1 How Britain begat the UAE & Qatar The winter of 1967-1968 was a time of crisis for the British economy. Many Arab leaders were convinced Britain had secretly helped Israel to victory over its Arab neighbors in the Six Day War of June 1967. Israel had captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, the […]
The story continues from Part 2 …… 5 Riyadh –Saudi Arabia Unlike any other country in the world, Saudi Arabia is in a very unique position. Firstly, it sits at the heart of Islam by being the custodians of the 2 holiest sites for 25 % of the global population – Mecca and Medina. Secondly, […]
The story continues from Part 1 … 4. The West in Panic The national security establishment fears a Russian victory in Ukraine. It would constitute a major setback in America’s security strategy and would be a blow, even a fatal one, to NATO. Meanwhile NATO is far behind Russia in weapons, manpower and industrial might. […]
The Russia-Saudi Nexus The two countries are referred to as the two petroleum superpowers and account for about a quarter of the world’s crude oil production between them. The first country to establish full diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (the name of the Saudi state until 1932) was the Soviet Union. The relations began in 1926 as a means for Moscow […]
The Arab World, Turkey & Iran The Region’s Flash-points The world is in turmoil. 2020 has already brought major multiple crises, with the Iranian-American clash in Iraq which followed the US assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, and the COVID-19 health pandemic and economic disaster that followed. None of this, however, prevented America from imposing even […]
The Aramco IPO When Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, decided to list the world’s largest oil company, Aramco, the resulting frenzy within international banking circles was unprecedented. This decision was made in 2016. MBS wanted to diversify the Saudi economy and reduce the economy’s reliance on oil income. The big question within investment banking […]
The election of Donald Trump as the next American president has added a major new element of uncertainty to a Middle Eastern picture that had already achieved its highest state of confusion, violence, and uncertainty in its modern history. The factors that will determine the policies Trump will pursue there are many, and they are all […]
First, some background. There was a reason why King Salman put his son, MBS as No 2 in the Kingdom. The normal way of doing business with the world was over. A new approach was needed. The Kingdom was facing huge challenges. So, MBS became the Crown Prince. He is young, does not carry “any […]
The Plot to Kill Crown Prince Mohammed bin First CIA Attempt to Kill the Saudi King & MBS Following the success of the China trip, King Salman was in high spirits. The Rockefellers aim was to curtail Chinese influence in the Middle East, and this deal would only strengthen it. It was not on! It […]
The Rise of Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) “Modernizing Saudi Arabia” and the Middle East Geopolitical Chessboard Saudi Arabia is undergoing a dramatic shift in decades. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman made unexpectedly a gigantic leap into becoming potential successor of Salman bin Abdulaziz. The question that flashes to mind in the context of the recent and […]
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