Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Africa Horn

Sudan’s Bashir ‘got $90m from Saudi royals’, official tells court

2019-08-21

[DAWN] Omar al-Bashir

...Former President-for-Life of Sudan He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Hee was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it...
received $90 million in cash from Saudi royals, an investigator told a court at the opening on Monday of the deposed Sudanese strongman’s corruption trial.

The former president, who was forced from power by months of protests in April after 30 years in power, sat in a metal cage wearing a traditional white gown.

His relatives chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as proceedings got under way in the Khartoum court where he arrived in a huge military convoy.

Bashir faces a raft of charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide from the International Criminal Court over his role in the Darfur war but Monday’s trial is over graft allegations.

Large amounts of cash were found at this residence after he was toppled and the investigator said the case brought forward to the court probed some of that money.

"The accused told us that the money was part of a sum of $25 million sent to him by Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...

Crown Prince of Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
as of 2016....
to be used outside of the state budget," investigator Ahmed Ali said.

According to him Bashir had said he also received two previous payments of $35 million and $30 million from Late King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Now a dead guy...
, who died in 2015.

"This money was not part of the state budget and I was the one who authorised its spending," the investigator quoted Bashir as saying.

Bashir had said the Saudi money was exchanged and spent and that he could not remember how nor did he have documents providing further details, he added.

Bashir looked calm during the nearly three-hour session, which a photographer and correspondent attended. The next hearing was scheduled for August 24.

Link

Arabia

Saudi, UAE seeking to unseat Bahraini PM: Report

2018-06-09

[PRESSTV] A new report says Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and the United Arab Emirates are seeking to overthrow Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifah, the world's longest-serving premier, in a bid to gain more influence in the Persian Gulf country.

While older leaders in the region support Khalifah, the younger ones, namely Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....
and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, are siding with Bahraini King Hamad
...King of Bahrain (since 14 February 2002), having previously been its emir (from 6 March 1999). He is a Sunni, while the rest of Bahrain is predominantly Shiite...
bin Isa Al Khalifah and wish to sideline the prime minister, a diplomatic source told the Middle East Eye news portal.

The source also noted that both former Late King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Now a dead guy...
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the incumbent one, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, favored Khalifah.

"As Saudi king, Abdullah objected to the elimination of Khalifa. King Salman

...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians....
and the emir of Kuwait also consider him the right man in the right place," the source said. "However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
Mohammed bin Salman has no relationship with him and does not care much about him."

"It is likely that bin Salman does not mind overthrowing the prime minister in order to satisfy bin Zayed, who seeks to rearrange the situation in Bahrain, crowning a new prince, and overthrowing the old figures," he added.

The source further emphasized that bin Zayed was pushing for more influence in Bahrain and regarded King Hamad as a close friend and ally.

Link

The Grand Turk

Saudi Arabia, Turkey to set up 'strategic cooperation council': Saudi FM

2015-12-30

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
agreed on the need to set up a "strategic cooperation council" to strengthen military, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday.

"The meeting produced a desire to set up a high-level strategic cooperation council between the two countries," Jubeir told a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart after talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between Former King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Now a dead guy...
and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

He said the council will deal with security, military, economic, trade, energy and investment between the two countries.

Link

Arabia

Darth Bolton: Yemen, Iran and Saudi king's death an absolute disaster

2015-01-25

[Wash Times] John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned that the current violence sweeping through Yemen that resulted in the Shiite rebel takeover of the government as well as the death of Saudi King Abdullah is leading the Mideast into certain chaos.

"When the United States walks away from the Middle East, it's a further invitation to chaos, and thatâs exactly what we're getting."

Link

Arabia

Saudi king slams religious extremists as Muslims mark Ramadan

2014-06-29

[NEWS.YAHOO]

The powerful jihadist group has spearheaded an offensive by Sunni turbans in Iraq since June 9, wresting control of northern cities and capturing vast swathes of territory.

ISIL operates in both Syria and Iraq and aims to establish an Islamic state straddling the border of those two countries, but their lightning advance in Iraq also poses a threat to Jordan and Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
The ultra-conservative Sunni Gulf kingdom -- home to Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites -- shares an 814-kilometre (505-mile) border with Iraq.

