U.S. says China’s treatment of Muslim minority worst abuses ‘since the 1930s’

Source: Lesley Wroughton, David Brunnstrom

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted abuses in Iran, South Sudan, Nicaragua and China in the department’s annual “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” but told reporters that China was “in a league of its own when it comes to human rights violations.”

“For me, you haven’t seen things like this since the 1930s,” Michael Kozak, the head of the State Department’s human rights and democracy bureau told the same briefing, referring to abuses of China’s Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.

“Rounding up, in some estimations … in the millions of people, putting them into camps, and torturing them, abusing them, and trying to basically erase their culture and their religion and so on from their DNA. It’s just remarkably awful.”

“It is one of the most serious human rights violations in the world today,” he said.

While Kozak did not elaborate on his comment about the 1930s, he was apparently referring to the policies of persecution of Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union.

China had initially denied there even were camps, Kozak said, adding its explanation now that they were for voluntary labor training “does not match the facts.”

“But at least we’re starting to make them realize there is a lot of international scrutiny on this,” he said.

China’s Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the report, which comes at a time of closely-watched trade negotiations between the United States and China aimed at resolving a tit-for-tat tariffs dispute.

Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir said on Tuesday that China was running boarding schools, not concentration camps, in the country’s far western region as the U.S. ambassador for religious freedom called the situation there “completely unacceptable,” and said sanctions against Chinese officials under the Global Magnitsky Act remained a “possibility.”

The administration of President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including the Communist Party boss there, Chen Quanguo, who as a member of the powerful politburo is in the upper echelons of China’s leadership. Beijing has warned of retaliation if Washington were to target Chen and the administration has yet to act despite complaints from U.S. lawmakers.

The State Department report said Chen had replicated in Xinjiang policies similar to those credited with reducing opposition to Communist Party rule in Tibet, where he was previously stationed.

INTENSIFIED DETENTION CAMPAIGN

The report said that in the past year, China had significantly intensified its campaign of mass detention of members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

It said authorities there were reported to have arbitrarily detained from 800,000 to possibly more than two million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslims in camps with the aim of erasing religious and ethnic identities.

Pompeo said the Iranian government had killed more than 20 people and arrested thousands without due process for protesting for their rights “continuing a pattern of cruelty the regime has inflicted on the Iranian people for the last four decades.”

In South Sudan, he said, military forces had inflicted sexual violence against civilians based on their political allegiances and ethnicity, while in Nicaragua, peaceful protesters had faced sniper fire and government critics had “faced a policy of exile, jail or death.”

The report also revised its usual description of the Golan Heights from “Israeli-occupied” to “Israeli-controlled.”

A separate section on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas that Israel captured along with the Golan Heights in a 1967 war in the Middle East, also did not refer to those territories as being “occupied,” or under “occupation.”

In Myanmar, the report said press freedom had declined and journalists had reported that self-censorship had became more pronounced because of the trial and conviction of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were jailed for seven years after being convicted in September of breaking a colonial-era official secrets law.

The reporters had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Responding to the U.S. report, Amnesty International criticized the Trump administration for engaging with governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, “regardless of their human rights record, if doing so will advance U.S. interests.”

The State Department report highlighted Saudi Arabia’s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said it had not provided a detailed explanation of the direction or progress of the investigation.

A CIA assessment and a Senate resolution have blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the killing, something Saudi officials deny, but President Donald Trump has said Washington will remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia even though the prince may have known about the plan.

Republican and Democratic U.S. senators said this month they were frustrated with the Trump administration’s failure to provide more information about the case and vowed to push for a stronger response.

Pompeo Tells Senators They Don’t “Truly Care About Yemeni Lives” After Vote

This week the Senate voted to cease and desist US military cooperation with allies Saudi Arabia and UAE in waging the war in Yemen, which according to the United Nations has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history. The Wednesday vote was was 54 to 46, including seven Republicans voting with the Democrats.

The “war powers” legislation has been widely seen as a direct rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy amid broader pushback over his defense of Saudi Arabia in the wake of last year’s Jamal Khashoggi killing at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul. The invocation of the War Powers Act of 1973 expressly prohibits US military action not previously approved by Congress.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

Image via Tasnim News Agency

A House vote is expected soon, which would require President Trump to immediately withdraw American military support from the Saudi-led coalition. Trump said in December he would veto the Senate resolution if it ever reached his desk, which now appears likely.

Meanwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday heaped criticism on Congress for seeking to end Washington support for military efforts in Yemen, saying that if US lawmakers “truly care about Yemeni lives”, they would back Riyadh.

Speaking in response to the Senate resolution, Pompeo said further

We all want this conflict to end. We all want to improve the dire humanitarian situation. But the Trump administration fundamentally disagrees that curbing our assistance to the Saudi-led coalition is the way to achieve these goals.

Predictably, Pompeo framed US involvement in Yemen in terms of preventing Iranian expansion in the broader Middle East. 

Pompeo continued

If we truly care about Saudi lives, you’d want to stop Iran-backed Houthis from launching missiles into Riyadh. If you truly care about Arab lives in the region, you’d support allied efforts to prevent Iran from extending its authoritarian rule from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea and on down to Yemen.

Thus Trump will likely also frame any veto action as a move against Iran, which the US has long considered enemy #1 in the region. 

For years, the United States has been providing logistics, intelligence sharing and arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The U.S. military also provided aerial refueling to coalition jets, but the administration suspended that support in November.

The Trump administration has long blamed Iran and proxy Shia Houth forces for perpetuating the conflict which has now taken tens of thousands of lives. 

* * *

The Senate has passed “war powers” legislation ordering the president to cease and desist his cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the destruction of Yemen.

A House vote is expected soon, which would throw the issue to the president who has promised a veto. Will there be political fallout for a president failing to accede to the will of Congress on matters of war and peace? Tune in to the Ron Paul Liberty Report:

It looks like another Middle East proxy war is to continue indefinitely. 

Oil rises to $67 on cuts to Saudi, Venezuelan exports

March 12, 2019

By Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil rose to around $67 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by Saudi Arabia’s plan for further voluntary supply curbs in April and a cut in oil exports from Venezuela due to a power outage.

Saudi Arabia, seeking to drain a supply glut and support prices, plans in April to keep its oil output well below the level required of it as part of an OPEC-led supply cutting deal, a Saudi official said on Monday.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose by 54 cents to $67.12 a barrel at 1125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 47 cents to $57.26.

“This shows Saudi Arabia’s resolve to keep the oil market balanced by keeping oil supply tight,” said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.

“Additional buoyancy has come from news that the massive power outage in Venezuela is also hampering the country’s oil exports.”

Crude rallied this year after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, returned to supply cuts as of Jan. 1. Since then, Brent has surged 25 percent.

