In today's featured article at FrontPage, I discuss the recent meeting between Iran's Thug-In-Chief and the King of Saudi Arabia (news links in the original):
After Sunni-Shi’ite tensions have risen in Iraq and elsewhere (including even Dearborn, Michigan) for many months, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Sunday. “Iran and Saudi Arabia,” said Ahmadinejad later in a statement, “are two great and powerful Islamic countries and accordingly have numerous mutual obligations and responsibilities in the Islamic world and Middle East.” King Abdullah concurred, saying: “Today, the Islamic world has many enemies who want to sow discord between the two countries, but our two nations are Muslims with a united belief and therefore enjoying good relations.”Relations may not be as good as all that. This meeting was Ahmadinejad’s first state visit to Riyadh, although he did visit Mecca in December 2005 for the infamous Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting at which the protests against the cartoons of Muhammad that ran in a Danish newspaper were planned. Ahmadinejad is following it up with a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, whose terror group is funded by Iran as well as by Saudi individuals.
It is noteworthy that Mashaal would travel to Tehran after his Mecca summit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas notably failed to calm tensions between Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah party that constitutes Hamas’ chief rival. It is not the first time that Ahmadinejad has attempted to position himself as the leader of Sunnis as well as Shi’ite Muslims. Last summer, when Israeli armies moved into Lebanon, the President of Iran spoke as if he were already the recognized leader of the worldwide Islamic umma: “If the Zionist regime commits another stupid move and attacks Syria,” he warned, “this will be considered like attacking the whole Islamic world and this regime will receive a very fierce response.” Around the same time, he framed his genocidal hostility toward Israel in the same pan-Islamic terms: “The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilise to remove this problem.” And he warned the United States: “The waves of fury of Muslim nations will not be confined within the boundaries of the region, and the people who close their ears to the cries of the Palestinians and blindly support this regime will be responsible for the consequences.”As Ahmadinejad has taken upon himself to speak for the Islamic world and Muslim nations, and has pursued his nuclear program so energetically and defiantly, he has made the Saudis increasingly nervous. And with good reason: the Kingdom itself is home to a small but restive Shi’ite minority, and an increasingly confident Shi’ite majority is just north of the Kingdom in Iraq. The more they consider themselves within Ahmadinejad’s orbit, the more likely they will be to regard the Saudis with contempt. Iran/Saudi tensions go back a long way: Saudi Arabia supported Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in 1981, leading the Islamic Republic to call for the overthrow of the House of Saud. Nonetheless, Ahmadinejad’s trip to Riyadh indicates that he is also aware that it is difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish anything of significance in the Islamic world without Saudi approval. After all, Saddam’s downfall began when his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 so alarmed the Saudis that, despite their having applauded his war with Iran, they withdrew their support and allowed American troops onto Saudi territory to fight him (thereby enraging Osama bin Laden, who considered that the sacred soil of Arabia had been defiled by infidel troops, in defiance of Muhammad’s dictum that Arabia should be home for Muslims only).
Had Saddam not crossed the House of Saud, he might still be in power today. It seems that Ahmadinejad is determined not to make the same mistake. He journeyed to Riyadh to receive, if not the blessing of King Abdullah on his adventurism and jockeying for Islamic leadership, then at least a signal from the King that the Saudis would not resist him as long as he doesn’t interfere with their interests. However, at the same time, Iran’s former consul-general in Dubai, Adel Assadinia, charges that Iran has planted sleeper cells in the Gulf states to recruit Shi’ites and to sow civil strife, as well as to attack American interests, if the U.S. or Israel attacks Iran. In that event, reports the Telegraph, “such cells would be instructed to foment long-dormant sectarian grievances and attack the extensive American and European business interests in wealthy states such as Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Such a scenario would bring chaos to the Gulf, one of the few areas of the Middle East that remains prosperous and has largely pro-Western governments.”
If Assadinia is telling the truth, Ahmadinejad’s trip to Saudi Arabia may have been his attempt to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. Assadinia says that the agents in the Gulf states were instructed to “to tell the Europeans that Iran wanted a good relationship with them, when in fact Iran was involved in terrorism.” That could well have been the very same gambit Ahmadinejad was playing with King Abdullah, while continuing to work for a Shi’ite renaissance in the Islamic world. For Sunnis, as well as for Europeans, Israelis, and Americans, the results of this and Ahmadinejad’s other gambits could be nothing short of cataclysmic.
