naturalfeature:the gulf arab

  • Israeli-Arab Relations : Muddling Through by the Sword
    http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/israeli-arab-relations-muddling-through-by-the-sword-17521

    Israel could have had full and normal relations with its Arab neighbors long ago. Many years have passed since most Arab government in effect accepted Zionism.[...]

    More recently, as an editorial in the New York Times observes, there has been de facto development of ties, in the absence of full diplomatic relations, between Israel and some Sunni Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. There also has been a warming of relations with Egypt, a relationship that had mostly been a cold peace since Sadat’s time. As the editorial correctly notes, such developments reflect how the political status of the Palestinians is not a top priority for most Arab governments, and indeed it has long had to compete with more parochial concerns of those governments. But the plight of their Palestinian brethren still is a salient issue for most Arabs, [...]

    The kind of de facto and semi-secret relationships that have been developing are the wrong kind of Israeli-Arab relations. They are not in the best interests of the United States or of anyone else. Far from being a basis for peace and prosperity, they are themselves based on conflict, regional divisions, authoritarianism, and the threat or use of force. With regard to Egypt, the warming of ties with the regime of strongman Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has to do with el-Sisi’s harsh internal crackdown and especially his bashing of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is related to his willingness to cooperate with Israel in bashing the Brotherhood’s Hamas cousins in the Gaza Strip. With regard to the Gulf Arab monarchies, the dealings with Israel have to do with the determination of those regimes to expand their regional influence and to pursue their rivalry with Iran. That determination has become so strong in the Saudi case that it has led to the reckless aerial assault and consequent humanitarian disaster in Yemen—a situation that has gotten so bad that a bipartisan group of U.S. congressmen is urging the Obama administration to delay a major sale of arms to the Saudis.

    In short, the recently developing Israeli ties with these authoritarian Sunni Arab regimes are a matter of more regional conflict and instability, not more peace and prosperity.

    Ce que ne dit pas l’auteur, c’est que pour #Israel, ces régimes sont au contraire « #modérés » et sont les garants de la « #stabilité »

    #arabie_saoudite #saoud

  • Boeing Wins $667Mln Contract to Supply Qatar With Apache Helicopters
    http://sputniknews.com/military/20160608/1040969178/boeing-apache-helicopters.html

    The Boeing Company has won a two-thirds-of-a-billion dollar US Army foreign military sales contract to supply the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar with 24 Apache ground-support helicopters, the US Department of Defense announced.

    WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Work on the contract will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020, the Defense Department noted.

    Boeing Company [of] Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $667.5 million… foreign military sales contract (Qatar) for 24 AH-64E Apache helicopters, 1 Longbow crew trainer, ground support equipment, and Thales radios,” the announcement said on Tuesday.

    The Apache AH-64 has been described as a flying tank; it is a helicopter designed to survive heavy attack and is armed to inflict massive damage on ground forces.

    The AH-64 is designed to operate day or night, including in unfavorable weather and poor visibility.

    Ils remplaceront les 14 SA-342G Gazelle actuellement en service.

  • Chuck Hagel, secrétaire à la Défense américain d’Obama de 2013 à 2015 critique vertement la politique suivie par la maison blanche en Syrie depuis le début - donc y compris durant les deux ans où il était en poste - dans un des salons de l’establishment US et de l’OTAN : l’Atlantic Council. Ses propos, derrière la critique d’une « rhétorique », sonnent en fait plutôt comme un réquisitoire contre les opérations de changement de régime :
    US’ Syria Policy ’Paralyzed’ by Rhetoric that Assad Must Go, Says Hagel
    http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/us-syria-policy-paralyzed-by-rhetoric-that-assad-must-go-says-hagel