Saudi Arabia has voluntarily cut its supply by more than the deal requires and in April will keep output “well below” 10 million bpd, the Saudi official said – less than the 10.311 million bpd that the kingdom had agreed to pump.

“We see a tightening underlying physical crude balance as a key pillar of support for outright prices at this point in the year,” said analysts at JBC Energy in a report.

A host of involuntary supply curbs in OPEC members, caused by unrest in Libya and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, have also helped to boost prices.

Venezuela’s state-run oil firm PDVSA has been unable to resume crude exports from its primary port since a power outage last week, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Offsetting these developments is the surge in U.S. supply, which the International Energy Agency said on Monday would continue to 2024, probably requiring OPEC and its allies to keep up their policy of market management.

In the near term the latest reports on U.S. inventories are expected to show a rise in crude stocks. Six analysts polled by Reuters estimate they rose 2.9 million barrels last week.

The first report, from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is due out 2030 GMT, followed by the government’s official supply report on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by David Evans and Jan Harvey)

Saudi Arabia to cut oil exports in April: Saudi official

March 11, 2019

By Rania El Gamal

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia plans to cut its crude oil exports in April to below 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while keeping its output well below 10 million bpd, a Saudi official said on Monday, as the kingdom seeks to drain a supply glut and support oil prices.

State-owned Saudi Aramco’s oil allocations for April are 635,000 bpd below customers’ nominations, which are the requests made by refiners and clients for Saudi crude, the official said.

“Despite very strong demand from international waterborne customers at more than 7.6 million bpd, customers were allocated less than 7 million bpd,” the official said, adding that Saudi exports in March would also be below 7 million bpd.

Oil prices have been supported this year by output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. U.S. sanctions on the oil industries of OPEC members Iran and Venezuela have also tightened supplies.

Benchmark Brent climbed above $66 a barrel on Monday, helped by comments by Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih that an end to OPEC-led supply cuts was unlikely before June and a report showed a fall U.S. drilling activity.

April allocations by Aramco show “a deep cut of 635,000 bpd from customer requests for its crude oil,” the Saudi official said.

“This will keep production well below 10 million bpd in April,” the official said, adding that this was also below the 10.311 million bpd that the kingdom had agreed as its production target under the OPEC-led deal on cutting supplies.

OPEC, Russia and other producers, known as OPEC+, agreed in December to reduce supply by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 for six months.

“Saudi Arabia is demonstrating extraordinary commitment to accelerating market rebalancing,” the official said, adding that the kingdom expected other OPEC+ countries to show similar levels of contributions and high conformity to agreed cuts.

The Saudi energy minister said on Sunday that March oil output was 9.8 million bpd and the country, OPEC’s biggest producer, planned to keep its April output at the same level.

Saudi Arabia’s oil production in February fell to 10.136 million bpd, a Saudi industry source told Reuters on Friday, down from 10.24 million bpd in January.

Saudi crude exports to the U.S. market have slowed in past weeks, according to the International Energy Agency, while Asia’s crude demand is set to drop in the second quarter due to seasonal refinery maintenance which would limit supply.

Saudi Aramco plans to shut its Yanbu oil refinery for planned maintenance for one month from early March.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Edmund Blair)

Oil Rises As Saudi Extends Production Cuts Through April

President Trump isn’t going to like this.

Offering the first indication that the OPEC+ cartel of major oil exporters intends to extend cuts, Saudi Arabia has reportedly told its clients that they will receive significantly less oil than they had requested in April, extending deeper-than-agreed oil production cuts into a second month, Bloomberg reported.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>Saudi

The report, which provoked a spike in oil prices, suggests that “Riyadh is determined to regain control of the oil market as prices remain well below the level that many OPEC members need to cover their government spending.” Oil rose as much as 1% on the news, before fading some gains.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

However, the extension isn’t all that surprising: Responding to Trump, who demanded in a tweet that OPEC do something to curb rising oil prices, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said last month that “we are taking it easy, 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach.”

Aramco, Saudi’s state-owned oil producer, has given customers their allocations for the next month, and they’re some 635,000 barrels short of what refiners had asked for.

With Venezuela output falling further due to U.S. sanctions and power blackouts, oil refiners put in requests – or nominations in industry jargon – for Saudi crude of more than 7.6 million barrels a day for April, the person said. However, the kingdom will supply overseas customers with less than 7 million barrels a day, 635,000 barrels less than refiners asked for however, they said.

The second consecutive month of deep production cuts shows the world’s largest oil exporter is determined to re-balance the market more quickly even though events in Venezuela have left some refiners short of crude. The crisis has worsened a deficit of so-called heavy-sour crude that many refiners use to make diesel.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil monopoly, decided its monthly nominations over the weekend and told clients early on Monday their individual allocations. Although not identical, Saudi crude can be used as an alternative to Venezuelan crude and is also a good alternative for Iranian oil, also in short supply due to U.S. sanctions.

OPEC+ agreed late last year to cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day through the end of March as producers scrambled to reverse a stunning drop in oil prices late last year. The cuts have sent exports – primarily to the US – tumbling.

Of course, right now, the opportunity to have an outsize impact on the global oil market is almost too good to pass up for Saudi, as falling Venezuelan crude output and the coming expiry of US waivers on Iranian oil sales could continue to cut into supplies, particularly since Saudi crude is a good substitute for Iranian and Venezuelan crude, unlike US shale oil.

An Unholy Alliance: Did the US-Backed UAE Fly ISIS Leaders into Yemen’s Killing Fields?

from MintPress News: The de facto alliance between the U.S. with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, AQAP, and now allegedly ISIS in Yemen has led to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history, ADEN, YEMEN — Ali Abdullah al-Bujairi — a Yemeni politician who served as a senior member on the failed UN-brokered transitional government […]

The post An Unholy Alliance: Did the US-Backed UAE Fly ISIS Leaders into Yemen’s Killing Fields? appeared first on SGT Report.

Human Rights Orgs: End Canadian Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) joined eleven other human rights organizations to send a letter calling the Canadian government to immediately suspend arms sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The letter pointed out that

The post Human Rights Orgs: End Canadian Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia appeared first on Global Research.

Report: Decommissioned F-117 Nighthawks Were Used In Syria, Iraq In 2017

Scramble, a Dutch aviation magazine, has reported on Facebook that four now decommissioned Lockheed F-117 Nighthawks were secretly deployed to the Middle Esat in 2017 to launch surgical strikes.

According to the aviation magazine, the stealth attack aircraft were conducting bombing missions over Iraq and Syria using GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs.

One of the planes was even forced to make an emergency landing far away from its home base.

Scramble indicates that the jets were likely deployed to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Qatar.

There has not been an official response by the US Department of Defence on the confirmation of this story. 

