Massive Fires In Saudi Arabia - Aramco Oil Facilities Hit By Drones

Discussion in 'Latest US & World News' started by Jeannette, Sep 14, 2019.

  1. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    I went climbing in al Habala about the time the Saudis were moving their villages back from the Yemen border so I was briefed on the security situation. I also spent time in Jedda, Riyadh, Jubail and Abqaiq that trip. Fahd was failing, Abdullah was crown prince, Salman was Governor of Riyadh. I was lucky to meet with all of them including Prince Sultan and Prince Nayef bin Abdul azziz al Saud. I have known them since they were young men or in their teens and I was a child. They also knew my parents well.. They are impressive and dedicated.
     
  2. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Rafic Baha El Deen Al Hariri was a Lebanese business tycoon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004 .

    He headed five cabinets during his tenure. Hariri is widely credited with his role in constructing the Taif Agreement that ended the 15 year Lebanese Civil War and reconstructing the capital Beirut. He was the first post-civil war Prime Minister and the most influential and wealthiest Lebanese politician until his assassination.

    Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 by a suicide truck bomb in Beirut. Four Hezbollah members were indicted for the assassination and are currently being tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but others have linked the assassination to the Syrian government.

    Hariri's assassination was a catalyst for dramatic political change in Lebanon. The massive protests of the Cedar Revolution helped achieve the withdrawal of Syrian troops and security forces from Lebanon, and a change in governments.
     
  3. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I agree, countries tried explosives in balloons in the past, but this high tech method could get ugly - it's cheap and as battery power increase and solar gets better, the distance these can travel increases ever more
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2019
  4. free man

    free man Well-Known Member

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    They are nothing but a mafia of barbarians who happen to sit over oil wells.
     
  5. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    They are nothing like that. They are absolutely dedicated to the health, education and welfare of the Saudi people and their future. They are smart, well spoken, educated and gracious. .. and pro-American.
     
  6. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Then why did they approve of killing that journalist, or at least have tried harder to prevent it?

    This is the problem many Americans have with the Sauds, if they're so pro-American why do they insist on running what seems one of the more hard shell religious autocracies remaining in the world. I realize they came to power as sponsors of one of the more aggressively fundamentalist sects in Islam and so are "riding the tiger" themselves, as it were, but I also recall that when the Ikwhan or whatever they call them once tried to go to war with some one or another bordering nation without the old King's approval the results left little doubt of who was in charge.

    I've never been to Saudi, but am I wrong to pine for the old Founding King, Abdul Aziz. I can't help but think he would have handled this much better
     
  7. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    If I met ABS it was years and years ago when he was about 15. He was assigned to assisting an American woman in a wheelchair and I saw him every day for a couple of weeks.I thought he was a nice kid. I hate to say this, but Muslim men are very immature until they turn 40-45.. I think this ABS is in over his head and screwed up. You're right about Ibn Saud and ABS's father is a fine, decent man.. he's just too old and sort of feeble now. Maybe the son is too arrogant for the job.

    There's a story about Ibn Saud from the 1930s. He'd hired some British nurses to run a small hospital and he gave them a private stretch of beach to swim and picnic.

    He also gave orders that they were to be left in peace. Well, some Saudi men came up peeping and he summarily hanged a half dozen of them. End of problem.

    They have come a long, long way..and I have to say I admire them.. But the killing of Khashoggi was not only criminal, but stupid.
     
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  8. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Well-Known Member

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    If only they had just killed him! They literally cut him into pieces. Making your statement an understatement that won't change how criminal and stupid it was for MBS to do what he did. Otherwise, what MBS did to their guest, Lebanon's prime minister, Harriri, would be how you described it. What they did to Khashoggi was depraved, grotesque and insane.

    The guy was out of control and someone who Iran had already warned against his rise early on, even before he took Saudi Arabia to commit genocide in Yemen, before he kidnapped Saudi Arabia's own ally in Lebanon, Harriri, and before he decided to cut Khashoggi into pieces for no real reason except that he had irked MBS.
     
