The news from Manama, the capital of the small island state of Bahrain, is that the Fifth Fleet HQ has gone on maneuvers to Oman for an indefinite time frame. In sum, bug-out from the proxy war in Bahrain between Riyadh and Tehran. Am told that the IRGC has staffed and funded the so-called protesters. The social media messaging that now floods the web, #bahrain, is suspect of being an IRGC disinformation campaign. Of most significance, am told the Bahrain confrontation marks the breakdown of the 65-year-long alliance between Washington and Riyadh. The Kingdom has now turned away. China through the Pakistan connection looks like the choice to replace the US. Spoke Barry Rubin, GLORIA, to learn that Egypt is also tumbling away from the US. Pat Lang, Sic Semper Tyrannis, said that Cairo is looking for another sponsor. What has caused this break between Washington and its allies in the Middle East? Am told that the White House is deaf to experienced diplomats in the region. That the White House is piously ideological in supporting so-called democratic-leaning youth protesters despite the evidence that the "yuppie bloggers" are either naive ideologues themselves, without experience in governance or diplomacy, or else they are tools of the anarchists, Islamists and Twelvers. Asked Barry Rubin if the US is on the brink of losing Egypt. Answer: over the brink. Asked Pat Lang if there was any repairing break with Riyadh. Answer: no.
Saudi and Bahraini security staging for sweep of Pearl Roundabout, Manama.
"Asked Barry Rubin if the US is on the brink of losing Egypt. Answer: over the brink. Asked Pat Lang if there was any repairing break with Riyadh. Answer: no. "
The US hasn't lost Egypt, nor have we severed or broken with Saudi Arabia. Both countries and especially the Saudis know that Barack Obama has less than two years left in the White House. His policies will leave with him and our alliance will remain like it has for decades.
I love ya JB, but this sort of talk is non-sense. Our problems will grow in the Egypt, but Egypt is not going to devolve into anarchy. They have far too much to loose if they start picking fights in the neighborhood with Israel, Europe and ultimately the United States. Our main issue is a possible emergence of terror havens. But Saudi Arabia is already a haven for terrorists. The Governing in Saudi are not our closest friends. The 9-11 attackers were mostly Saudis.
That said, we have a mutual need for one another for the time-being. The kingdom will not begin to disintegrate before the United States achieves some semblance of independence from the kingdoms oil supply.
Apparently it takes two years to get the measure of a man. Equally apparent is that it takes some Americans even longer.
Last night’s show is one to be bookmarked. It dealt primarily with the foreign policy failures of the Obama administration, especially as pertains to the Middle East. On the eve of the president’s trip to Brazil, we can now look forward to a fresh set of policy embarrassments looming in South America. This is one of the reasons Hillary Clinton continues to distance herself from this administration.
Everything about the discussions last night was pretty much on target. And it is not something that will ever be reported in the NYT and in other liberal mainstream media outlets. Obama is their baby, after all. A mother will always stand up for her child.
But neither Batchelor or Hoenlein (or any of their guests) ever got down to actually pulling the trigger. Triangulation no longer works. Only facts are relevant. By parting ways with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel among others, the U.S. has planted itself firmly in Iran’s twelver camp. This did not just happen because of inattention, ignorance, or character flaws. It is deliberate. Anyone might be relieved to see our president as dupe and bumbler-in chief. It might even be so. In any case, Obama has been the public face of events that have occurred since he has been in office. It is he who must be held to account. No doubt, others much smarter than Obama are pulling his strings.
On the home front it’s the same story. Obama’s presidency has been a disaster anywhere you look.
One hopeful sign (if you can call it that): I see China inching closer to the breach. As I have predicted previously, Israel will survive. Iran will not. Half ‘evil’ will always win out over 100% ‘evil’. America is no longer a player.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Re: the Warren segment.
Can you say "shakedown," boys and girls?
1600 is very good at irritating Allies and Friends, but we bow to Dictators and Despots.
When Caterpillar/Boeing/JohnDeere/Ford/IBM wants to sell equipment to The Kingdom, Britain or Asia, the answer will be "Sorry"
These good paying jobs will disappear even quicker since no-one is answering the phone.
Hillary knows things are bad, she's let it be known she is getting out.
How many times did Valerie Jarret or Michelle tell State or DoD to "Stand down"
Who is Running the White House? Who is in Charge?
Pity we cannot impeach for slovenly incompetence.
Was George Washington a thug for putting down the Whisky Rebellion?
Someone is going to have to explain to me the "rules behind the rules" again. What puzzles the fat grasshopper at the moment is why we speak scornfully of POTUS for being afraid of appearing strong (and using force when necessary) and refer to him as a Senator-at-Large when he waffles, and we hear over and over from Gordon and many others about how the Asian and Arab countries favor the strongest fist, yet we seem to vilify Qadaffi for using force. As far as I can see, the force Qadaffi used was necessary force. Mubarak didn't (or perhaps couldn't) muster then necessary force and he had to step down. To call one of these Arab leaders a "thug" for using force to put down these violent rebellions, is tantamount to calling for them to step down, inasmuch as the failure to use force would result in his removal from office in either a tank or a gurney.
I thought of a neat way to summarize my complaint: It seems like we want POTUS to act like Qadaffi, and Qadaffi to act like POTUS.
French Sarkozy split with inviting in NATO on Libya. Cameron looks to get out of the mess. Malta drops out. Tunisia drops out. China opposes violence of any sort. Can the UNSC surrender to Q? Speaking Dan Henninger WSJ re the New Tower of Babel.
If NATO goes in to Libya it'll get whipped, clipped and double-dipped.
Obama is in Party mode, he's toast.
Not sure I agree with the world's tactics, but it smells like this may be a rope a dope: Let Qau-daffy spread his Lionel Richie forces into rebel territory to thin the line, divide them in two, half surrender, attack the other half from the air.
Will it work? The Tower of Babel doesn't function properly or appropriately...ever. We can only hope Daffy's power is weakened by his lust and greed, to the point his forces do not trust his erratic and errant behavior.
Bahrain is none of our concern. Unless of course we are suggesting the crushing of the twelvers in the vicinity.
When will the media learn, one size does not fit all ? The morning joe-zoo crews are liberal emotional wrecks as per usual. Now every young person in the world with a camera phone deserves to overthrow the "man". They think they are reliving the 60s vicariously through the arab youths, but there is no flower power in the 21st century.
Koran does not portend well for un-believers.
CNET and my frineds in the InfoSec Community are reporting that RSA Security (an EMC company) was severely hacked. They make the strong pin-code key-fobs that most Federal employees use to login to secure networks. Apparently all the secret keys were stolen, no connections can now be trusted.
This is the key to the backdoor of the kingdom. It iwll take months and Billions to re-secure our networks, secrets will fall into foreign hands and information will not get to those who need it.
Chief Suspect is the Advanced Persistent Threat, diplo-speak for PRC.
Press is hysterical that a few milimicrons of strontium 90 are showing up in California, yet silence on one of our technological companies got "owned" by a group of hackers from the APT.
It's amazing the number of people who don't realize that we are bombarded with radioactive particles every day. I have a couple of uranium samples in my rock collection - I probably am going to catch a Beta particle in my lung one of these times the Uranium decays to Radon ... and die .... a grisly, horrible, painful death ... but I digress.