“The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilise to remove this problem.”-the Psychotic
Roughly 50% of Israel's Jewish citizens are descendants of Mideast Jews who have found dignity in the Jewish state. That's a no-no as per the Muslim supremacist doctrine of Dar-al-Islam. Yet, the clever Psychotic attempts to frame the issue in terms of the holocaust in order to deceive the Kuffirs.
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History is the record of the building of nations and empires by the use of violence, by the conquest-exploitation of some lately "indigenous people". A self-appointed "best people" displace-remove, kill or subdue an indigenous population as a new ruling class uses religion-ideology as the rationalization for its will to power over what Waffa Sultan has called "the other". There is not one nation or empire that has not been established as per this pattern. Islam is just another rationalization to that end. (Hitler considered Islam to be the most effective tool for conquest and domination in history and regretted Christian influence in Germany for that reason.)
Islam was the engine of Arab and later of Ottoman imperialism. This will-to-power is being revived in our time. The psychotic and Muslim believers dream of world conquest and domination (of course, its all done for "holy reasons"). Those Jews and other Kuffirs must be put in their place and "the best people" must rule.
Will the old pattern work again in our time?
If I were King Abdullah I would be instructing my military leaders to immediately begin extensive training exercises. Now, there can be no doubt they will called upon to respond either to Iranian Aggression or to help defend Iran..I would immediately double the security around all oil facilities....I would recheck the security clearances of my own personal security guards...I would be installing several ammunition supply depots in many areas to new secret locations (as opposed to the relatively few easy to hit supply depots that currently exist).I would arm myself and take individual weapons training...Maybe when the assassins arrive I could take one or two out with me....
King Abdullah is in dire straights, whether he knows it or not....he should be prepared to put up some kind of fight....the fight is coming and it could well be in his neighborhood....
"For Sunnis, as well as for Europeans, Israelis, and Americans, the results of this and Ahmadinejad’s other gambits could be nothing short of cataclysmic".-Robert
Not long ago an Israeli intelligence agent said that the Psychotic should be killed. With satellite technology the job should not be that difficult. It's time to do the job. He's a very dangerous man, greatly underestimated because of his bizarre appearance. He reminds me of a homeless person. The Israeli intelligence agent got it right. He's dangerous. It's rule or ruin with this guy. I'm surprised the world does not recognize the danger.
The Psychotic is a 5'3" dwarf who looks like one of creatures in the Star Wars bar scene. He will pick a fight with the biggest guy in the bar. He's very clever and very dangerous.
If Hamas's leader, Khalid Maashal is shuttling back and forth between Saudi Arabia and Iran from his hideout in Syria, it's because he's trying to play both ends against the middle. If the Saudis have reduced their support for jihad against Israel in an attempt to coerce Hamas into accepting the Saudi "peace plan", and the US and EU cut back on jizyah, then he'll accept money from Shiite Iran or anyone else who will fork it over, few questions asked.
As for relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, from Spencer's friend and internet technology guru, Charles over at Little Green Footballs:
IRAN-SAUDI TALKS FALL APART
By Charles Johnson
The American left continues to insist that we “negotiate” with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as Iran’s Manhattan Project rushes ahead. But Iran’s designated madman can’t even get along with the corrupt, Jew-hating ruler of Saudi Arabia: Analysis: What actually happened in Riyadh?
Saturday evening, Ahmadinejad landed in Riyadh to a king’s welcome. Feasts were prepared for him. Abdullah meant to speak with him about everything, but first and foremost the nuclear issue. Because they don’t share a common language (Ahmadinejad knows only Farsi, and Abdullah doesn’t speak it) the conversation was conducted through an interpreter. Abdullah was obviously trying. He sat close to Ahmadinejad, something he doesn’t often do with his guests, and tried to smile for the cameras before the meeting.
There are still no details on the conversation itself, but Abdullah apparently warned Ahmadinejad about the Americans, who are increasing their presence in the Persian Gulf. I believe that Abdullah offered to mediate between the Iranians and the Americans, and he has the ability to do so comparatively well. After the first round of talks, they left for dinner, and later resumed talks.
Shortly before midnight, it was announced suddenly that Ahmadinejad was returning to Teheran. I believe that the talks blew up, since it’s strange for him not to have stayed at least a night on such an important visit, one that had been prepared ahead of time.
The fact remains that Ahmadinejad and the Saudis did not voice any intention of continuing talks after the visit. Also, no official message on the meeting was published, as is the norm. Ahmadinejad has a hot temper, and he tends to get offended. Maybe he thought that the Saudis were interfering in something that was none of their business.