"We will not allow a handful of terrorists, using Islam for personal aims, to terrify Moslems or undermine our country and its inhabitants," Abdullah said.

"We are continuing, with God's help, to face and tackle this scourge," he said.

The Saudi monarch also wished Moslems "security, prosperity and stability" over Ramadan, which began in most countries on Sunday.

Link

Iraq

Sistani intervenes to force political unity

2014-06-30

Part of an omnibus article from Reuters on the current situation in Iraq.

In a stunning political intervention on Friday that could mean the demise of Maliki's eight-year tenure, powerful Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged political blocs to agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly elected legislature meets in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Saudi King Abdullah pledged in talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to use his influence to encourage Sunni Muslims to join a new, more inclusive Iraqi government to better combat Islamist insurgents, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.

Abdullah, of course, continues to play both sides in the conflict...

Abdullah's assurance marked a significant shift from Riyadh's unwillingness to support a new government unless Maliki, a Shi'ite, steps aside, and reflected growing disquiet about the regional repercussions of ISIL's rise.

Thinking that their dog might slip its leash...

"The next 72 hours are very important to come up with an agreement ... to push the political process forward," said a lawmaker and former government official from the National Alliance, which groups all Shi'ite Muslim parties.

The lawmaker said he anticipated internal meetings by various parties and a broader session of the National Alliance including Maliki's State of Law list to be held through the weekend. Some Sunni Muslim parties were to convene later on Saturday.

Iraqi Sunnis accuse Maliki of freezing them out of any power and repressing their community, goading armed tribes to support the insurgency led by the fundamentalist group ISIL. The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region has also said Maliki should bow out.

Sistani's entry into the fray will make it hard for Maliki to stay on as caretaker leader as he has since a parliamentary election in April. That means he must either build a coalition to confirm himself in power for a third term or step aside. Sistani's message was delivered after a meeting of Shi'ite factions including the State of Law coalition failed to agree on a consensus candidate for prime minister.

Maliki, whose State of Law coalition won the most seats in the April election, was positioning himself for a third term before the ISIL offensive began. His closest allies say he still aims to stay, but senior State of Law figures have said he could be replaced with a less polarizing figure.

"It's a card game and State of Law plays a poker game very well," said the official from the premier's alliance. "For the prime minister, it will go down to the wire."

Under Iraq's governing system put in place after Saddam's overthrow, the prime minister has always been a Shi'ite, the largely ceremonial president a Kurd and the speaker of parliament a Sunni. Negotiations over the positions have often been drawn out: after the last election in 2010 it took nearly 10 months for Maliki to build a coalition to stay in office.

Divvying up the three posts in the four days before parliament meets, as sought by Sistani, would require leaders from each of Iraq's three main ethnic and sectarian groups to commit to the political process and swiftly resolve their most pressing political problems, above all the fate of Maliki.

Allies of Maliki said Sistani's call for a quick decision was not aimed at sidelining the premier but at putting pressure on all political parties not to drag out the process with typical infighting with Iraq facing disintegration. Even so, they acknowledged Sistani was not happy with Maliki's policies.

“It is other groups telling Sistani they cannot accommodate Maliki for a third term. Sistani doesn't want to get involved in who is the next prime minister, but there has to be progress," said one official from Maliki's State of Law list.

The roadmap is far from smooth. Kurds have yet to agree on a candidate for president and the Sunnis, long riven by intense rivalries and shaken by the loss of their cities to militants, are divided among themselves over the speaker's post.

Link

Arabia

Saudi King Orders Measures to Defend against Iraq Jihadists

2014-06-27

[AnNahar]

King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old...
instructed authorities in the oil-rich kingdom Thursday to take "necessary measures" to defend the country from jihadists battling the government in neighboring Iraq.

The announcement comes days after turbans from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
(ISIL) seized the border crossing from Iraq into Jordan, which also neighbors the kingdom, as they press an offensive in Iraq.

A statement said Abdullah ordered authorities "to take all the necessary measures to protect... the kingdom's security against actions that could be taken by terrorist or other groups."

