I don’t understand why Donald Trump is so keen to be sell military weapons to Saudi Arabia, as they will end up in the wrong hands.
When the Saudi regime in Arabia collapses, as it inevitably will, the weapons will end up in the hands of ISIS, in whatever incarnation it takes there.
I don’t understand why the leaders of the powerful G7 nations committed themselves to fighting terrorism, yet continue to cosy up to Saudi Arabia.
Donald Trump travelled to Saudi Arabia to offer a $110 billion arms deal.
In recent months, British Prime Minister Teresa May has signed special deals with Saudi Arabia to sell weapons and provide training for their military and security forces that keep the ruling family in power.
Why do these leaders support this autocratic nation that is the sponsor for terrorism all round the world. The Wahhabi sect of Islam that inspires terrorism first emerged in Saudi Arabia. From there, it has been exported all over the world.
The wave of terrorism that has engulfed the region when it ultimately emanates from one small but immensely influential Sunni sect. One of the great cultural changes in the world over the last 50 years is the way in which Wahhabism, once an isolated splinter group, has become an increasingly dominant influence over mainstream Sunni Islam, thanks to Saudi financial support. (Patrick Cockburn in the Indedpendent)Mark Curtis explains that Wahhabism is an ideology promoted by the ruling family in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi role in exporting Wahhabism is surely well-known by now. In the past few decades, the Saudi regime has spent billions spreading its extremist interpretation of Islam worldwide, funding mosques and free madrassas – religious schools – supplying them with imams and textbooks.Curtis explains that the is activity is well understood by UK and US leaders.
The British elite is perfectly aware of the insidious role that Saudi Arabia plays in fomenting terrorism. In October 2014, General Jonathan Shaw, a former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, told the Telegraph that Saudi Arabia and Qatar were primarily responsible for the rise of the extremist Islam that inspires IS terrorists. He said:Curtis warns,
“This is a time bomb that, under the guise of education, Wahhabi Salafism is igniting under the world really. And it is funded by Saudi and Qatari money and that must stop.”He noted that UK/US bombing of IS would not “stop the support of people in Qatar and Saudi Arabia for this kind of activity” because:
“It’s not addressing the fundamental problem of Wahhabi Salafism as a culture and a creed, which has got out of control and is still the ideological basis of Isil – and which will continue to exist even if we stop their advance in Iraq.”
All the while the Saudis have been exporting Wahhabism and backing Islamist groups and terrorists, they have enjoyed a special relationship with London and Washington. The history is so long and deep it is hard to summarise: basically the relationship is characterised by extreme sycophancy, total military support, constant apologias and carefully-controlled media lines that serve to keep the public in the dark about the true extent of relations and the nature of the Saudi regime. It is hard to pinpoint whether Saudi Arabia is a client of the UK or the other way round: probably both, since both set of elites have been happily joined at the hip.
I live in a city where much of the CBD was destroyed by an earthquake four years ago. It is now being rebuilt and repaired with insurance money, but the pain of people who lost homes and business is still very raw. Having seen the consequence of mindless destruction, I hate seeing cities and towns being deliberately destroyed for no real benefit. It imposes an enormous cost on the people who lose their homes and businesses. Treating it as "collateral damage" belittles the real pain.
Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in an airwar against the nation of Yemen, purportedly to return a President that no one wants. Matthieu Aikins recently sneaked into Yemen and filmed the destruction of homes and businesses. You can see his video at this link. No insurance companies will come and rebuild these towns and cities. Saudi Arabia does not want them rebuilt, because they want an empty buffer zone in the north of Yemen.
Why does no one care about this pointless destruction?
Saudi Arabia is an American ally. You can see his video at this link. The US provides the Saudis with refuelling and reconnaissance support. Most of the weapons used to destroy these homes and businesses were made in the United States. To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 to bomb Yemen and Syria. Saudi Arabia is currently negotiating with the US weapons industry to buy thousands of missiles, bombs and other weapons to replenish its depleted arsenal.