As he returned to Iran, Ahmadinejad was met at the Teheran airport by reporters. He told them that he had spoken with the Saudis on Iraq, the ethnic issue, Lebanon, and the Palestinians, and did not mention the nuclear program - an additional indication that this was the subject that had caused the crisis. Sunday, March 4, 2007
The Psychotic is a 5'3" dwarf who looks like one of creatures in the Star Wars bar scene. He will pick a fight with the biggest guy in the bar. He's very clever and very dangerous.
Posted by: Frank
He would have no power were it not for his bed buddies Russia and China (and closet buddies - the French) backing him up. Huge investments in Iran means these countries (bullies) will not be bought off cheaply. Makes you wonder what kind of 'negotiations' Washington is making with NK and countries in the ME.
The Monkey is running out of time. The Iranian population is ageing, oil will be gone in 20 years and Iran has HUGE social/economic problems. He is losing his appeal with his own population.
He wants to RULE the ME before it's too late for him. This is what makes him most dangerous - his desperation. If he fails to rally the rest of the ME, by getting them to go war with Israel and to blackmail (with oil) the the United States (which he is trying to do under the banner of radical Islam) he WILL make a military move against the other oil rich nations- and China and Russia AND Syria will back him up. Russia and China do not care WHO runs the ME, so long as THEY have their oil and investments. If it is an enemy of the United States and Israel, all the better for THEM.
With the build-up in the Persian Gulf, I think we may be seeing a war in the ME (of biblical proportions) very soon.
well done Spence. now maybe you can get the right date of the flying horse.
AS I WAS SAYING......
United Nations, March 06: Ambassadors of five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany have failed to reach an agreement on enhancing sanctions imposed on Iran in December for its refusal to abandon the uranium enrichment programme.
After holding the first round of discussions late yesterday, the diplomats said there was no draft as yet and that they only exchanged views on the elements of the resolution.
The diplomats of United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are expected to have another round of talks before consulting their capitals for further instruction and analysis of the discussions.
They said that the western powers favoured stiff sanction but would most likely settle for much less to avoid a veto from Moscow and Beijing.
I ASK YOU...WHAT COULD CHINA AND RUSSIA POSSIBLY HAVE AGAINST STIFF SANCTIONS TO PREVENT IRAN GETTING A NUCLEAR BOMB???
The Goobs-
I think you are right. The whole thing reminds me of the Five Families in the movie the Godfather, with one of them being the head the Cook family. Putin (Vito) is trying to use the Cooks to gain gain back turf and concessions (re the lost Russian empire) from Uncle Sam. He also wants Uncle Sam to buy his oil. I think the key to all of this is with Vito Putin. If he gets a good deal, the Cook is going to get hit on the causeway as the "buttons" pop out of the toll booths. The cook is dangerous, crazy. He's bad for business.
Putin is a cold-calculating SOB. (I think that guy has killed people with his bear hands.) But he's not crazy. It's strictly business with Putin.
Will they agree to converge on the "Zionist regime" or choose to continue killing each other?Sunni, Shia, Sunni, Shia, Sunni...who cares?Arab Muslims, Persians...members of both have declared themselves enemies of the USA so no matter what they choose more will die.
I meant to say the "Kook" Family. In any case, i think you know that, Goobs.
ironic that we are fighting the same threat that the Russians are quite familiar with, eh? maybe to prove we have thawed in the Cold War we need to seek Putin. sure the guy knocks off those who leak with nuclear poison but hey, he's kinda of a cool guy. we could probably learn a few things in Dushanbe, Cheney sure has.
Frank....well said.
What disgusts me is that the world is run by corrupt leaders. Everything is about money, power and most importantly greed.
This selfish mindset controls our politicians, corporate CEO's, the UN, EU and the so-called 'security' council.
As for the security council.....there is nothing secure about it....unless of course it is meant to be FINANCIAL security. They sure as hell don't care about doing the right thing.....but then do our corporate elitists?
In my lifetime, I have seen very sad changes in people. Selfishness is worse than ever. Liars are commended for their ability to fool others. Cheats are accepted as the norm. Disloyalty is justified by corporate bosses down to the worker who feels they have no reason to be loyal to their bosses.
You see it in political decisions, corporate decisions and even the ordinary folks who can't be bothered to give you a break when you're trying to pull out onto a busy road.
With this type in the driver's seat, we are in for a rough ride as the bound and gagged passengers.