“Back in 2017, and not published by any other source so far, Scramble received very reliable information that at least four F-117s were deployed to the Middle East as an operational need emerged for the USAF to resurrect the stealth F-117 for special purposes. One of the deployed aircraft was involved in an in-flight emergency and landed far away from its temporary home base that was likely located in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar.

During this extremely covert deployment the four Nighthawks flew missions over Syria and Iraq with Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs),” wrote Sramble.

So, why was first-generation stealth technology deployed to a sophisticated and modern aerial battlefield like Syria? The answer is straightforward.

Russia and Syria had shut down the country’s airspace by mid-2016. The U.S.-led coalition understood there was an elevated risk of losing a fifth-generation aircraft due to Russia’s deployment of S-400 missile systems.

So, with all this in mind, the resurrection of the F-117 was to fill an urgent gap in the Pentagon’s ability to secretly strike targets in the disputed airspace.

The U.S. Air Force retired the Nighthawks in August 2008, according to some reports due to the fielding of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and other fifth-generation fighters.

Congress had ordered that all F-117s mothballed were to be maintained “in a condition that would allow recall of that aircraft to future service” as part of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. The 2017 National Defence Authorisation Act ordered the “demilitarising” of four F-117s each year, meaning some of them are still capable of participating in bombing missions.

Still, there is no evidence that four F-117s were resurrected for secret combat missions in Syria and Iraq. At the same time, it is not entirely impossible to believe that stealth jets were sent to the Middle East, due to the National Defence Authorisation Act demanding the Air Force to keep a small number of these planes in operational order.

Egypt Is Shaping Up To Become A Real Energy Hub

Authored by Cyril Widdershoven via Oilprice.com,

Egypt’s oil and gas future looks very bright. The large scale concessions awarded during the EGYPS2019 conference in Cairo, 11-13 February, shows the appetite of IOCs, such as Shell, BP and ENI in this emerging energy hotspot.

After years of a major slump, partly due to continuing payment and security issues, the Pharaohs are again back in the top league. Continuing concerns about security in Egypt’s Western Desert or the Sinai no longer seem to be a breaking point for investors. At the second day of EGYPS2019 the announcement of five onshore and offshore licenses by EGPC, as presented by Egypt’s minister of energy Tarek El Molla, has created a very bright future for the North African oil and gas producer. The success story of the offshore deepwater gas field Zohr, operated by Italian oil major ENI, could be supported further by positive results from current exploration efforts in the offshore Noor field. If expectations are met, a new gas hub could be in the making, combining Cypriot and Israeli production with Egypt’s existing LNG infrastructure.

(Click to enlarge)

The long awaited results of the Egyptian natural gas holding company EGAS were announced on the 12th of February. Dutch oil major Shell was awarded 3 concessions, all crude blocks in sector 7 West Fayoum, sector 9 South East of Horus, and sector 10 South AbuSnan. Italian oil major ENI, currently in the news with regards to its major offshore gas projects Zohr and Noor, was awarded sector 11 East of Siwa, while sector 2 went to the General Petroleum Company, sector 4 to Neptune Energy, and sector 5 North Beni Suef to Merlon International.

With regards to the Egyptian gas prospects, American oil giant ExxonMobil, which hasn’t been very active in Egypt for years, reentered the North African country by winning the north of Amreya Marine Company concession area. The North Sidi Gaber, as well as North El Fanar areas, went to Shell and Petronas. The North West Sherbin concession has been awarded to British oil major BP and Eni.

The re-emergence of major IOC interest should be not underestimated. Egypt’s former rough period, especially during and after the Arabic Spring and the rule of Muslim Brotherhood president Mursi and the military coup shortly after, has had a very negative impact on upstream projects. Most IOCs and independents working in Egypt at the time, were affected by security threats and delayed payments, resulting in a major slowdown in operations. The current success of ENI, and the improving political and security situation seems to have changed the sentiment. Shell and ExxonMobil’s participation could be a game changer.

Cairo’s dreams about becoming an energy hub, and supplying European markets, are once again alive and kicking. Shell’s Egypt Chairman Gasser Hanter reiterated this. Hanter stated at EGYPS2019 that ‘Egypt’s Idku and Damietta LNG export plants are likely to remain the low-cost option for East Mediterranean gas producers looking to export”. He expects that, soon, it will become very clear to the other participants in the East Med that the Egyptian option has the best commercial and strategic factors. The Shell official is very optimistic with regard to the willingness of Israel and Cyprus to consider the Egyptian option. Some developments are expected around the East Mediterranean Gas Forum meeting in March in Cairo. At present, provisional agreements have been signed between Cyprus and Egypt to pipe gas from Cyprus’ field Aphrodite to Egypt. Israel has already a gas export deal with Egypt. The deal was set up by Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings, which expects to import 64 Bcm/year of gas from Israel over a 10-year period. Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek, two prominent producers in the Tamar and Leviathan fields, have agreed to buy a stake in the idled East Mediterranean Gas pipeline. Shell reiterated at EGYPS2019 that the economics of Egypt’s export plants remained compelling, suggesting any other future liquefaction projects in the region may struggle. The underlying economics are clear, as the LNG liquefaction plants in Idku and Damietta already exist, removing the possible multibillion investments needed if choosing other options.

In addition to the IOCs interest, Arab oil & gas company Dana Gas also stated to expect major new discoveries. Dana’s CEO Patrick Allman-Ward stated at EGYPS2019 that his company will start drilling in 2019 in an area it says could become Egypt’s next giant Mediterranean gas field, after seismic data pointed to reserves as large as 20 trillion cubic feet. First drilling operations will be conducted in an area that is expected to hold 406 Tcf. The targeted area is part of the North Arish field, which is located in the East Med.

The year 2019 could become the Red Sea Year, as Egyptian sources indicate that the Egyptian company Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Company (Ganope) is expected soon to launch its delayed bid round for offshore Red Sea. The last days rumors have been floating around, especially after that Egypt’s minister of energy Tarek El Molla indicated a bid round on the 12thof February at EGYPS2019. El Molla stated bluntly that 2019 will be the Red Sea Year. This was also stated by Abed Ezz El Regal, CEO of EGPC. The bid round was expected earlier, but was delayed at the end of 2018 by Ganope.  The Red Sea has become a major focus area for EGPC and others, after that Cairo was able to reach a maritime demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Ganope’s CEO Mohamed Abdul Azim stated that his company is expected to drill nine new wells. Based on the Red Sea geophysical data, which has been acquired lately by a 2D, 10,000 square kilometer survey by Schlumberger, a bid round is expected to be announced within the next days. The prospectivity of the Red Sea is expected to be very interesting, as already shown by several projects on the other side of the sea in Saudi Arabia.