Why is no one screaming to US members of congress who support support this war and sales of weapons to Saudia Arabia?
New Zealand is no better. It is currently a rotating member of the UN Security Council, but it has remained silent, because it wants a free trade deal with Saudi Arabia.
According to Daniel, there will be another major invasion of the Middle East.
For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped (Dan 11:13).
The King of the North represents the nations of the West led by the United States. They will come with an army even larger than the one that invaded Iraq.
This war will occur several years after the invasion of Iraq, when the United States has mostly withdrawn. The expression "several years" is literally "the end of the times". This means that the invasion takes place at the end of the Times of the Gentiles. An uprising will occur first, as the presence of a foreign army in Iraq stirs up the Middle East.
Daniel does not say which nation will be invaded. I believe it is more likely that Daniel is describing an invasion of Saudi Arabia. It has become one of the most unstable nations in the Middle East. The Saudi royal family is corrupt, immoral and dysfunctional. Many princes are vying for power. While the royal family is extremely rich, the rest of the population is very poor.
Most the population is young, with being under the age of eighteen. They have been educated in schools dominated by Wahhabi clerics. The schools are breeding ground for militant Islam and preachers openly call for jihad against the west. Saudi Arabia is a powder keg that just needs a match to set it alight.
I believe that Daniel saw a rebellion against one of the rulers of Saudi Arabia.
In those times many will rise against the king of the South (Dan 11:14).
Saudi Arabia is is the heart of the Middle East because Mecca is the spiritual home of Islam.
Daniel says that people will rise up against the government that controls Saudi Arabia. This rebellion will threaten to disrupt oil supplies to the West. The United States is very dependent on this unstable nation. Saudi Arabia holds a quarter of the world's oil reserves. It has enormous surplus oil production that allows it to determine the price of oil throughout the world.
The collapse and defeatof the Saudi royal family would be a disaster for the United States and Europe. They will invade to Saudi Arabia to protect their economies (Dan 11:13). The western invasion force will be very successful.
Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand (Dan 11:15).The invading army will capture a strategic city (probably a religious city like Mecca). Even the best troops in the invaded nation will be powerless to stand. Saudi Arabia has one of the best equipped armies in the world, but it will powerless against the United States juggernaut.
Saudi Arabia is a powder keg waiting to explode. It might hold together for some time yet, but an explosion will certainly come. When that happens, the impact for the world will be serious. Saudi Arabia has a quarter of the world's oil reserves. The coastal strip from Kuwait to Qatar contains forty percent of the oil reserves. This enormous reserve capacity has allowed the Saudis to control the price of oil, preventing it from escalating. The nation's 4431 km land border and 2641 km shoreline are indefensible. Smugglers have a long history of easy access. Saudi Arabia has gone from being medieval to modern in fifty years. Riyadh grew from a population of 30,000 to 4 million in a few decades. The population now doubles every thirty years and half the population is under sixteen. The Saudi regime is very harsh. The nation has the world record for public beheadings. The current government is dysfunctional. The royal family is divided by jealousy and palace intrigues are common. The royal family is totally immoral. Corruption is widespread and bribery is pervasive. They use their political power to rob innocent people of homes and business. Oil wealth is used for the personal benefit of the royal family. There are over 30,000 royal princes, each receiving a large allowance. Their extravagant lifestyle, with lavish palaces, yachts, private jets and houses on the Rivera, contrasts dramatically with the poverty of the rest of the population. Their number is growing so fast that the country can no longer afford them. Per capital income has halved in the last two decades as the population has grown and oil income has been reduced by falling prices. An alliance between the Wahhabi clerics and the House of Saud maintains them both in power. The Saudi Royal family has financed the Wahhabis, in return for their silence about their immorality. The Wahhabis have exported revolution throughout the world. When the Moslem brotherhood was expelled from Egypt and Syria, they settled in