  9. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Were you at the Saudi embassy in Turkey?
     
  10. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Well-Known Member

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    Thankfully no. But people have heard the tapes and know what happened.
     
  11. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    A sordid affair entirely. In reading I note that many Sauds who could be King were "removed from the succession" Could that be done with this guy?
     
  12. Thedimon

    Thedimon Well-Known Member

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    Did you pass physics class in high school?
     
  13. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Well-Known Member

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    The "rules" on Saudi succession are best left for Margot to explain, although I assume it will ultimately be up to the current Saudi king to replace him. Except MBS probably scares his own father too!! The guy really needs to be committed to an insane asylum.
     
  14. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Good question.. Years ago the family removed Saud in favor of Faisel.. Faisel was a good king.. Saud drank and wanted to stay in the desert and hunt.
     
  15. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Succession comes down to an agreement between the family, clerics, merchant class and technocrats. MBS may be too dangerous.
     
  16. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    My kinda guy. I've really never understood why Kings just don't turn the kingdom over to good, trustworthy people and then go enjoy themselves. Saddam had several Palaces the size of small cities and harems in each. He'd be there still if he hadn't gone off invading everybody
     
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  17. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    And Saudi funds AQAP and al Nusra.

    The Palestinians in Gaza feel that Hamas is the best they can do to resist foreign control of their borders and blockade by sea. I don't particularily like Hamas but I do support the right to resist.

    Hezbollah is a legitimate political organization within Lebanon. They hold elected seats and provide social services such as food and medical care. Their unforgivable crime has been fighting Israel to a draw in 2006 when that country attacked lebanon and proving that the IDF is not invincible after all.

    The have been effective fighting ISIS in Syria as well.
    Yemen had a corrupt, ineffective foreign backed government that supported terrorists and was unable to transition to new leadership. There was a widespread Arab spring like uprising that included many factions besides Houthi. Eventually, the leadership was driven from the country.

    So you are saying that it is the Yemeni people, the poorest nation on Earth, that is to blame for Saudi bombing it's cities, blockading it's harbours and mass murdering it's citizens in a genocidal war that is turning the country into a pit of death and despair on the level of the killing fields.

    And this from the richest country in the world using sophisticated US weapons.

    And yes, after 4 years, the medeival, Wahhabi kindom still cannot crush Yemen and impose it's puppet ruler on the country.

    How do you think the gilded, bejeweled princes living in their lavish, sickeningly garish palaces will do against an opponent like Iran?
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
  18. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    LOLOL.. Makes sense to me.
     
  19. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    You have never seen any of their palaces.. They are quite elegant.. Much nicer than Trump properties. I have stayed at three of them.. Think 6 star hotels with Swiss management.

    They don't wear jewels or gold either.. Very unmanly.. Don't you know anything about the culture?
     
  20. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    Clearly I don't know as much about their culture as you.

    I can only assess their actions as I see them from a distance.

    As I stated in my first reply to you, I am more than willing to be schooled if I am wrong.

    They don't wear jewels or Gold?

    Good to know. Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
  21. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    You have never seen them even from a distance.

    HAMAS and Hezbollah are obsolete.. They have utterly failed to secure a just peace for the Palestinians or the Lebanese since the mid 1980s.
     
  22. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    Oh I've seen them from a distance.

    Agree with you more or less with Hamas. I would like to see different leadership.

    Hezbollah is far from obsolete with all those 70,000 or so missiles which is why Israel is so deathly eager to try to eliminate their positions in Syria.

    Perhaps it is the house of Saud that is obsolete. Utterly failed to crush resistance in the poorest nation in the world - even with all that sophisticated US weaponry.

    Question remains, how do you think they would do against a country like Iran?
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
  23. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    KSA doesn't fund AQ or ISIS.. ISIS has carried out over 2 dozen suicide bombings in the kingdom.. many others have been foiled. How is it that your information is so poor?
     