A possible combined effort between Saudi Arabia and Egypt is still in the offing, as some projects could be combined. For sure, Egyptian and Saudi drilling operations could be combined, taking advantage of the growing offshore drilling JVs of bother countries. The ongoing Saudi Aramco-Rowan JV (ARO) at the International Maritime Industries (IMI) Ras Al Khair Shipyard projects, also could be combined with Egyptian parties. Some new builds or upgrades for the Red Sea arena would be feasible to be done in Egyptian shipyards too.

 

Yemen’s Houthis to quit two ports Monday under peace deal: sources

February 24, 2019

By Aziz El Yaakoubi

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian-aligned Houthi forces have agreed to draw back from two Yemeni ports on Monday while withdrawal from the main Hodeidah port will occur later alongside a retreat by coalition-backed forces massed outside the city, U.N. and Yemeni sources said.

Houthi forces will withdraw 5 km (3 miles) from the ports of Saleef, used for grain, and Ras Isa, an oil terminal, as a first step agreed with the internationally recognized government, three sources said.

The Houthi withdrawal from Hodeidah port and the pull-back by coalition forces 1 km away from the city’s “Kilo 7” eastern suburb would take place as a second step, they said.

An orderly troop withdrawal from Hodeidah, now a focus of an almost four-year war, is key to U.N.-led efforts to avert a full-scale assault on the port and pave the way for political negotiations.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The United Nations has been trying to salvage a truce deal agreed at peace talks in December between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government. That process has stalled over who would control of Hodeidah, a Red Sea port used to feed Yemen’s 30 million people.

Hodeidah is held by the Houthis while other Yemeni forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition loyal to ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are positioned on the edges of the city.

Hadi’s top negotiator, Foreign Minister Khalid al-Yamani, said the initial Houthi redeployment must be verified before further progress can be made and humanitarian corridors reopened.

“This is what was agreed by the Yemeni government: we verify the first step before implementing the second,” he told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published on Sunday.

A small team of U.N. observers arrived in Hodeidah after the ceasefire went into effect on Dec. 18 to oversee troop redeployments by both sides.

The deal calls for local authorities to assume control of Hodeidah but did not detail the process, leaving it open to interpretation.

The Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore Hadi’s government after it was ousted from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

The conflict, widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been locked in military stalemate.

The Houthis, who say their revolution is against corruption, control most urban centers including Sanaa. Hadi’s government holds the southern port of Aden and a string of coastal towns.

(Additional reporting by Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Jason Neely)

France calls on Germany to ease arms export rules

February 23, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that Germany should ease its strict arms export rules for countries outside the European Union to strengthen the defense industry.

France has complained that joint arms manufacturing projects are being stalled by Berlin’s refusal to authorize future arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia, a major buyer.

Germany said in November it would reject future arms export licenses to Riyadh over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It has not formally banned previously approved deals but has urged industry to refrain from such shipments for now.

“It is useless to produce weapons through improved cooperation between France and Germany if we are unable to export them,” Le Maire told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

“If you want to be competitive and efficient, we need to be able to export to countries outside Europe,” Le Maire said.

The minister said France also had relatively strict rules for arms exports. “Our hope is that we will come to an agreement with Germany in this crucial point,” Le Maire said.

Germany and France are working on a joint proposal for arms export guidelines to non-European countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in January the EU must deepen cooperation in defense and in particular weapons systems development, warning Germans that they may need to make compromises on strict export controls.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Edmund Blair)

German Government’s “Right to Resist” UK Pressure on Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia

Campaign Against Arms Trade has welcomed the Germany Government’s decision to continue its arms embargo against Saudi Arabia. The ban on arms sales was put in place in 2018, following the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the

The post German Government’s “Right to Resist” UK Pressure on Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia appeared first on Global Research.

‘I was like a prisoner’: Saudi sisters trapped in Hong Kong recall beatings

February 23, 2019

By Anne Marie Roantree

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two sisters from Saudi Arabia who fled the conservative kingdom and have been hiding out in Hong Kong for nearly six months said they did so to escape beatings at the hands of their brothers and father.

The pair, who say they have renounced their Muslim faith, arrived in the Chinese territory from Sri Lanka in September. They say they were prevented from boarding a connecting flight to Australia and were intercepted at the airport by diplomats from Saudi Arabia.

Reuters could not independently verify their story.

Asked about the case, Hong Kong police said they had received a report from “two expatriate women” in September and were investigating, but did not elaborate.

The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong has not responded to repeated requests from Reuters for comment.

The case is the second high-profile example this year of Saudi women seeking to escape their country and spotlights the kingdom’s strict social rules, including a requirement that females seek permission from a male “guardian” to travel.

The sisters, aged 18 and 20, managed to leave Hong Kong airport but consular officials have since revoked their passports, leaving them stranded in the city for nearly six months, their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said.

Vidler, one of the leading activist lawyers in the territory, also confirmed the authenticity of a Twitter account written by the two women describing their plight.

On Saturday, dressed in jeans and wearing sneakers, the softly spoken women described what they said was a repressive and unhappy life at their home in the Saudi capital Riyadh. They said they had adopted the aliases Reem and Rawan, because they fear using their real names could lead to their being traced if granted asylum in a third country.

They posed for pictures but asked their features not be revealed.

Every decision had to be approved by the men in their house, from the clothes they wore to the hairstyle they chose – even the times when they woke and went to sleep, the sisters told Reuters.

“They were like my jailer, like my prison officer. I was like a prisoner,” said the younger sister, Rawan, referring to two brothers aged 24 and 25 as well as her father.

“It was basically modern day slavery. You can’t go out of the house unless someone is with us. Sometimes we will stay for months without even seeing the sun,” the elder sister, Reem, said.

In January, a Saudi woman made global headlines by barricading herself in a Bangkok airport hotel to avoid being sent home to her family. She was later granted asylum in Canada.

“BROTHER BRAINWASHED”

Reem and Rawan said their 10-year-old brother was also encouraged to beat them.

“They brainwashed him,” Rawan said, referring to her older brothers. Although he was only a child, she said she feared her younger brother would become like her older siblings.

The family includes two other sisters, aged five and 12. Reem said she and her sister feel terrible about leaving them, although they “hope their family will get a lesson from this and it might help to change their lives for the better.”

Reem and Rawan decided to escape while on a family holiday in Sri Lanka in September. They had secretly saved around $5,000 since 2016, some of it accumulated by scrimping on items they were given money to buy.

The timing of their escape was carefully planned to coincide with Rawan’s 18th birthday so she could apply for a visitor’s visa to Australia without her parents’ approval.

But what was supposed to be a two-hour stopover in Hong Kong has turned into nearly six months and the sisters are now living in fear that they will be forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia.

They have said they have renounced Islam – a crime punishable by death under the Saudi system of sharia, or Islamic law, although the punishment has not been carried out in recent memory.