Saudi Arabia. They have become entrenched in the nation's universities and Marasahs. Saudi youth are educated in the Marasahs (Islamic schools). They have learned Islam, but have no modern skills. Two out of three doctorates are in Islamic studies. They are educated for a world that no longer exists. Many are unemployed and have no hope. They have nothing better to do than sit around the mosque or watch al-Jazeera. They are a ripe breeding ground for radical Islam. Saudi Arabia operates the world's most advanced welfare state, providing Saudi citizens with free health care and interest-free loans. College education is free within the kingdom and heavily subsidised for those who study abroad. In one of the world's driest spots, water is almost free. Electricity, domestic air travel, petrol and telephone services are all available at far below cost. About a quarter of Saudi Arabia's population are foreign nationals, allowed into the kingdom to do the dirty work in the oil fields or to be domestics, but also to program computers and manager the refineries. Seven out of ten jobs are filled by foreigners because Saudis choose not do them. The Saudi Shia live in the Eastern Province where most of the oil is found. The majority of workers in the Aramco, the Saudi Oil Company, are Shia. They have been subject to Wahhabi persecution and often much of their property has been seized. Several terrorist attacks have already occurred in the capital Ridayh and an attack caused damage to the Saudi oilfields. American companies have sold enormous volumes of armaments to Saudi Arabia. If the enormous stockpiles of weapons got into the wrong hands, they could be very dangerous. Islamic radicals have already infiltrated the military and there are doubts about their loyalty. The Saudis have deposited trillions of dollars in American banks and own enormous shareholdings in American companies. The Saudis have strong links with many US politicians. In 1997, Prince Bandar gave $1 Million to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Texas. In 1989, King Fahd gave $1 Million to Barbara Bush’s campaign against illiteracy. In 2002 Prince Alwaleed bin Talal gave $500,000 to Andover to fund a George Herbert Walker Bush scholarship. In 2003, Prince Bandar gave a $1-Million oil painting of an American Buffalo hunt to President Bush for use in his presidential library. More recently, the Saudis have given $2 million to Hillary Clinton's election campaign. American political organisations and think tanks have received funding from Saudi Arabia. Many American companies have paid commissions (bribes) to Saudi princes to obtain business. Because they have sold out, these groups remain silent about Saudi injustice and immorality.
Saudi Arabian oil is essential for the health of world economy, but its flow is far from secure. The combination of a corrupt government, growing population, radicalised youth and stockpiled weapons make it into a time bomb that is waiting to explode. When that explosion happens, the United States will not stand by while the world's oil supplies disappear. It will invade Saudi Arabia to secure its supply of oil.
Up until World War 1, the Arabian Peninsula was controlled by a patchwork of military leaders under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War 1, it consisted of four different territories. Ibn Saud rose to power in El Ahsa (Eastern Arabia) at the end of the war. By 1921, he had gained cpntrol of Najd. He seized Hejaz In 1926. Asir (Southern Arabia) was conquered later in the decade. The House of Saud that controls Saudi Arabia is a military dictatorship.
Saudi Arabia is a major client of the United States. In returning for maintaining oil, supplies, the Saudis have been allowed to purchase huge amounts of military hardware from US armaments producers. This is odd, because powerful people in Saudi Arabia have funded terrorism activities all over the world. Most of the 9/11 attackers were Saudis. The US has turned a blind eye to these activities to maintain a steady flow of oil from Saudi wells.
They have announced this publicly, but Israel has recently established an operational alliance with Saudi Arabia. These are very strange bedfellows.
The population of Saudi Arabia is about 30 million. This creates a huge problem for defending such a large area of land. Saudi Arabia can only sustain an army of 75,000. A separate Saudi Arabia National Guard with another 75,000 men is an independent force loyal to the King. This is small compared to the forces of Iran (more than a million).
The problem is compounded by the fact that nearly a third of the population are immigrants or foreign nationals, including nearly a million Yemenis. A large number of Yemenis serve into the armed forces. They will not be keen on fighting in their home country.
