This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Massive Saudi Arabia migrant expulsion leads to violence
- Saudi Arabia’s plans for Syria intervention face many obstacles
- Special negotiating tactics from Israel’s chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni
Massive Saudi Arabia migrant expulsion leads to violence
Ethiopians await deportation in Riyadh (Reuters)
Two people were killed on Saturday in clashes between police andAfrican, mostly Ethiopian, migrant workers, in Riyadh, the capitalcity of Saudi Arabia. Police arrested 561 people, after a week inwhich thousands have been arrested. The clash follows a crackdown,begun last Monday, to expel hundreds of thousands of migrant workerswho don’t have valid work visas. Many entered the country illegally,often seeking a job as domestic work, others have expired work visas,and others were smuggled across the border. The reason given for thecrackdown is to make available more jobs for Saudis. The crackdownwill close numerous small businesses, such as laundries, barbershops,eateries and bankers, and remittances back to home countries will fallabout 20%. [What’s not clear to me is why the closing of all thesebusinesses won’t have a recessionary effect on the economy.] Gulf News and Arab News
Saudi Arabia’s plans for Syria intervention face many obstacles
Following Saudi Arabia’s nasty split with the United States –following President Obama’s public flip-flop on Syria, andthe administration’s new rapprochement with Saudi’sarch-enemy Iran — the Saudis are struggling to find a wayto use their almost unlimited funds to do something toend the intolerable genocidal slaughter of innocent civilianSunni Arabs by Syria’s psychopathic president Bashar al-Assad,supported by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
The plan is for the Saudis to create and fund an Army of Muhammad,uniting the Sunni rebel groups. A year ago, this army would have had7,000-10,000 soldiers, including 6,300 army defectors who had takenrefuge in Jordan and Turkey. But with the collapse of any hope ofsupport from the United States, the plans for the size of the rebelarmy has increased to 50,000, at a cost of “several billion dollars,”growing to 250,000 by March, 2016. And while the Army of Muhammadwould just have had to fight al-Assad’s army a year ago, todayit would be fighting against two enemies — al-Assad’s armyand al-Qaeda linked jihadists.
The Saudis are planning for cooperation from the Pakistanis,with whom they’ve shared defense ties for years. The Saudiswould like Pakistani help in training its Army of Muhammad,as well as a few thousand troops.
However, Pakistan’s military is dealing with its own problemsfrom the Taliban and jihadist violence, and is not anxious toget involved in a huge effort in Syria. Furthermore, the Saudiplan would require the cooperation of Jordan, and they’re alsoput off by the size of the Saudi plan, since there wouldbe a large Syrian rebel army on Jordan’s soil.
The biggest problem of all is getting the Saudi rebel groups tocooperate with one another. According to one analyst:
“The biggest problem facing the Saudis now is the sameone facing the U.S., France, and anyone else interested in helpingthe rebels: the fragmentation of the rebels into groups fightingeach other for local and regional dominance rather thancooperating to overthrow Assad. Could the Saudis force [the rebelgroups] to cooperate? I have my doubts.”
Foreign Policy and ISN Security Watch (Zurich)
Special negotiating tactics from Israel’s chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni
Tzipi Livni
A report last week in the Lebanon newspaper Al Diyyar says thatIsrael’s chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni, has admitted having sex withPalestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo.The story quotes a Rabbi as saying, “It was ok for her to sleep andhave sex with strangers, as long as it benefits Israel.” According tothe Arab press, Livni has previously admitted that she doesn’t mindkilling or having sex with someone in exchange for information thatcould benefit Israel. Al-Bawaba (Jordan)
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