The pair say they have changed locations 13 times in Hong Kong, living in hotels, shelters and with individuals who are helping, sometimes staying just one night in a place before moving on to ensure their safety.

Vidler said the Hong Kong Immigration Department told the women their Saudi passports had been invalidated and they could only stay in the city until February 28.

The department has said it does not comment on individual cases.

The sisters have applied for asylum in a third country which they declined to name in a bid keep the information from Saudi authorities and their family.

“We believe that we have the right to live like any other human being,” said Reem, who said she studied English literature in Riyadh and dreams of becoming a writer one day.

Asked what would happen on Feb 28, after which they can no longer legally stay in Hong Kong, the sisters said they had no idea.

“I hope this doesn’t last any longer,” Rawan said.

(Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

FATF says EU dirty money list risks undermining its work

February 22, 2019

PARIS (Reuters) – A European Union blacklist of nations it considers as anti-money laundering and terrorism-financing threats risks undermining the work of the Financial Action Task Force, the body’s head said on Friday.

The FATF is an inter-governmental organization that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing by setting global standards and checking if countries respect them.

The European Commission earlier this month increased the number of countries on its list to 23 from 16, adding Saudi Arabia, Panama and four U.S. territories in a move that was criticized by some EU countries like Britain.

After chairing a FATF meeting in Paris, Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. assistant Treasury Secretary for terrorist financing, said that a number of member countries had expressed “grave concern” about the EU list.

“Black and grey lists are always highly sensitive issues and they have to be handled carefully and they should only be elaborated on a robust and transparent methodology,” he told journalists after the meeting.

He said that the FATF spent tens of thousands of hours working against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and insisted that the body played the “central role” on the issue.

“There are obvious questions as to whether (a) list elaborated outside of the FATF, or without our involvement or help, helps or undermines this leading role of our organization,” he added.

Criteria the European Commission used to blacklist countries include weak sanctions against money laundering and terrorism financing, insufficient cooperation with the EU on the matter and lack of transparency about the beneficial owners of companies and trusts.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough)

Trump Regime Pursuing Nuclear Technology Sales to the Saudis

Saudi Arabia is a fascist dictatorship run in cahoots with religious extremists – the Middle East’s most dangerous regime after Israel. 

Other than nations already with nukes, it’s likely the last regime on earth anti-war activists would want to be

The post Trump Regime Pursuing Nuclear Technology Sales to the Saudis appeared first on Global Research.

The Ultimate Tool To Prop Up Oil Prices

Submitted by Peter Verleger of OilPrice.com

In the late sixties, an economic debate began between East Coast economics departments (saltwater universities) and midwestern colleges (freshwater universities). Milton Friedman, the spokesperson for the freshwater universities, made the claim that “money mattered.” Others in the Midwest took this perspective and ran with it to the point where they asserted that “only money mattered.”

Friedman made his point to take on the Keynesians at the saltwater institutions, who for decades had argued it was deficit spending that determined economic activity. Monetary issues tended to be ignored in the standard Keynesian model. If asked, proponents would assert that “liquidity” traps essentially made monetary actions useless.

The debate was eventually resolved, at least partially, when Friedman, Paul Samuelson, and Robert Solow (all Nobel laureates) discussed the issue at MIT and several other locations. Their conclusion at the time was that “money matters.” This did not mean that deficit spending did not matter, as the Republican Congress that just ended has clearly demonstrated. However, monetary policy is important.

In the same way, oil price volatility matters. To drive the point home, see Figure 1, which compares daily Brent prices to the CBOE’s oil price volatility index. The graph presents 1,274 observations. One does not need a computer, a statistics degree, or a Ph.D. in econometrics to understand that low values of volatility are associated with high prices and high values with low prices.

Figure 2 shows the relationship between WTI prices and the same volatility index. Again, the results are clear. High prices are associated with low price volatility and low prices with high volatility. Volatility alone explains forty percent of the day-to-day variation in WTI prices from 2014 to 2019 in a model where adjustments are made to remove autocorrelation.

The same results are obtained for Dubai crude, even though it is delivered halfway around the world. The long arm of US markets reaches the Persian Gulf. As can be seen from Figure 3, the relationship is essentially identical to those for Brent and WTI. CBOE volatility explains forty percent of the variance in Dubai crude prices, just as it explains the movement of Brent and WTI prices.

These data make it clear that oil-exporting countries seeking higher prices need to reduce volatility. Simply meeting and talking about production cuts no longer seems to be enough. Perhaps investors or speculators hearing the talk no longer believe anything will be done. It is even possible that some participants hear the talk and sell futures or buy puts, betting against OPEC or OPEC+. Their actions boost volatility and drive prices down.

The independent oil producers developing U.S. shale production, as well as participating in offshore developments such as in Guyana, are also affected by price volatility. Take, for example, the impact of price volatility on the share price of Hess, an independent producer, that I show in Figure 4.

In a statistical test in which I regressed the day-to-day change in share price, I found that, since July 1, 2018, changes in volatility explain ninety-seven percent of the variance in the Hess share price. The managers at Hess clearly need to suppress price volatility to boost their share value.

John Hess, Hess’ CEO, has not yet recognized the importance of volatility. (Perhaps he will read of my observation in some report.) Instead, he believes the oil industry needs to hire publicists, as he explained at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:

“How do you get the hearts and minds of investors back? That is a real challenge for our industry,” said John Hess, the founder of independent U.S. producer Hess Corp.

He said investor frustration with the oil industry was manifested by the fact that the share of energy companies in the S&P index had shrunk to 5.5 percent from 16 percent 10 years ago.

“We will have to compete against other industries in the S&P to create the value proposition that makes us more attractive. A new paradigm is coming up which is to generate free cash and share some of this cash with investors,” he said.

Hess later added that “we [oil firms] need to engage with policymakers and the public to understand the huge task we have ahead.” He and other executives from major oil companies pointed to the billions they believe must be invested in exploration and production.

I note first that the Hess share price has declined twenty-one percent from its peak in August 2014. In part, the decline can be explained by the last line of Mr. Hess’ statement, that is, the company has shared some of its free cash with investors. The company’s dividend yield has been put at 1.75 percent. This would be significantly higher if the firm shared more cash with investors and drilled less. ExxonMobil shares yield 4.3 percent, for example, while the dividend yield on Chevron is four percent.

The simple fact is that Hess seems not to be offering investors an attractive reward. However, the firm’s problems go beyond cash-flow generation. At Davos, Hess, executives from other major oil companies, and OPEC secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo all bemoaned the industry’s inability to attract investors. As Figure 5 illustrates, the share of oil companies in the S&P 500 has declined steadily from the sixteen-percent peak achieved in 2008. Investors are just not attracted to oil.