The measures were not spelled out but decided during a security cabinet meeting chaired by the king and devoted to discussing developments in Iraq and their impact on Gulf Arab monarchies.

The meeting comes on the eve of a visit to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
by U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
, who has been holding talks with regional and international players to seek ways of containing the unrest in Iraq.

I s'pose asking his kingliness to stop paying his ISIL myrmidons is out of the question...

On Thursday, Kerry discussed the widening crisis in Iraq, where ISIL has seized cities and towns north of Storied Baghdad, during urgent talks with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

A senior State Department official said Kerry would brief them on his visit to Storied Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, where he urged leaders to unite against the jihadist myrmidons.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has accused Iraq's Shiite prime minister,

Nouri al-Maliki
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
, of fueling the crisis by marginalizing the country's Sunni Arab minority.

Maliki conceded on Thursday that political measures and military action were needed to repel the myrmidon offensive, which is threatening to tear Iraq apart.

Link

Africa North

Sisi Declared Egypt President-elect with 96.9% of Vote, Saudi King Hails 'Historic' Win

2014-06-04

[AnNahar] Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi won 96.9 percent of votes in Egypt's presidential election, the electoral commission announced Tuesday, almost a year after he overthrew elected Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator....

Funds will roll in from the money men, now that things are back to normal.

Turnout in last week's election, hastily extended to three days amid fears of low turnout, was 47.45 percent, said commission chief Anwar Rashad al-Asi.

Sisi's rival Hamdeen Sabbahi won just three percent of the vote, excluding spoiled ballots.

Sisi's lopsided victory had been certain, with many lauding the retired field marshal as a hero for ending Morsi's divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
rule in July.

Yet the lower-than-expected turnout -- Sisi himself had called for much more voters to come out -- signaled that a wide segment of the population was apathetic or boycotted the election.

With an economy hammered by years of unrest, Sisi urged Egyptians to "work to return security to this nation," in a television address after the final results were declared.

"The future is a blank page, and it is in our hands to fill with what we want ... bread, freedom, human dignity, social justice," he said.

Sisi's appeal mirrored the slogan of the 2011 uprising that overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, as his critics warned the retired field marshal could impose an even more repressive government.

Morsi's Moslem BrĂźderbund, crushed by a massive crackdown following his overthrow and detention, had boycotted the vote.

Some journalists and government employees erupted in applause and began dancing as the final results were announced at a presser Tuesday.

Shortly after the results were announced,

Link

Arabia

HRW Urges Saudi to Free Two Ahmadis Held for Apostasy

2014-05-16

Because that'll work on the Master Rulers of the Master Religion of the Magic Kingdom.

[AnNahar] Human Rights Watch
... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world...
on Thursday urged Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
to free two citizens held without trial for two years after converting to an offshoot of Islam banned in the conservative Sunni kingdom.

There is freedom only to join the master religion. The wage of apostasy, on the other hand, is death.

Sultan al-Anzi, aged 33, and Saud al-Anzi, 35, were enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
and tossed in the slammer
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
in May 2012, three months after joining the Ahmadiyya group and refusing to abandon their belief, New York-based HRW said.

The group said it urged

King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old...
back in August 2012 to release the pair, but never received a response.

"Not only have Saudi authorities interfered with the personal beliefs of these two men, but they've left them sitting in jail for two years in legal limbo with no end in sight," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director.

"Saudi Arabia needs to stop policing people's personal beliefs," Whitson said.

"King Abdullah has won acclaim for preaching religious tolerance abroad, but there apparently is no room for tolerance inside his own country."

Under Saudi Arabia's legal system, the penalty for apostasy is death.

HRW said Ahmadiyya activists told it they have had no contact with the two men since their arrest, and do not know their whereabouts or condition.

According to information on the interior ministry's online prisoner database, both men are in detention but have not been formally charged.

The Ahmadiyya community was founded in British India in the 19th century.

Its adherents follow the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian Moslem who they believe to be the awaited Islamic messiah.