Goobs-
Someday you are going to say to me: "Hey Frank, they got Sonny the Psychotic on the Causeway". Bet on it. He's bad for business.
don't knock capitalism, it works fairly well and better than in the Middle East where there is no middle class.
getting caught in the trap of criticizing America and our culture only fuels... the bad guys.
Correct deduction, but the proxy Iran has been manipulated by the Russians to get nuclear weapons to offset the Saudi nuclear weapons it paid for via Pakistan.
The Russians in the enigma game they play intend Iran and Saudi Arabia to blow each other up with nukes. This makes Russia sole oil supplier, enables them to blackmail Europe into submission, control China and the grande prize of Catherine the Great's lust of warm water southern ports as Russia will have take over the central "stans" and American democrats will demand Americans will withdraw from the nuclear fallout zone.
Ahmadinejad is the perfect Islamocommunist as is Assad of Syria in being insecure pariahs with dellusions of grandeur mixed in with the malevolent psychosis of Islam to kick the coming war loose.
"King Abdullah is in dire straights, whether he knows it or not....he should be prepared to put up some kind of fight....the fight is coming and it could well be in his neighborhood...."
posted by exsgtbrown
My eyes are dry. He'll get what he deserves.
Lame Cherry,
If your scenario plays out, then what? The US will be gone, for all practical purposes. The world will have gotten what it wanted. I hope they'll all be very happy in their Russian-Islamic paradise.
They should have been careful what they wished for.
Folks, there IS a difference between capitalism and corporate greed.
I am FOR capitalism..........I am against corporate GREED at the expense of America.
Capitalism - Company owners with decency and INTEGRITY was what this country was built on.
Separation of corporations and government has become the NEW separation of church and state.
In fact, a little more church in those who are in Washington and those running corporations would be a BIG help.
Unfortunately, SOME of my conservative brothers and sisters poo poo anyone that questions the way our country is being run. Fortunately, MANY of my conservative brothers and sisters are patriotic and not willing to tolerate anything and everything that so-called conservatives in Washington are dishing out.
It isn't unpatriotic to want our politicians to be respectable and workers for the best of this country and its people.
" “Iran and Saudi Arabia,” said Ahmadinejad later in a statement, “are two great and powerful Islamic countries ..."
When Ahmadinejad says, "great and powerful", what he actually means is, "sufficiently wealthy to sponsor an endless campaign of terrorist attacks against the West."
In fact, being truly "great and powerful" involves the ability to deploy a submarine from which one single launch can vaporize both Iran and Saudi Arabia. That's what "great and powerful" really means, and it would behoove Ahmadinejad not to forget it for a second.
"... allowed American troops onto Saudi territory to fight him (thereby enraging Osama bin Laden, who considered that the sacred soil of Arabia had been defiled by infidel troops, in defiance of Muhammad’s dictum that Arabia should be home for Muslims only)."
Of course we should all ignore the strenuous mental gymnastics involved in bin Laden neglecting to take any notice of several thousand Infidel petroleum workers who had been in Saudi Arabia for over half a century, helping build the very oil wealth that he then used to turn against America. Pay no attention to that profound tidbit of typical Arab hypocrisy.
” I ASK YOU...WHAT COULD CHINA AND RUSSIA POSSIBLY HAVE AGAINST STIFF SANCTIONS TO PREVENT IRAN GETTING A NUCLEAR BOMB???”
Just this, The Goobs: America is being bled white as it honorably tries to fulfill the role of being this world’s policeman. Afghanistan and Iraq have already racked up a tab of some ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. What fun it would be for Russian and China to stand by and watch as we are obliged to go ahead and perform yet more expensive mop-ups of their rabid lapdogs in Iran and North Korea. This is triangulation on a massive scale and we need to make Russia and China feel our pain in a big way.
This is one principal reason why we must not engage in any nation building with Iran. Fly by, drop a sufficient tonnage of conventional weapons needed to cripple their nuclear R&D and military plus snuff the mad mullahs, then scoot the hell back out of there. Send Iran’s new government a bill for the cleanup costs along with a promissory note indicating that should they be so foolish as to pursue another theocratic regime we will be happpy to rinse and repeat as needed.
Tehran’s mullahs are so obsessed with their hatred of the West that they fail to realize how, when compared with America, neither Russia or China would have the least compunctions about vaporizing Iran on a moment’s notice. We are back to the classic Cold War scenario of countering the presence of our same old communist foes in China and Russia.
PS: Goobs, thank you for so carefully distinguishing between honest capitalism and craven corporate greed. There is a difference.