posted by: Likklemore | Dec 6 2019 21:03 utc | 15

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Finally, vk, you write something that I agree with.

Capitalism is a globalist system, but you are kidding yourself if you think socialism as envisioned by Marx is not equally a globalist system.

World socialism in its Hegelian dialectic, seeks the supranational supremacy of the worker-class with no international boundaries. It also seeks the destruction of the nation.

Thus, the only non-globalist and tenable system is one that begins with a nationalist paradigm. You can have a socialist-tempered nation or a capitalist-tempered one. In the end, the daylight between the two is miniscule enough and yet people will die swearing against the other.

Go figure.

Posted by: Nemesiscalling | Dec 6 2019 21:21 utc | 16

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@15 We'll see, I hope to be wrong of course as a war there would cause global calamities.

But let's face it, the sudden draw down in Afghanistan and renewed push for peace there, the increase in troops in Saudi Arabia. Jordan apparently conducting war drills against Israel, now Israel doing its own drills and missile tests. Bibi again saying Israel would occupy the Jordan valley, one indication too many for me that something big will give soon, even in a volatile region as this one.

Posted by: Alexander P | Dec 6 2019 21:37 utc | 17

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@ 17

Not yet widely recognized but with all of Trump's efforts and his predecessors the U.S. dominance in ME is now surpassed.

U.S. has always blown the Saxophone at Israel's command. Now, still blowing against the wind to keep pretences up and help Bibi to distract from his indictments.

The U.S. has been defending Israel since Palestinian lands were craved up and then stolen. U.S. has set up a base in Israel. Does the U.S. now have to sign a defense treaty with Israel?

US-Israel Defense Treaty Gaining Steam After Pompeo & Netanyahu Meet

A proposed US-Israeli defense treaty is gaining steam after a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (currently representing an 'interim' government) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Lisbon this week.

 

Speaking of the controversial defense pact, Netanyahu told reporters of the Wednesday discussion: “The meeting with Pompeo was critical for Israeli security,” and added, “We agreed to promote a defense pact.”

However, such a controversial pact wold have a long way to go in the domestic politics of both nations, considering it would commit the United States to war to defend Israel. This also at a time when Israel has frequently attacked what it deems 'Iranian targets' inside Syria and Iraq in what both countries have condemned as acts of brazen aggression.[.]

But the proposal is currently having a more direct impact on Israeli politics, given that opposition rival to Netanyahu, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, has vehemently opposed it amid stalled power-sharing negotiations which could send Israelis to the polls for a third time within a year. The opposition says such a defense pact is an invitation for Washington to meddle in Israeli affairs.

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(emphasis as found)

He he he. Oh My, on two counts.

Gantz the former military man objecting.

Signing a treaty with an interim head of state who is under indictment for bribery.

I find times are a changing.

Posted by: Likklemore | Dec 6 2019 22:14 utc | 19

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Jen at #5

King Salman is the last of the brothers. These are the Suderi Seven, the sons of the founding monarch, King Abdel Aziz, by his favourite wife, Queen Suderi.

The Al-Saud dynasty now has to pass, not just from one King to another, but from one generation to another. And it could very well skip a generation or two, since this line of brothers have been ruling Saudi Arabia since the death of Abdel Aziz, and that was back in 1953.

I would guess that giving the Crown Prince additional powers was King Salman's way of easing in this generational change. He has seen MbS in action, and if he doesn't feel MbS is the best for the job, he can name another of the princes as Crown Prince and heir.

Antoinetta III

Posted by: Antoinetta III | Dec 6 2019 22:33 utc | 21

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Antoinetta by all accounts King Salman is not making rational decisions. The succession will be decided by a free for all and there will be blood.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 6 2019 22:39 utc | 23

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 no war will begin against Iran.
Bingo!
They hold he Jokers in the deck.
A world depression would start in 15 minutes after an attack on them.

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Dec 6 2019 23:02 utc | 26

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thanks b... thanks to the commentators as well...

i notice in the quick overview on KBS in wikipedia - "According to Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel had possession of the "smoking gun phone call" in which crown prince Mohammad was recorded giving orders to his brother Khaled, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US, "to Silence Jamal Khashoggi as Soon as Possible". The subsequent murder is the ultimate confirmation of this instruction."

i am wondering if KBS is the cia's new first choice here??? is that possible??

and then in one of today's usa press releases we have the same tired condemnation of iran trotted out.. of course the houthi are stooges for iran according to usa state dept... " The past five, six months, Iran has become increasingly more aggressive. There is a trajectory, right, where they have first increased the operational tempo of the Houthis against the Saudis, then raised the rhetoric and the temperature in Iraq against U.S. personnel, moving on from there scuttling boats in Fujairah, then kidnapping boats, then shooting down U.S. drones in international airspace, and most recently Abqaiq, targeting directly with their own missiles Saudi oil facilities."

there is other interesting comments further down in this press release....

the way i see it, the usa is using ksa as a wedge to pursue its ongoing middle east agenda... i can see the wedge breaking at some point.. maybe not right away, but it is in the usa-israels interest to have the wedge around for as long as useful... i still think MBS is walking a dangerous line in all this...

Posted by: james | Dec 6 2019 23:03 utc | 27

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@ Posted by: Nemesiscalling | Dec 6 2019 21:21 utc | 16

You're just reflecting the dominant thinking of your time.

It's true that the dominant ideology of the 20th Century was nationalism. But just because nationalism is still the dominant ideology in our times, it doesn't mean it will be so forever.

Make no mistake: the nation-State will disappear. The future of humanity is unified in the whole Earth. If space colonisation happens, then the people of the time will have another problem in their hands -- but that's not for us to contemplate, not the problem of our times.

Posted by: vk | Dec 6 2019 23:20 utc | 28

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@28 vk

What you are saying is quite frightening.

But also humorous because even if humanity were to assemble and build another Tower of Babel, the Lord will promptly tear it asunder.

Those with good sense always question centralized rule by technocrats. Whether good intentions or not, it always leads to evil.

The nation state is the only thing which keeps alive our essential human difference.

Vk, I will continue to pray for your conversion.

Posted by: Nemesiscalling | Dec 7 2019 0:14 utc | 29