National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss a rail project that would link Middle East countries and extend to India via seaports, Axios reported.
The national security advisors from India and the UAE were expected to join the meeting on Sunday. Announcing his trip to the region, Sullivan said he would meet with his Saudi, Indian, and Emirate counterparts to discuss a “new area of cooperation” but didn’t specify it was a rail project.
“This can help us carry forward some very tangible initiatives that we think will be unlike anything we have seen in the region in recent years,” Sullivan said.
The rail project is something the US wants to push to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the region. It was first discussed at a forum known as I2U2, which includes the US, Israel, the UAE, and India.
The Axios report said Israel was not part of the rail initiative but could be added to it in the future if Israel normalizes ties with Saudi Arabia.
A US official told Axios that Sullivan would discuss Saudi-Israeli normalization while in Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh appears to be more focused on repairing relations with Iran. CIA Director William Burns recently visited Riyadh and said the US was “blindsided” by the Saudi efforts to normalize with Iran and Syria.
Rail project? Where? From UAE to India? From UAE to Saudi Arabia? Ninw of it makes sense. Priority to all Arabian countrues us to link to Iran. From Iran, tgere are existing rail links throughout Asia and to Europe. Sunce Europe is cutting itself off from Asia, it is imperative for Arabian peninsula to beclinked to Asia. And Iran is already a link — major rail and road connections across Pakistan, Indiz to Thailand. Accross Central Asia to Russia and China. To be meaningful, US investment in infrastructure will have to kunk up to existing transport nodes. But it is not likely — but for as ling as it remains isilolated project — it will nit benefit the region.
It makes perfect sense , the fastest way to move a army is by rail and the yanks would have total control of it.
What a joke ?
Americans peddling a rail project in Middle East, what has the World come to. Weapons and coups are the number one export of American administrations. This is major letdown after the successful revenue stream known as Ukraine for the military industrial complex.
Not really. “Rail project” seems pretty obviously the cover for some kind of very big Washington/Israel offer she can’t refuse. As you point out the business of Washington is “weapons & coups”.
HAHAHA! The USA is so sad that the Saudis have woken up to the reduced value of the USA for any reason. Now the USA pretends it helps with infrastructure and outdoes the Chinese, who don’t tell other countries how to live.
A rail project ? , probably the same rail project the Brits had in India in the days of Empire the rail project was sold as being for the people in fact it`s purpose was to get the plunder to the ports faster and used to move the military faster to trouble spots ie those who wanted the Brits out , people need to remember this the yanks do nothing that dosen`t benefit them the most , hope fully the Arabs will know this.
US should rebuild rails in the US.
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That’s a good list of the High-Speed Railway lines in the US, i.e. none, whereas China has 25,000 miles of HSR.
Americans have to sacrifice to make the world safe for corp. profits abroad.
The US is a day late and a dollar short.
Dec 22, 2022
Chinese HSR technology shines in Saudi Arabia’s desert
Rail project? Nonsense. It is only cover. He is going there to plead with Saudis on behalf of Israel to join Abraham accords. Now that Saudis has discovered their clout, hope he will get a hard kick on his face, as Israel would do frequently.
And plead that they don’t normalize with Iran.
Is Sullivan directing the project by offering his free advice or investing?
(I bet it’s the first, along with a threat to use U.S. companies for the project)
I’m genuinely surprised that MBS is meeting Sullivan.
Like Biden, Hillary Clinton’s shoeshine boy has directly smeared MBS and the Saudi government.
It’s incredible how even now Biden, Sullivan, Blinken etc. still seem to have no idea how much they are despised in Saudi Arabia (and many other nations).
Anyway, if MBS met Sullivan it would have been a very short meeting out of courtesy – and that’s it.
I dunno. Nothing that unusual about two terror kingpins both despising each other AND cooperating with each other.
That is true. My point was more that Biden and his clowns burned all leverage the US had, just at a time when DC needed that leverage to keep the Saudis either on side (or at least on the fence) vis a vis China.
They nuked the relationship. And so the Saudis have chosen Beijing. There’s no going back.
It’s yet another disastrous situation that was created by Obama/Biden and their trainwreck administration.
Well, there was another trainwreck administration in between there that didn’t help any.
Maybe. But nothing is as bad as this one.
How hard did Saudi laugh at him?
Back to the days of Chancellor Bismarck! Berlin-Istanbul-Damscus and on. That got him into trouble with GB. If this alleged plan is real it will get us into trouble with China and India.
False cover story…! Saudis are perfectly capable of building their own railroad and do not need US century old flawed rail system…!
The US is pushing a railroad from Saudi Arabia to India??? Such a railroad would have to go through Iran.
It is hilarious that the US government wants to promote a rail system in Saudi Arabia, while systematically destroying the rail system in the US.
Did the article say who is paying for the system? wonder how much bribery and tax funds will go into the plan? And, how does Israel fit into the mix??