Link

Arabia

Mistrust overshadows Obama's Saudi trip

2014-03-29

[Al Ahram] US President Barack Obama
Because I won...
meets

Saudi Arabia has strong reservations about efforts by Washington and other major world powers to negotiate a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme.

It is also disappointed over Obama's 11th-hour decision last year not to take military action against the Syrian regime over chemical weapons attacks.

Saudi analyst Abdel Aziz al-Sagr, who heads the Gulf Research Centre, said Saudi-US relations are "tense due to Washington's stances" on the Middle East, especially Iran.

Link

Arabia

Saudi King replaces deputy Defense Minister

2013-08-07

The Saudi King on Tuesday replaced the country's deputy defense minister, Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a royal order, exempting deputy defense minister Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, and naming Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the post, Xinhua reported.

Prince Fahd was appointed deputy defense minister on April 20, replacing Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The newly-appointed deputy defense minister was the assistant secretary of National Security for Security and Intelligence Affairs.

Link

Arabia

Qatar Losing Mideast Ground To Saudi Diplomacy, Say Experts

2013-07-11

Good.

[AnNahar] Qatar, a key supporter of Islamists who rose to power in Arab Spring countries, is losing ground in regional politics to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
which appears to have seized the reins on key issues, notably Egypt and Syria.

The decline in Qatar's regional diplomacy comes as its powerful emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani unexpectedly abdicated in favor of his son Tamim last month.

The wealthy Gulf state had transformed itself into a key regional player but began to retreat as heavyweight Saudi Arabia re-entered the political arena after lagging behind in the immediate period following the eruption of the Arab Spring uprisings in December 2010.

The ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last week by the army and the election by the Syrian opposition of Saudi-linked Ahmad Assi Jarba as new leader stripped Qatar of strong influence in both countries.

"Qatar had tried to take a leading role in the region but overstepped its limits by openly backing the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt, Syria, and other Arab Spring states," said Kuwaiti political analyst Ayed al-Manna.

Jonathan Eyal, head of international relations at Britannia's Royal United Services Institute, argued that Qatar's regional politics have failed.

"Qatar's Middle Eastern diplomacy now lies in ruins: it failed to produce dividends in Libya, backfired in Syria and has now collapsed in Egypt."

"Qatar's Middle Eastern diplomacy now lies in ruins: it failed to produce dividends in Libya, backfired in Syria and has now collapsed in Egypt," local Emirati daily The National quoted him on Tuesday as saying.

Realizing the damaging effects of their policies, Manna noted, "the Qataris sought to cut down on their commitments" which were already affected by the emir's abdication and the sidelining of the influential prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jabr al-Thani.

As a result, "Saudi Arabia, a historical regional U.S. ally, regained its role" in coordination with other oil-rich Gulf monarchies, said Manna.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was the first foreign head of state to congratulate Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour, hours after he was named to replace Morsi.

And on Tuesday, the kingdom pledged $5 billion in assistance to Egypt. The United Arab Emirates, which has cracked down on the Moslem Brüderbund in the past few months, offered Egypt an aid package of $3 billion.

"Saudi Arabia wants to ensure stability in Arab Spring countries, regardless of its ideological interests," said analyst Abdel Aziz al-Sagr, head of the Gulf Research Center.

"It had supported the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt but reconsidered this support after the Brotherhood failed to run the country wisely," he argued.

But the Saudi researcher downplayed the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which have been looking to expand their influence during the Arab Spring uprisings and prevent any potential revolt against their own autocratic regimes.

"The Saudi-Qatari harmony still exists and there is no battle for influence between the two countries," said Sager. And as proof, "Riyadh was the first to be informed of the political change in Qatar, six months before it took place. And it welcomed it."

But the two countries, whose relations have been historically tense or at least marked by mistrust, support two different approaches of political Islam that emerged strongly in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Qatar sides with political parties linked to the Moslem Brüderbund, whose experience was cut short despite the strong media support they enjoyed from the influential Doha-based Al-Jazeera

... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS...
news channel.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels...
Saudi Arabia promotes Salafist groups that focus less on politics and more on implementing Shariah Islamic law on daily life matters such as forcing women to wear a veil and prohibiting the mixing between sexes.

Link

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