White House and State Department officials are scrambling to do damage control today after the weekend Saudi execution of top Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which they fear could escalate sectarian tensions and create problems in efforts to kick-start Syrian peace talks.
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia were already an obstacle to the efforts, and US officials confirmed they’d warned the Saudis against executing Nimr explicitly because it was going to deepen the sectarian divide and imperil the process.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest appeared a bit annoyed on that count, saying the Saudis have “precipitated the kinds of consequences that we were concerned about.” He urged both sides to show restraint to avoid making the situation any worse.
But from the Saudi perspective, “worse” seems to be exactly what they’re shooting for. Internal memos show that, not only were the Saudis warned by the US about the consequences of executing Nimr, but that they had internal memos warning of the situation and even cancelled some planned holidays to be ready for the backlash the executions would cause.
Analysis in the New York Times went so far as to suggest the Saudis executed Nimr specifically to provoke a reaction from Iran that they could exploit, and are trying to parlay Iranian criticism of the killing into more anti-Iran sentiment.
So far the US media is biting, but the US government is not, and the administration is too focused on trying to clean up the mess the Saudis have created to be mistaken about who made the mess in the first place, and how.
Saudi Arabia/ISIS/Israel has lost the plot and since NATO didn't come to Erdogan's aid after Turkey shot down the Russian Jets it should be abundantly clear to al-Jubeir that he has Buckley's chance the US will fight another war to protect Saudi's Oil.
Blair and Cameron are already being blackmailed by the Saudis so al-Jubeir thinks he will "divide and imperil the Syrian Peace process" widening the conflict and ensnaring Obama, who has made it abundantly clear the US is not embarking on another WW while he is in office.
Whose afraid of the big, bad Turkey? The premise is that Turkey asked for NATO aid and it was refused. Since Putin didn't attack Turkey, he merely snarled and threatened but then capitulated, it's hard to see what help Turkey might have needed as regards Putin. What Putin's reaction did prove though is that he's scared silly of getting into a fight with a NATO country and that when his air force goes up against a NATO air force, it loses. That that's scaring the pro-Putin camp is unsurprising.
You'd have loved a HItler or Stalin-type aggressor.. They weren't "scared silly" at all. What is it with you, that you are so anti-Russian?
It's irrelevant and the yanks know it. The Saudis will never rest until they have a wahahbi regime in Damascus. We are entering a crucial phase with a heavily armed dangerous Saudi theocracy spoiling for a showdown to take out Iran. The question are – What will the US do? What will the Israelis do? What will the Russians and Chinese do? if that happens?
January 4th, 2016 Donald Trump called Obama & Clinton "the True Creators of ISIS"
The candidate for US presidency from the Republican party, Donald trump, stated that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have created the group "Islamic State". Clinton, who earlier held the post of Secretary of State, which is the most likely presidential candidate of the Democratic party, and Trump continuously exchange attacks against each other.
http://fortruss.blogspot.ru/2016/01/donald-trump-…
Everyone who took part in the USSA Middle east adventure since 9/11 is responsible for creating ISIS – Saudi-Israelia, AmeriKan neocons, the State Dept & intelligence agencies, London, the GCC pukes, etc – plenty of blame to go around. WTF did these morons think would happen when you: a) removed a dictator(s) by force and b) pretended that a western-style democracy (under guidance by US/UK stooges) would be an immediate panacea.
Hebrew overarching narrative from Bush to Obama regimes – they didn't get enough chaos from the rape of Iraq and Afganistan that they continued on with Libya and Syria (though covertly so they could wring their hands with faux concern from afar over ISIS)
Thank you, and I am very aware of this. Get it straight from one of the Generals himself.
General Wesley Clark: Wars Were Planned – Seven Countries In Five Years
"This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran." I said, "Is it classified?" He said, "Yes, sir." I said, "Well, don't show it to me." And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, "You remember that?" He said, "Sir, I didn't show you that memo! I didn't show it to you!"
https://youtu.be/9RC1Mepk_Sw
General Wesley Clark Asked About 7 Country War Plan
https://youtu.be/_pGkFMho6Co
The ISIS fight is a proxy war against Saudi Arabia and the Sunnis. We should side with Iran against the funders and armers of ISIS./
A more likely scenario is that ISIS will ally with Saudi Arabia,Turkey and the US against Iran, Assad and Putin. A clarification of the present "everybody fighting everybody" situation has to come sooner or later anyway. ISIS agrees to abstain from attacks in the EU and North America and is turned loose on Putin in the Caucasus. Both the US and ISIS (and, indeed, Israel) have everything to gain from such an arrangement and nothing to lose.
Wouldn't that make us "terrorists", and anti-freedom hypocrites, allying with the beheaders and the genocide-commtting Turks? Of course it would. What ever happened to that "shining city on the hill", and Reagan's words of "America is great because America is good. When America is no longer good, America will no longer be great?" Ronald Reagan wouldn't recognize the aggressive America of the past 25 years. They'd call him an appeaser for withdrawing the military forces out of Lebanon after the Marine barracks bombing.
"White House and State Department officials are scrambling to do damage control today after the weekend Saudi execution of top Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which they fear could escalate sectarian tensions and create problems in efforts to kick-start Syrian peace talks."
I don't think so. I think US neocons ordered the Saudis to carry out the executions to foment more unrest in the ME.