I doubt many readers believe that Hess, the oil industry as a group, or even the oil industry acting in cooperation with OPEC can change investor views through a public relations campaign. Such efforts are almost always counterproductive unless accompanied by other actions.

There is also little likelihood that policymakers will be convinced to do much “to address the huge task [oil firms have] ahead.” Oil producers and the oil industry are on their own.

There is something, though, that oil-producing countries or even states such as Texas and provinces such as Alberta could do to address the investor issue. Even companies acting alone to avoid violating antitrust statutes could help. All they need do is take steps to lower price volatility.

Let me repeat that statement. Oil producers, oil states, and oil provinces with an interest in higher oil prices can reach this goal by lowering oil price volatility, which they can achieve by intervening in the market to slow price declines or increases.

Over the last forty-five years, oil ministers from OPEC, and now other producers who have joined their efforts to manage the market, have operated on the belief that they can move the market by issuing statements on production and export decisions after their sporadic meetings. For example, in November 2018, Saudi oil minister Khalid al Falih said, “We need to do whatever it takes to balance the oil market” in a talk he gave a month before an OPEC meeting. The minister likely expected markets to respond positively the day after this pronouncement. In this case, though, prices were down another seven percent within a week.

The story would have been very different had Minister al-Falih or other Saudi officials stepped in and purchased oil. Saudi Arabia could have bought back a cargo scheduled to load if the original buyer agreed. Alternatively, Saudi Arabia could have acquired oil on the Dubai spot market. For that matter, Saudi Arabia could have purchased a cargo of Brent or WTI. All that was needed was an action that took oil off the market.

An easier, quicker tactic would be to buy oil in the futures markets. Indeed, a government purchase of a relatively small number of futures would have stopped the price decline cold. The action would be equivalent to buying physical oil but could occur instantaneously. The price decrease would have been arrested rapidly if these purchases were followed by an agreement to cut supply.

Today, those interested in stabilizing prices—such as ministers from oil-exporting nations—need to recognize their words have little or no impact unless they are accompanied by immediate actions such as canceling shipments or selling physical oil from stockpiles. Oil markets, particularly futures markets, have grown to a point where traders can add or subtract the equivalent of one day’s global consumption, one hundred million barrels, to or from supply in a minute. Furthermore, these volumes are backed by cash held at the world’s major financial institutions.

In less than one month, representatives from the world oil industry will reconvene at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston. The topic raised by John Hess in Davos will likely be one of the most important subjects discussed. If the executives gathered in Houston actually want to see higher prices, though, they would focus on a price-stabilization program. The futures markets should be seen as a tool that could help them reach their goal.

“Consequences for NATO”: Germany Rebuffs UK Call To Back Off Saudi Arms Freeze

Germany is feeling the pressure from western allies over its weapons exports freeze in the wake of the Saudi killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a freeze first announced in November, which included plans to reject any future export licences to Riyadh, but not previously approved deals. 

German allies like the UK have lately implored the German government to soften its stance, noting the potential broader economic impact on Europe. British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, currently in Berlin to discuss the terms of Brexit, reportedly wrote to the German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, in a private letter first revealed by Der Spiegel that UK defense companies would be hindered in contractual obligations related to Eurofighter Typhoon and the Tornado fighter jet delivery, namely to supply parts affected by the German arms freeze. 

F-5E J-3065 and Eurofighter Typhoon. Image source: Eurofighter Gmbh-Austrian AF

Hunt told Maas in the letter published in German press: “I am very concerned about the impact of the German government’s decision on the British and European defence industry and the consequences for Europe’s ability to fulfil its Nato commitments.”

This follows comments by German chancellor Angela Merkel at the past weekend’s Munich Security Conference acknowledging the need for “common export controls guidelines” across Europe. She said during a question-and-answer session after her speech at the conference:

We have because of our history very good reasons to have very strict arms export guidelines, but we have just as good reasons in our defense community to stand together in a joint defense policy. And if we want … to develop joint fighter planes, joint tanks, then there’s no other way but to move step-by-step towards common export controls guidelines.

However, German Economy Ministry spokeswoman indicated that no change was imminent when questioned by Reuters. “The view of the government is clear and there is no new situation. There is at the moment no basis for further approvals,” she said.

Germany has further said the decision to halt new arms sales is connected to the worsening humanitarian catastrophe still unfolding in Yemen, led by the Saudis and its gulf and US/UK allies. 

On Wednesday Mass reaffirmed while speaking to reporters following the meeting with Hunt: “We are not delivering any weapons to Saudi Arabia at the moment and we will make future decisions depend on how the Yemen conflict develops and whether what has been agreed in the peace talks in Stockholm is being implemented,” according to Reuters

Interestingly, the UK also appears ready to play the Russia and China card, warning Germany that Riyadh could turn to Russia and Chinese defense companies should Europe prove an unwilling partner. 

But the most pressing and immediate UK concern remains the pending jet deal. Reuters notes that this week’s meeting in Berlin “followed complaints last week from a top Airbus official who told Reuters that the halt was preventing Britain from completing the sale of 48 Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes to Riyadh. He said the issue was also affecting potential sales of other weapons such as the A400M military transporter.”

The four countries involved in the production of the Eurofighter include Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, involving the companies Airbus, BAE and Italy’s Leonardo.

Iran’s Rouhani says U.S. sanctions are ‘terrorist act’

February 20, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday relations with the United States had rarely been so bad and that sanctions imposed by the Trump administration targeting Tehran’s oil and banking sectors amounted to “a terrorist act”.

Animosity between Washington and Tehran – bitter foes since Iran’s 1979 revolution – has intensified since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from an international nuclear deal with Tehran last May and reimposed sanctions lifted under the accord.

“The struggle between Iran and America is currently at a maximum. America has employed all its power against us,” Rouhani was quoted as saying in a cabinet meeting by the state broadcaster IRIB.

“The U.S. pressures on firms and banks to halt business with Iran is one hundred percent a terrorist act,” he said.

Trump has reimposed the sanctions with the aim of slashing Iranian oil sales and choking its economy in order to curb its ballistic missile program and its activities in the Middle East, especially in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

HYPOCRISY

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of hypocrisy for trying to wreck Iran’s nuclear program while seeking to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s regional rival.

“Neither human rights nor the nuclear program are the real concern of the U.S. First a dismembered journalist; now illicit sale of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia fully expose #USHypocrisy,” Zarif said in a tweet.

He was referring to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which triggered international revulusion. His body has not been found.

The CIA has said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely ordered the killing, which Riyadh denies. Trump has stood by the prince, saying weapons sales to Saudi Arabia are an important source of U.S. jobs.

U.S. Democratic lawmakers alleged in a report released Tuesday that a proposed transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia was being fast-tracked around a mandatory approval process.