    Former Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, thinks that the Obama administration has become “paralyzed” by its rhetoric that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down, said budget cuts have pushed the United States “perilously close” to being unable to maintain its military dominance, equated the Republican presidential campaigns to an amateur talent contest, and had some advice for Donald Trump: “focus on uniting this country, not dividing it.”
    “We have allowed ourselves to get caught and paralyzed on our Syrian policy by the statement that ‘Assad must go,’” Hagel said at the Atlantic Council on January 13. “Assad was never our enemy. A brutal dictator? Yes.”
    But, he added, important lessons should have been learned from the ouster of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. Following Hussein’s execution in December of 2006, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s divisive policies deepened the sectarian divide in the country and contributed to the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). In Libya, the toppling of Gadhafi by rebels aided by a Western military campaign in 2011 plunged the country into a downward spiral of chaos from which it has yet to recover.
    “You can take a brutal dictator out, but you better understand what you may get in return,” Hagel said. “We never asked that question: What is coming after Assad?”
    Assad will eventually have to go, but “that should not hold us captive,” he added.
    While the United States and Saudi Arabia have taken the position Assad must go, Russia and Iran hold the opposite view. This has been a key sticking point to finding a solution to Syria’s war, which is now in its fifth year.
    It will take a collaborative effort involving the United States, Russia, Iran, and the Gulf Arab states to create a “platform of stability” in the Middle East, Hagel said.

    L’article rappelle de plus qu’il s’en était déjà pris, après son départ, dans une interview à Foreign Policy, aux choix faits par Obama sur les dossiers syrien et ukrainien, et qu’il s’est opposé à l’influence de Susan Rice (liberal interventionnist). Un élément supplémentaire, manifestement, à l’appui de la thèse de Hersh sur une fronde sourde des hommes de la défense Vs les courants influents à la Maison blanche et Obama jusqu’en 2014 :

    In an interview with Foreign Policy in December, Hagel was scathing in his criticism of the White House, which he accused of micromanaging the Pentagon and trying to “destroy” him. He also acknowledged serious policy differences with the White House on three main areas: Syria, Ukraine, and shutting down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
    Hagel reiterated some of that criticism in his remarks at the Atlantic Council.
    The former Defense Secretary, who has not refuted reports that he frequently clashed with National Security Advisor Susan Rice, accused the White House of micromanaging policy through the National Security Advisor and White House Chief of Staff. “Governing is not dominating. It is just the opposite,” Hagel said. “You need good people and you need to trust good people. If you don’t think they are good people and you don’t trust them you shouldn’t have asked them to come in to start with.”

  • Group of 32 countries criticizes Bahrain’s human rights record | Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/14/us-bahrain-rights-idUSKCN0RE1L120150914

    The Bahraini government said 17 policeman have been killed and 3,328 wounded since 2011 in bomb attacks or violence it says was stirred up by the opposition.

    The opposition says the government is attempting to stifle free speech by jailing peaceful political dissidents.

    The letter called upon the government “to appropriately address all reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees and ensure full investigation and prosecution of these cases”.

    It also called on the government to agree to a visit by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture. In 2013, the U.N. torture investigator said Bahrain had in effect canceled a trip he had planned to the Gulf Arab state.

    Information Minister Isa Abdulrahman said that whenever individuals were questioned or imprisoned by the authorities it was due to a violation of the law and had nothing to do with freedom of expression or human rights.

  • 3 month-suspension for the Wefaq
    http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2606498-bahrain-asks-court-to-suspend-main-opposition-groups-activities

    Bahrain’s Justice Ministry has asked a court to suspend the activities of the country’s main Shi’ite Muslim opposition group, a move that could set back efforts to restart reconciliation talks in the Gulf Arab kingdom.

    Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, quelled a popular uprising in 2011 when majority Shi’ite Muslims led mass protests demanding a greater role in running the Sunni-ruled island but low level civil unrest has persisted.

    The ministry asked for a three-month suspension of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society “so it can correct its legal status”, state news agency BNA reported on Sunday.

  • Bahrain opposition, future king hold rare meeting - AP

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bahrain-opposition-future-king-hold-rare-meeting

    The future king of Bahrain met with top Shiite opposition leaders on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years, the last time being shortly after Arab Spring protests broke out in the Gulf Arab nation.

    The meeting also comes just one week after reconciliation talks were suspended.

