Saudi Arabia General Discussion Thread: Purge Time with Finn and Jake

[Gass3268]

Turkey planning on moving troops to Qatar

[DavidB.]

Wow, my opinion of Saudi Arabia is only going up! And without Trump these positive developments likely would not have happened.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Wow, my opinion of Saudi Arabia is only going up! And without Trump these positive developments likely would not have happened.

well, you know as well as all of us, that the hamas/terrorist-subterfuge is only feint.

mostly this is making another arab war more likely, imho.

[DavidB.]

Wow, my opinion of Saudi Arabia is only going up! And without Trump these positive developments likely would not have happened.

well, you know as well as all of us, that the hamas/terrorist-subterfuge is only feint.

Of course, but the diplomatic conflict is real. As long as these countries focus themselves on each other they don't focus themselves on Israel.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Wow, my opinion of Saudi Arabia is only going up! And without Trump these positive developments likely would not have happened.

well, you know as well as all of us, that the hamas/terrorist-subterfuge is only feint.

Of course, but the diplomatic conflict is real. As long as these countries focus themselves on each other they don't focus themselves on Israel.

And if one of them actually manages to unite the Sunni Arabs? That has to be Israel's worst nightmare right now given how its current policies assume the Arabs will always remain divided and thus not pose an existential threat to Israel.

[DavidB.]

And if one of them actually manages to unite the Sunni Arabs? That has to be Israel's worst nightmare right now given how its current policies assume the Arabs will always remain divided and thus not pose an existential threat to Israel.

Israel's policies assume none of that, they know better. But at this point it is less likely than ever for Jordan and Egypt to seek a conflict with Israel (intelligence cooperation goes rather deep, especially with Jordan), Qatar are Sunnis themselves, and uniting all Sunni Arabs is about as likely as uniting all Slavs.

[TDAS04]

Oman and Kuwait will probably maintain relations with Qatar, especially Oman.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I really can't add anything to the discussion that tops this.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

And if one of them actually manages to unite the Sunni Arabs? That has to be Israel's worst nightmare right now given how its current policies assume the Arabs will always remain divided and thus not pose an existential threat to Israel.

Israel's policies assume none of that, they know better. But at this point it is less likely than ever for Jordan and Egypt to seek a conflict with Israel (intelligence cooperation goes rather deep, especially with Jordan), Qatar are Sunnis themselves, and uniting all Sunni Arabs is about as likely as uniting all Slavs.

I imagine the Habsburgs thought much the same. It doesn't mean that even a temporary unity wouldn't pose a threat to Israel. And its policies do very much assume that Israel will remain the most powerful country in the region forever. If they didn't, then the policy of turning the Arab portions of the West Bank into a bunch of fragmented Bantustans would make no sense. While that's not the officially stated policy, it is the effect of Israel's current settlement policy.

As for relations with Jordan, the Hashemites are always having to tread carefully due to its shaky economic circumstances.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Oman and Kuwait will probably maintain relations with Qatar, especially Oman.

Oman is bit like Switzerland of the Arab world in a sense they're more or less staying away from regional dramas, notably Yemen and now Qatar. For years Oman, due to its good relations with both the U.S. and Iran, served as a middle ground where the two sides could communicate discreetly.

[Tintrlvr]

Oman and Kuwait will probably maintain relations with Qatar, especially Oman.

Oman is bit like Switzerland of the Arab world in a sense they're more or less staying away from regional dramas, notably Yemen and now Qatar. For years Oman, due to its good relations with both the U.S. and Iran, served as a middle ground where the two sides could communicate discreetly.

Also, being neither Sunni nor Shia, Oman does not have a bone to pick in the theological conflicts.

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-ashcroft-idUSKBN1910T6

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[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-ashcroft-idUSKBN1910T6

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They would be better off offering the Trump Organization a lucrative branding/management contract for a hotel and golf course complex.

I say that half in snark, half in sick seriousness.

Trump has demonstrated that he does not care about either the actual rule of law, nor about the quasi-legal SOP under which the US and its various appendages have traditionally operated. Unless Ashcroft has some relationship with Trump or his inner circle, Qatar is wasting its time.