Yemen has a population of nearly 25 million, nearly as many people as Saudi Arabia. This is one reason it is feared by the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia has a long history of dabbling in Yemen. In 1934, The Saudis invaded Yemen and advanced towards Sanaa. Their armoured cars and tanks struggled in the mountains and they had to withdraw.
During the northern civil war between 1962 and 1970, the royalist side was supported by Jordan and Saudi Arabia, with covert British support. The Egyptian President Gamal Nasser supported the republicans with weapons and 30,000 troops. They really struggled in the steep mountains of Yemen. By the time they withdrew, as many as 15,000 Egyptians were captured or missing.
In 2009-10, the Saudis advanced into Yemen and bombed Houthi positions. The attack was a failure.
In the recent years, the Saudis have tried to control Yemeni politics by providing lavish support to selected tribal leaders. They are currently trying to buy the loyalty of some Yemeni generals.
Saudi Arabia has started an air war against is southern neighbour Yemen. The irony is that Saudi Arabia which is ruled by and autocratic king claims to be fighting for democracy in Yemen.
The roots of this struggle go back a long way, as Yemen has a very long history. It was the home of the Sabeans (biblical Sheba) a trading state that lasted for more than a thousand years. They Ottoman Empire controlled the western part of Yemen up until the beginning of World War 1.
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Imam Yahya Muhammad declared himself king of northern Yemen. He was recognised as the spiritual leader of the Zaidi sect of Islam. The border with Saudi Arabia was agreed after a war in 1934. When Yahya’s son died in 1962, a civil war developed between forces loyal to his successors and others wanting a republic. The republic of Yemen was eventually established in 1970.
The British Empire took control of southern Yemen and established a military base in in Aden in the 19th century, as a coal station to refuel the steamers sailing to India. Following World War 1, Britain continued to control southern Yemen through a series of treaties of protection with the local sheikhdoms and emirates. After the Suez Canal was nationalised, the British began to withdraw from Yemen. An independent republic was established in 1967 and a Marxist government was elected in 1970.
The two republics amalgamated in 1990. For the next two decades, it was ruled by President Saleh.
Al Qaida has been active in Yemen for a long time. The US has launched many drone attacks against it. These US drones are launched from Saudi Arabia, which increases the hatred towards the Saudis.
Although Yemen is one of the poorest nations in the world, it sits in a very strategic spot by a narrow straight between Djbouti and Yemen that leads into the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. A huge numbers ships through this 30 mile wide strait called the Nab el Mandeb, which means Gateway of Anguish. An island in the middle narrows it even further. According to reports, a billion barrels of oil pass through this strait every day.
At this time, the most influential nation in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia. It has a tiny population, compared to Iran and Egypt, but its massive oil reserves have given it influence beyond its size. Saudi Arabia has become an important ally of the United States. In return for pumping oil to keep prices down, Saudi Arabia has been able to accumulate a massive arsenal of United States produced weapons.
This alliance is strange, because Saudi Arabia is the home of the Wahhabi sect, which is the most virulent and violent form of Islam of all. Saudi Arabia has used it petro-dollars to export this harsh form of Islam all over the world. Regular beheadings in Saudi Arabia are ignored by American media (42 this year). It is currently providing financial support to the Islamic State.
There is nothing in the scriptures to indicate that Saudi Arabia is dominated by a powerful principality or power in the spiritual realms. Without one behind it, the kingdom will not last. The only significant prophecy about Saudi Arabia is in Isaiah 21:13-16. This prophecy warns that Arabia will be attacked by the bow and the sword.
They flee from the sword,The primary bowman is Iran. The sword represents the Spirit of Assyria (Is 8:20). I presume that when the Islamic State grows stronger, it will eventually push into Saudi Arabia. The House of Saud is seen as idolatrous by most serious Moslems, so it the obvious target for the Islamic State.
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle (Is 21:15).