  • Bahrain jails five for 15 years for “bombing”
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18064

    A Bahraini court sentenced five men to 15 years in prison for two attacks by homemade bombs – including one during last year’s Formula 1 race – the Gulf Arab state’s official BNA news agency said. BNA said the men had admitted being behind the bombings but an activist who monitors such cases said they pleaded not guilty to involvement in the attacks, which destroyed several vehicles but caused no injuries. Two of the defendants were tried in absentia. read more

    #Bahrain_Uprising #Top_News

  • Le Bahrein commence à souffrir de déficit public...et sur les conseils du FMI revient sur les subventions aux biens de consommation

    Bahrain said to plan revamp of subsidies - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com
    http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bahrain-said-plan-revamp-of-subsidies-529250.html

    “We are very much aware that the level of consumption in energy and some of the foods is not sustainable,” al-Maraj said, adding: “The philosophy of directing the subsidies toward the needy is now being reflected into the programmes.”

    His comments follow reports last month that Kuwait’s government plans to form a special committee to review subsidies on goods and services which are costing the Gulf Arab state more than KD4.5bn ($15.9 billion) a year[....]

    Bahrain is currently the only GCC country in the red; it is expected to be followed by Oman as soon as in 2015, and Saudi Arabia in 2018.

    King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered a handout of BD1,000 ($2,650) per family in February in 2011, a month before Bahrain declared a state of emergency as protesters demanded more civil rights.

  • Qatar has 143 millionaires for every 1,000 households: Study

    http://gitm.kcorp.net/index.php?id=651565&news_type=Economy&lang=en

    The Peninsula - 05 June, 2013

    Wealthy individuals in the Middle East and Africa saw the value of their assets rise by 9.1 percent to $ 4.8 trillion in 2012, a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) showed, as strong economies and rising equity markets fuelled regional growth.

    High net worth individuals in the Gulf Arab region continue to allocate heavily on cash and prefer regional stock markets when they invest in risky instruments, the report said.

    The Gulf Arab region ranked highly among countries with the highest percentage of millionaire households with Qatar leading the global list with 143 millionaires out of every 1,000 households, the study showed.

    If current trends continue, wealth in the region could rise to $ 6.5 trillion by 2017, said the survey, published yesterday.

    Global wealth managers have flocked to the region in recent years, lured by its rich energy and commodity reserves, relatively higher economic growth and rising population.

    At the same time, Middle Eastern investors are becoming more comfortable investing domestically even though the percentage of assets held off-shore is relatively high, said Markus Massi, partner and managing director at BCG.

    Wealth held in equities grew by 18.3 percent in 2012 in the region, the survey showed. “You see less money getting invested in outside jurisdictions but this can change pretty quickly if political conditions worsen,” Massi said.

    Private banks like Julius Baer and Sarasin Alpen, now compete with Credit Suisse, J P Morgan Chase and UBS in the region.

    Royal Bank of Canada expects to double the number of wealth management employees in its Dubai office in the near future, and is open to opportunities for acquisitions, a senior executive said last year. But only those offering unique investment products and catering to specific asset classes are gaining traction among Middle Eastern investors, said Massi.

  • Dans son curriculum : il a le soutien des pétromonarchies du Golfe et de… la France
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/201251515750848456.html

    Infighting and a lack of political coherence within the SNC have made it struggle to win formal international recognition as the sole legitimate representative of the anti-Assad movement.

    However, Ghalioun enjoys the backing of the Gulf Arab states and France, and is seen as a consensus figure in a group where Islamists, divided into different factions, hold sway.

  • Protests break out in Omani city - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
    http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/201142215140646886.html

    At least 1,000 protesters have taken to the streets in Oman’s southern port city of Salalah in one of the biggest pro-reform demonstrations since scattered unrest began in the Gulf Arab sultanate two months ago.

    The protesters assembled in a car park across the street from the governor’s office on Friday, where a preacher led mid-day prayers and led them on a march across the city.

    “The Omani people are not afraid of protesting for as long as it takes for reform, [but] first and foremost is to get government officials, who have been embezzling funds for years, to stand trial,” Amer Hargan, the leader, told the crowd.

    #oman