Unlike the United States, European powers are working to preserve the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran. But France has said it is ready to reimpose sanctions on Iran if no progress is made in talks over its ballistic missile program.

In a clear reaction to French pressure, Rouhani said: “We want a constructive interaction with the world, but the countries that work with us should not have excessive demands. Iran is firm in its stance and will act based on its national interests.”

Iran has said its missile program is purely defensive.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Who’s Behind the Attacks in Iran? Pakistan Has to Choose Between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Historically, Pakistan has no feud with Iran and the latter was the first to recognize Pakistan when it gained independence in 1947, but siding with Saudi Arabia will keep Iran at arm’s length from Pakistan. A terrorist attack targeted a

The post Who’s Behind the Attacks in Iran? Pakistan Has to Choose Between Saudi Arabia and Iran appeared first on Global Research.

Kalashnikov Unveils Kamikaze Drone At IDEX-2019

Russian assault and sniper rifle manufacturer Kalashnikov Group, a Rostec subsidiary, has unveiled a new high-precision suicide drone, called the KYB UAV, on Sunday at the IDEX-2019 arms exhibition in the United Arab Emirates.

The new drone is equipped with GPS, allows it to precisely hits ground targets, delivering a small warhead to target coordinates.

“This is a very accurate and most effective weapon, which is very difficult to fight with using traditional air defense systems, said Sergey Chemezov, head of Rostec.

“The explosive can be delivered to target regardless of how well hidden it is. It operates ‘regardless of hidden terrains, at both high and low altitude,” he added.

According to the presentation shown at the Kalashnikov booth, the KYB drone can travel at speeds of 50-80 miles per hour, with a 6.6-pound warhead and flight duration of up to 30 minutes.

A video shows the takeoff, flight, and destruction of the target with a KUB-BLA, a slight variant of the KYB

“The drone was successfully tested and ready to go,” Rostec representatives told TASS during IDEX-2019.

Russia also claimed that is has started shipping Kalashnikov AK103, a third generation assault rifle, to Saudi Arabia under an arms deal signed between the two countries in 2017.

In the drone age, both US and Russia should fear the global proliferation of weaponized UAVs. More importantly, Russia strapping a small warhead to a drone that looks like it can be purchased on Amazon, suggests that small, weaponized drones on the modern battlefield will be the most feared military hardware in the next major conflict.

Warsaw And Munich: Whistling Past NATO’s Graveyard

Authored by Tom Luongo,

If the Anti-Iran conference in Warsaw was the opening act, the annual Munich Security Conference was the main event. Both produced a lot of speeches, grandstanding and virtue-signaling, as well as a lot of shuffling of feet and looking at the ground.

The message from the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia was clear, “We are still committed to the destruction of Syria as a functional state to end the growing influence of Iran.”

Europe, for the most part, doesn’t buy that argument anymore. Germany certainly doesn’t. France is only interested in how they can curry favor with the U.S. to wrest control of the EU from Germany. The U.K. is a hopeless has-been, living on Deep State inertia and money laundered through City of London.

The Poles just want to stick it to the Russians.

Everyone else has a bad case of, “been there, done that, ain’t doin’ it again.”

They know supporting the fiction that the War in Syria was a war against the evil President Bashar al-Assad is counter-productive.

The geopolitical landscape is changing quickly. And these countries, like Hungary, Italy, and the Czech Republic, know that the current policy trajectory of the Trump administration vis a vis Russia, Iran and China is a suicide pact for them.

So they show up when called, receive our ‘diplomats’ and then pretty much ignore everything they said. This is what happened, ultimately, in Munich.

Even the EU leadership has no illusions about the goals of the U.S./Israeli/Saudi policy on Syria. And that’s why they refused to shut Russia and Iran out of the Munich Security Conference despite the hyperventilating of Pompeo’s amateur-hour State Dept.

The Syria Hangover

These countries are struggling with the after-effects of eight years of war displacing millions who Angela Merkel invited into Europe for her own political purposes.

The resultant chaos now threatens every major political power center in Europe, which could culminate in a Euroskeptic win at the European Parliamentary elections in May.

Continuing on this road will only lead to Russia, Iran, Turkey and China forming a bloc with India to challenge the economic and political might of the West over the next two decades.

So it was no surprise to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu glad-handing looking for support to beam back home for his re-election campaign.

It was also no surprise to see NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg grovel at the feet of the U.S. over the shared mission because he knows that’s where the gravy flows from.

But there was no statement of purpose coming out of Munich after two days of talks. Warsaw already set the stage for that. Vice-President Mike Pence fell completely flat as the substitute Trump. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looked sad and confused as to why no one applauded him for his cheap and empty rhetoric about how evil Iran is.

The Syria operation was put together by the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar with the expressed purpose of creating a failed state of ungoverned fiefdoms. Syria was to be carved up piecemeal with a great land grab for all major partners getting a piece.

Israel gets a buffer zone east of the Golan Heights, Turkey gets Idlib, Afrin and Aleppo. The Kurds get everything east of the Euphrates. And Europe gets pipelines from the Arabian peninsula.

Meanwhile Iran loses Syria and Lebanon, Russia gets pushed out of the European gas market (along with the putsch in Ukraine) and the center of the country is a hot mess of terrorism which can be exported all around the region and further directed against Russia and Iran.

It all looked so good on paper.

But, as I’ve described multiple times, it was an operation built on perception and the false premise that no one would stand up to it.

In came Russia in October 2015 and the rest, unfortunately for the neocons, is just a chase scene.

Sanctions Cut Both Ways

Because for Europe, once it became clear what the costs would be to continue this project, there was little to no incentive to do so. That’s why they sued for peace with Iran by negotiating the JCPOA.

For every MAGApede and Fox News neocon who excoriates Obama for giving Iran $150 billion dollars (of their own money back which we stole) I remind you that it was Obama in 2012 that signed the sanctions which froze that money in the first place.

The JCPOA was signed because in 2014 the Syria operation looked like it was on auto-pilot to success. Iran could have their money back because it wouldn’t matter. They would be vassals and the money wouldn’t buy them anything of substance.

It was Russia and China’s making the move into Syria that changed that calculus.

That’s why the only ones who keep pushing for this balkanization strategy are the ones who still stand to gain from it. The U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel. It was clear in Munich that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the man everyone wanted to talk to.

Everyone has cut bait. Even the Saudis are hedging their best cozying up to Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. still needs to project power globally to support the dollar and its obscene fiscal debauchery. Israel is staring at a future in which its myriad enemies have won and the Saudis need to rule the Sunni Arab world by leading them in a war against Iran.

The Warsaw Summit was a triumph only insofar as the U.S. can still call its allies to attention and they’ll do so. But that’s about it. But it was clear at Munich that Europe isn’t buying what the U.S. is selling about its relationship anymore.

