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[smjjames]

Other than the usual denials, there doesn't seem to be any reaction over it. Kind of like they're trying hard to not escalate further. How much of that is Tillerson's work and how much of that is just Saudi Arabia and allies not wanting to tear regional relations a new one, I don't know.

[smjjames]

Funny how things have been happening in the MidEast but nobody posting. Anyways, after the failed missile attack on Rhydahs airport, they're (rightly) calling it an act of war from Iran while stopping short of declaring war on Iran. http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/06/middleeast/saudi-foreign-minister-interview/index.html

Pretty serious escalation over there. If it does happen, I can see Trump cheering Saudi Arabia on like he would a sports team.

[Sheb]

And then, there is the purge of many princes by MBS on corruption charges. Interesting times indeed.

[Zangi]

And then, there is the purge of many princes by MBS on corruption charges. Interesting times indeed.

Well, you do have to do something about that way extended family tree when you know its about time to hand over the reigns of power...

[martinuzz]

Meanwhile in Jemen, the chaos is complete, after former president Saleh has been confirmed dead, shot by Iran-supported Houthi rebels.
Just last week, Saleh did a 180 when he decided to no longer support the Houthi insurgence, but instead turned to the Saudi coalition.

[smjjames]

I've also read that the rebel groups had started fighting among themselves.

Meanwhile, Trump is thinking of declaring Jerusalem the capitol of Israel and Abbas and Jordan (current president of the Arab League) and others are warning that violence and other bad things and instability could happen. He's also thinking of slow transitioning the American embassy to Jerusalem instead of all at once.

Meanwhile,meanwhile, Kushner is trying to broker a peace deal and his father-in-law could end up smashing that apart.

[Akura]

Surprised it hasn't been posted here or the US politics thread, but Trump has declared Jerusalem to be Israel's capital.

Well, this will totally end fine, won't it?

[smjjames]

It was discussed some in the AmeriPol thread earlier, then went on a tangent (as threads tend to do) elsewhere.

Theres lot of protests, chestbeating, and Hamas declaring a three day period of rage, but it hasn't gone further than that yet. If protests and chestbeating is the worst of it, great, but we know how volatile the MidEast can be.

[smjjames]

Since this is the de facto MidEast thread...

The protests in Iran have gone into the third day and now there are reports of violence. It started over economic issues and then it just spiralled out from there due to existing discontent. I've also seen comments that it seems bigger (in size and being a big deal) than the Green Revolution eight years ago.

BBC link

Whether this actually evolves into something larger remains to be seen.

According to The Guardian, there were also chants of reinstating a monarchy and the late shah, but um, take that with a grain of salt if you will because the monarchy wasn't exactly popular back in the day.

[Helgoland]

Probably just a go-to alternative, no? Also it's important to note that the Shah, while incredibly brutal, actually undertook major reforms and modernized the country. There's far from nothing to be had there if you've got a selective memory.

Also somewhere (I think in the NYT) it said this was a much more rural affair than the Green Revolution, which could well be a very important sign.

[Teneb]

Probably just a go-to alternative, no? Also it's important to note that the Shah, while incredibly brutal, actually undertook major reforms and modernized the country. There's far from nothing to be had there if you've got a selective memory.

Also somewhere (I think in the NYT) it said this was a much more rural affair than the Green Revolution, which could well be a very important sign.

Also keep in mind that people tend to be nostalgic towards older systems, even if they weren't that good to begin with, when the current one starts failing.

I'm wondering if the Saudis will try to take advantage of this somehow, given the very recent tension between the two.

[smjjames]

I'd probably be surprised if the Saudis didn't try to take advantage of it in some way. Though they do have to be mindful of sources of unrest on their own side.

[martinuzz]

Turkey claims it's army has invaded Syria, to create a 30 km buffer zone between Kurdish rebels and Turkey. They claim to have been able to progress without battle.
The US allied Kurds deny this, they say the Turkish army founght them, and was forced to retreat after intense battle.
The army invasion followed a series of Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish positions yesterday.

Well, US. Whatcha gonna do? Attack a NATO member, or let the Kurds die and be henceforth known to your allies as 'the traitorous pigdogs that can be trusted less than Satan"?

[Strife26]

Turkey claims it's army has invaded Syria, to create a 30 km buffer zone between Kurdish rebels and Turkey. They claim to have been able to progress without battle.
The US allied Kurds deny this, they say the Turkish army founght them, and was forced to retreat after intense battle.
The army invasion followed a series of Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish positions yesterday.

Well, US. Whatcha gonna do? Attack a NATO member, or let the Kurds die and be henceforth known to your allies as 'the traitorous pigdogs that can be trusted less than Satan"?

The traditional answer is to fuck over our allies again, and fuck over the Kurds in particular.

[Loud Whispers]

Well, US. Whatcha gonna do? Attack a NATO member, or let the Kurds die and be henceforth known to your allies as 'the traitorous pigdogs that can be trusted less than Satan"?

The Kurds are not a US ally, Turkey is a US ally. Attacking a US ally to not be called a traitor is a silly thing, and at any rate, the US has a track record of having 0 fucks in attacking allies if its leaders should decide this is warranted. The great part? US leaders change. An unbreakable alliance in the mind of one president is an anchor attached to an enemy to the next. And who cares about reputation when you control much of the world's popular media? Most will sing praise, and those that scorn will always scorn. There is also another option the US has: Support both sides, force a stalemate, flooding the middle east with more weapons to pretend this causes no future problems. US foreign policy in a nutshell: When you fund a proxy group to kill the terrorists but they become terrorists so you fund a proxy group to kill the terrorists but they become terrorists so you fund a proxy group to kill the terrorists so you...