Who stands to gain? First pictures of Nord Stream pipeline show 50 metre hole after “powerful explosions” confirming sabotage. David Brinkley, the legendary American newscaster with a career that spanned an amazing fifty-four years from World War II once said that a successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks …
US pips regional states at race for Kabul
UN SG António Guterres: “Afghanistan is hanging by a thread.” In a hugely consequential advisory, the US Treasury Department quietly signalled on Wednesday that it was “tweaking” the sanctions against the Haqqani Network. The international banks can transfer money to Taliban, including Haqqani Network without fear of breaching sanctions. Washington simply issued clarifications dilating on the …
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Saudi-Iran reset will take time
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (R) received Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (L), Jeddah, May 11, 2021 The Saudi-Iranian contacts that began last month in secrecy has gained gravitas. The unannounced trip to Jeddah last night by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the exceptional courtesies he …
Gulf security paradigm in historic shift
Foreign Ministers of Cyprus, Israel and Greece and the diplomatic adviser of UAE’s President met in Paphos, Cyprus April 16, 2021 The geopolitical alignments of the Gulf region are rapidly transforming both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Starting with the rapprochement between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in January, the common thread here is that the …
Saudi embrace of Qatar falls short of Gulf unity
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani upon arrival to attend Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Al-Ula, Jan. 5, 2021. The West Asian region is such a fragmented part of the world that any semblance of reconciliation on any of the criss-crossing fault lines becomes a …
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Saudi overtures to Qatar and Turkey bring results
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 26, 2020 A rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is on cards. An announcement can be expected in a matter of days. Kuwait, which had been mediating between Riyadh and Doha hinted on November 27 that a breakthrough …
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Why Israel is allowing F-35 sale to UAE
Israel has decided it won’t be the dog in the manger if US President Donald Trump is so keen to sell F-35 stealth jets to the UAE. An understanding has been reached that the US will, as quid pro quo, “significantly upgrade Israel’s military capability” and ensure Israel retains its “qualitative military edge” over Arab …
Gulf Sheikhs resent subaltern role
US-Israel joint training exercise ‘Enduring Lightning’ involving F-35 ‘stealth’ aircraft, Southern Israel, March 2020 The tabling of a “bipartisan” legislation in the US Congress on October 1 reiterating American commitment to Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME) creates an extraordinary dimension to the geopolitics and military balance in the Middle East region in the downstream of …
Israel-UAE deal doesn’t herald a geopolitical formation
Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (C) met with Turkish Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar (R) and Qatar Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah (L), Tripoli, Libya, August 17, 2020 Sweeping geopolitical assumptions are being made regarding the Israel-UAE agreement to establish diplomatic relations. Basically, the deal legitimises a previously existing two-decades old relationship. See …
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Israel, UAE legitimise their relationship
The UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed: Palestinian leadership has accused UAE of ‘stabbing them in the back’ by establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. The controversial peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has two fathers already — US President Donald Trump and …
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