This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end (Is 21:16).The south-eastern province of Saudi Arabia has a large Shia population who have been treated badly by the Saudi princes. They do much of the work in the oil fields for poor returns and no political freedom. If the Islamic State invaded Saudi Arabia, Iran might invade the Shia regions to protect the Shia people living there. This would give Iran control of some Saudi oil.
Isaiah says that the surviving warriors will be few.
The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few (Is 21:17).The huge arsenal of military hardware built up by Saudi Arabia will fall into the hands of the Islamic State.
Daniel explains that the insurgency against the United States in Iraq would be followed by an even greater stirring up of the Middle East. Daniel 11:12 is quite difficult to interpret. A more literal translation follows:
The King of the South will stir up a great multitude and a great multitude will be given into his hand. As this multitude is raised up, their heart will heart will be lifted high, but tens of thousands will fall and he will not prosper.
The Hebrew word translated "multitude" means "roar, crowd or tumult". It speaks of a tumultuous and noisy crowd. Words are doubled in Hebrew for emphasis. The word multitude is used twice to emphasise the size of the crowds. Daniel saw an immense crowd or tumult.
The phrase “given into his hand” could refer to a defeat in battle, but more likely means “placed under his command”. This massive noisy crowd will be controlled by the King of the South (we must remember that the King of the South is a spiritual force and not a human ruler). An alternative translation suggests that he will “cause a great multitude to stand”.
The reference to their “heart being lifted high” could refer to pride or arrogance. In this context, it means to courage. When these huge crowds gather together, people who have been passive for decades will be stirred to a new courage. Bold resistance against security forces will boost their pride.
The first few months of 2011 were marked a gigantic stirring right across the Middle East and North Africa. It began in Tunisia, where the government was forced to resign. From there, the stirring spread to Egypt where huge crowds of young people protested in Cairo for two weeks, forcing President Murabak to resign from the position he had held for thirty years. Since then huge demonstrations have taken place in the cities of Algeria, Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Bahrain. A tumultuous crowd has been “caused to stand” and protest against their rulers.
Bahrain is interesting because the majority of the population is Shiite, but is ruled by a Sunni King. This small country in the Persian Gulf is now the home of the American sixth fleet, but it was once a province of Iran. The Iranians would like their province back. If a democratic government was elected, a Shiite majority government might be more sympathetic to Iran than American economic and political interests. The United States might be tempted to back a minority monarchy in order retain control of a key military base.
In Libya, hundreds of demonstrators were shot in the struggle. The Gadhafi forces initially lost control of much of the county, but are now fighting back. The political struggle has morphed into a civil war.
In some of the countries where the people have demonstrated, the rulers are American puppets, propped up because they maintain the stability needed for global business to prosper. Some of the kings belong to dynasties put in place by the British at the end of the First World War. These demonstrations are a reaction against the King of the North (currently manifesting through the United States).
The people of the Middle East have been made bitter by their treatment by the Western powers. In the months ahead, the entire Middle East could be stirred up. Saudi Arabia is particularly vulnerable, as its rulers are old conservative Sunnis, while the population is young and radical. A large, oppressed Shiite lives and works among the Saudi oilfields, but have received any of economic benefits.
The leaders of Israel are blind. They see Iran as their greatest threat. A quick look at the map proves this is not true. There is a 1000 miles of desert between the two countries.
The real threat to Israel is Saudi Arabia. Its border is less than a 100 miles from Jerusalem. The United States has supplied the Saudis with a huge amount of military equipment. Ostensibly, because they are on our side (just like the Shah of Iran was on our side). Very clever.
The corrupt monarchy that controls Saudi Arabia will eventually collapse. No one knows who will gain control when that happens. It could be the Shia. On the other hand, there are a million Yemenis in Saudi Arabia, mostly migrant workers.
One thing is certain. Given the support and training that Israel has given to the state control apparatus in Saudi Arabia, they will not be friends of Israel.