It’s an not only an abusive one with Trump applying maximal economic pressure but also a wholly unrealistic one. Foreign policy midgets like Pompeo and Pence were literally pleading with everyone to not undermine their latest plan to make the world safe for Israel and Trump’s moronic Energy Dominance plan.

Whistling in Munich

In the end, the whole Munich affair looked like a bunch of people gathering to whistle past the graveyard of the fraying post-WWII institutional order. Trump wants Europe to pay for NATO so we don’t but Europe doesn’t want NATO on Trump’s terms which put them in the cross-hairs of his power play with Russia and China over the INF treaty.

Putin has built a version of fortress Russia that is for all practical purposes impregnable, short-of an all-out nuclear conflict which no one except maybe the most ideologically possessed in D.C. and Tel Aviv wants.

The naysayers have had their day but the weapons unveiled by Putin at last March’s State of the Union address changed the board state in a way that requires different tactics. I said so last March and it identified a shift narrative for all of us as to what Putin’s long-game was.

These new weapons represent a state change in weapons technology but, at the same time, are cheap deterrents to further escalation.  They fit within Russia’s budget, again limited by demographic and, as I pointed out in a recent article, domestic realities

…[They highlight] we’re not winning in technology.  So, all we can do is employ meat-grinder policies and force Russia and her allies to spend money countering the money we spend.

It’s a game that hollows everyone out.  And it’s easier for Putin to sell the defensive nature of his position to Russians than it is to sell our backing Al-Qaeda and ISIS to defeat them.  Because that reality has broken through the barrier to it.

And that’s why Europe is so unwilling to go along with Trump on the INF Treaty, Iranian regime change and even his Arab NATO plan. They are the ones being asked to be on the front lines, pay for and fight a war against their best interests.

And that’s why no one was willing to join the latest ‘coalition of the willing’ in Munich to perpetuate the conflict in Asia. They’ll go along with Trump’s plans in Venezuela, it doesn’t cost them anything strategically.

But even Merkel knows that in light of the events of the past three and a half years, the right move for Europe is to cut a deal with Russia and Iran while keeping their head down as the U.S. loses its mind.

*  *  *

To support more work like this and get access to exclusive commentary, stock picks and analysis tailored to your needs join my more than 235 Patrons on Patreon and see if I have what it takes to help you navigate a world going slowly mad. 

Pompeo to visit Kuwait next month, says Kuwait’s deputy foreign minister

February 17, 2019

CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Kuwait next month to hold the third round of strategic dialogue between the two countries, Kuwait’s state news agency quoted the deputy foreign minister, Khaled Al-Jarallah, as saying on Sunday.

Pompeo visited several Arab capitals in January, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in part to reassure allies after President Donald Trump said he would start withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria. He had to cut a short his Middle East trip to return to the United States for a family funeral.

(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Writing by Hesham Hajali; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Saudi crown prince heads for Pakistan amid India tensions

February 17, 2019

By Drazen Jorgic

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday at the start of his tour of South Asia and China, but the visit risks being overshadowed by escalating tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.

The trip comes days after a suicide bomber killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in the disputed Kashmir region. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of having a hand in the bombing and vowed to punish Islamabad, which denies involvement.

Prince Mohammed had also planned to visit Indonesia and Malaysia during the tour, but those trips have been postponed, according to Malaysian and Indonesian officials. No reasons for the postponements or alternative tour dates were given.

The tour is seen as a attempt by the crown prince to rebuild his reputation after the murder of Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, analysts say. Many in the West blamed Prince Mohammed for the killing, which triggered the kingdom’s biggest political crisis for a generation. He has denied being involved.

Cash-strapped and in need of friends, Pakistan is welcoming the crown prince with open arms for a visit during which he is expected to sign investment agreements worth more than $10 billion.

Saudi Arabia has in recent months helped keep Pakistan’s economy afloat by propping up its rapidly dwindling foreign exchange reserves with a $6 billion loan, giving Islamabad breathing room as it negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Analysts say the crown prince’s trip is being treated by Islamabad as the biggest state visit since Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, soon after Beijing announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure in Pakistan as part of China’s global Belt and Road initiative.

The visit marks a deepening in ties between allies whose relationship has in the past centered on oil-rich Saudi Arabia backing Pakistan’s economy during difficult periods, and in return Pakistan’s powerful army lending support to Saudi Arabia and its royal family.

As the guardians of most holy sites in the birthplace of Islam, the Saudi royal family carries vast religious clout in Pakistan, a staunchly conservative and mainly-Muslim nation of 208 million people.

“What is happening in this relationship is a renewal of Pakistan’s commitment to help protect the royal family and the order as it exists in Saudi Arabia,” said Mosharraf Zaidi, Senior Fellow at Tabadlab, a Pakistani think tank focused on global and local public policy.

“On the flip side, there is reassurance that Saudi Arabia will not only continue to serve as a strategic friend who will help shore up Pakistan’s finances when needed, but it’s also going to become a participant in the wider investment in Pakistan.”

Pakistan is shutting down its airspace and has stepped up security in Islamabad for the crown prince, who is set to become the first guest to stay at the Prime Minister’s House. Pakistan’s new populist premier, Imran Khan, has refused to use the residence in a bid to save taxpayers’ money.

Pakistani hopes for further investment opportunities from Saudi Arabia were dealt a blow on Saturday when the government announced the Pak-Saudi Business Conference had been “postponed”.

Pakistani officials have already flagged up that Saudi Arabia will announce eight investment agreements, including a $10 billion refinery and petrochemicals complex in the coastal city of Gwadar, where China is building a port.

But the crown prince’s arrival comes amid a vow by India to isolate Pakistan internationally following the deadliest attack in Kashmir in decades.

New Delhi is demanding Islamabad act against the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group, which it says has the backing of the Pakistani state, over the bombing. Islamabad denies playing a role and has called for an investigation.

In Islamabad, the crown prince is expected to meet Khan and Pakistan’s army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa.

He was also set to meet representatives of the Afghan Taliban militant group to discuss peace negotiations to end the 17-year civil war in Afghanistan, Pakistani government and militant sources said.

But that is now in doubt after the Taliban’s planned meeting with Khan, also set for Sunday, was called off at the last minute, Taliban sources said.

One senior Taliban figure who had arrived in Islamabad for the talks said the group has been told the meeting with Prince Mohammed may be “canceled or readjusted”.

(Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad; Editing by Nick Macfie, Sam Holmes and Mark Potter)

Google, Apple APPROVE Saudi app that tracks women as slaves owned by their husbands, but bans independent media apps for being “offensive”

(Natural News) A digital tracking app that allows Muslim males who live in Saudi Arabia to keep track of their female “property” in real time is reportedly approved and available for download in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store – even as independent media outlets like Infowars and even Natural News that challenge…
We Are Change TV.US