  24. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Radical jihadi groups from Africa to Afghanistan have moved into Yemen since 1998.. Have you followed Yemen since 1950? What do you think of the deadly attacks on the British and US Embassies in 2008?

    KSA doesn't want a war.. They have more important investments for the people of KSA. Iran's mindset is insane.. Why don't they just go ahead and fight Israel and get it overwith?
     
  25. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    "For more than two years, a Saudi-led alliance - backed by US logistical and weapons support - claimed it crushed al-Qaeda's ability to carry out attacks from Yemen.
    However, an investigation by The Associated Press found the coalition has been paying some
    al-Qaeda commanders to leave key cities and towns while letting others retreat with weapons, equipment, and wads of looted cash.
    Hundreds of al-Qaeda members were recruited to join the coalition as soldiers, the report said.
    Key figures in the deal-making said the United States was aware of the arrangements and held off on drone attacks against the armed group, which was created by
    Osama bin Laden in 1988.

    The deals uncovered by the AP investigation reflect the contradictory interests of the two wars being waged simultaneously in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula."


    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...cut-deals-al-qaeda-yemen-180806074659521.html

    "In terms of money alone, however, Saudi Arabia is unparalleled in the ranks of nations that finance terrorism. In fact, in a leaked 2009 State Department cable and published by WikiLeaks, the United States referred to KSA as the “most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.”
    The cable, signed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, states that Saudi Arabia “remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups.” See “Terrorist Finance: Action Request For Senior Level Engagement On Terrorist Finance.”
    “Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,” the cable states.

    The cable points out that Saudi Arabia is quite adept at preventing funds from being used for terrorist groups inside its borders and have been extremely efficient at preventing terrorism inside the country but that it’s funding of terrorism goes on unabated elsewhere. At the Americans’ request, certain terrorist groups were disrupted and/or de-funded, according to the cable, but little initiative comes from the Saudis. In other words, the Saudis fund a massive range of terrorist organizations across the world and work closely with the US, cutting funds and support based largely on the interests of the Americans."

    https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/...ldwide-exposes-kuwait-qatar-uae-and-pakistan/

    This human rights abusing regime is deeply complicit in the rise of Islamist extremism too. Following the Soviet invasion, the export of the fundamentalist Saudi interpretation of Islam – Wahhabism – fused with Afghan Pashtun tribal code and helped to form the Taliban. The Saudi monarchy would end up suffering from blowback as al-Qaida eventually turned against the kingdom.

    Chatham House professor Paul Stevens says: “For a long time, there was an unwritten agreement … whereby al-Qaida’s presence was tolerated in
    Saudi Arabia, but don’t piss inside the tent, piss outside.” Coates Ulrichsen warns that Saudi policy on Syria could be “Afghanistan on steroids”, as elements of the regime have turned a blind eye to where funding for anti-Assad rebels ends up.

    https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ort-saudi-arabia-dictatorships-fundamentalism

    "Perhaps the most powerful indication of Saudi’s financial links with ISIS can be seen in the cache of emails leaked from the office of Hillary Clinton, who was US Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013.
    The messages, published by Wikileaks, contain an unambiguous statement by her campaign chairman, John Podesta:
    “We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.”

    This wasn’t the first time US officials had made this claim. In 2009, Wikileaks published diplomatic cables from the US State Department which spelt out the same concerns.
    “Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,” the documents said. “While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) takes seriously the threat of terrorism within Saudi Arabia, it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority …"

    https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-qa-is-saudi-arabia-funding-isis

    You were saying........clearly you are some kind of shill for the Saudi's as they continue their murderous war on the poorest nation in the world.

    I suppose you are going to tell me they don't murder journalists or political dissenters or they have stopped beheading people in public squares for petty crimes like defaming Islam, shoplifting or adultery.
     

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