Saudi Arabia is using Trump as a prop, and Qatar as a scapegoat, while pushing it's own agenda of Saudi supremacy in the ME.  And because the Saudi's flattered Trump (and it apparently plays well on the reality TV show Trump runs in his head) Qatar is up a creek.  This is exactly the sort of manipulation people were worried about with Trump. That it's coming from our putative ally instead of Russia doesn't make it much better.

[Shadows]

University of terror: The Jihadi school on Australia’s doorstep funded by Donald Trump’s friend Saudi Arabia


The Saudi Arabia-funded Institute for the Study of Islam and Arabic in Jakarta has produced some of Indonesia’s terrorist leaders. Known as LIPIA, the university segregates female from male students & enforces strict dress codes for both men and women and forbids music, television, wearing jeans and “loud laughter”. The hard line Islam taught at LIPIA approves of death for homosexual people and blasphemers, stoning for adulterers and the amputation of hands for thieves, reports Voice of America.The Boston Globe reports that LIPIA is the centre of Saudi Arabia’s campaign to convert Indonesians to Wahhabi Islam and the Salafi movement. Indonesia’s Muslim population — 202 million of its 258 million total, and including a 2.5 million Shia minority — were once regarded as largely tolerant and open-minded.

As well as the LIPIA university, Saudi Arabia has financially supported dozens of boarding schools and built 150 mosques. The schools have included jihadi breeding grounds like Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Solo, Central Java. Salman agreed to allow more than 200,000 Indonesians make the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in western Saudi Arabia, more than any other country. The hajj quota is hard won and precarious, and the Indonesian Government is reportedly reluctant to jeopardise the prize by interfering with the Saudis’ local influence.

http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/university-of-terror-the-jihadi-school-on-australias-doorstep-funded-by-donald-trumps-friend-saudi-arabia/news-story/267fcd2904925182cc3092833efff0f2

[pbrower2a]

Indonesia has long been a haven for 'moderate Islam'.

[Shadows]

Indonesia has long been a haven for 'moderate Islam'.

Compared to Saudi? Everything is world in relative unfortunately !

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Indonesia has long been a haven for 'moderate Islam'.

The most populous Muslim nation is one of the safest. Just goes to show that Islam itself isn't the problem.

[Beet]

I thought India has more Muslims than any other country?

Anyway, Indonesia used to be very moderate, but is becoming radicalized. It's one of the new "problem states":

Saudi Arabia- moderating
Iran- moderating
Syria- moderating
Egypt- moderating

Turkey- extremizing
Indonesia- extremizing
Philippinnes- extremizing
Pakistan- extremizing

So basically, the problem is shifting from the Islamic world center to the periphery.

[Mr. Morden]

I thought India has more Muslims than any other country?

Nope.  Indonesia has more.  (And I think Pakistan might also have more?)

[Zioneer]

I thought India has more Muslims than any other country?

Anyway, Indonesia used to be very moderate, but is becoming radicalized. It's one of the new "problem states":

Saudi Arabia- moderating
Iran- moderating
Syria- moderating
Egypt- moderating

Turkey- extremizing
Indonesia- extremizing
Philippinnes- extremizing
Pakistan- extremizing

So basically, the problem is shifting from the Islamic world center to the periphery.

This radicalization across the world is partially the fault of radicals from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and so forth, of course.

[dead0man]

It's interesting that the "model" moderate Muslim country committed a genocide during my life time.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It's interesting that the "model" moderate Muslim country committed a genocide during my life time.

? This point makes no sense. Pointing out that Indoensian Islam has historically been less fundamentalist than Arabian Islam = defending Suharto? Not catching your drift.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I have been saying for YEARS that Saudi Arabia is the biggest sponsor of radicalism and a HUGE part in allowing it to grow.

[dead0man]

It's interesting that the "model" moderate Muslim country committed a genocide during my life time.

? This point makes no sense. Pointing out that Indoensian Islam has historically been less fundamentalist than Arabian Islam = defending Suharto? Not catching your drift.

When people want to defend Islam they always bring up Indonesia as this example of moderate Islam and "see, not all of them are like that".  Yet they committed a genocide in the very very recent past.  How is this a good example in the defense of Islam?