AI
Friday, February 24, 2006 9:42:23 AM
UAE and US plans to invade Saudi Arabia. See Following Report: Blast Damages Saudi Pipeline
Why would Bush whose status is waning make such an unpopular decision to go ahead with the port deal the supposed brainchild of his administration of which he claims to have known nothing.
Lobbying aside we need the UAE.
The United States has raised the prospect of a military invasion of Saudi Arabia including a 300,000 US military force. 10,000 troops could capture eastern Saudi Arabia, which contains virtually all of the kingdom's oil wells. I would venture the US requires the UAE’s allegiance which borders Saudi’s oil wells located along the eastern coast and that this is at least one reason Bush gave permission for a state-owned business from the United Arab Emirates to take over operations at six major U.S. ports. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10704051/
It should also be remembered that the US in the past has used the UAE to harass Iran and that a new study has warned that oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia could be destroyed by Iranian medium- and intermediate-range missiles. The UAE will in addition be used to keep the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf's valuable shipping lane, open.
#msg-3136614
#msg-7432891
"We have naval visits there and landing rights," said Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which has set a briefing on the subject for Thursday. "We have to move carefully in considering the implications of what we do." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/politics/22port.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&p...
Since the start of the so-called war against terrorism in Afghanistan in October,2001, (Operation Enduring Freedom), there have been reports that the United Arab Emirates has also agreed to host US U-2 planes in one of its Air Force bases and it has been sensitive to the leakage of any information on this.
#msg-7123196
In 1992, the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of violating
understandings reached when Sharjah allowed Iranian forces onto Abu Musa
(Ras Al Khaimah, now part of the UAE, never accepted Iranian occupation of
the Tunbs). Specifically, the UAE protested Iran’s attempts to limit access to Abu
Musa,and Iran evidently became concerned that the UAE might even invade the
islands (with outside assistance). Indeed, when the United States surged forces
into the Gulf in response to renewed Iraqi threats to Kuwait in the fall of 1994,
Iran reportedly increased its defenses on Abu Musa.
42
Tehran’s hold on these is-
lands is likely to remain a sensitive point as the United States occasionally
“surges” naval forces into the Gulf, as well as intensifies its rhetoric, in its cam-
paign against the “axis of evil.”
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:AEgPbHdNrq0J:www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Autumn/pdfs/art7...
If civil war breaks out in Iraq it very possibly will spread to Saudi Arabia and Iran.
And Bush has been giving the Indians firewater.
To head off this threat of a Shi'ite clergy-driven religious movement, the US has, according to Asia Times Online investigations, resolved to arm small militias backed by US troops and entrenched in the population to "nip the evil in the bud".
Asia Times Online has learned that in a highly clandestine operation, the US has procured Pakistan-manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry. Consignments have been loaded in bulk onto US military cargo aircraft at Chaklala airbase in the past few weeks. The aircraft arrived from and departed for Iraq.
#msg-5461656
Sunnis on hit list
The contacts said that over three dozen former Iraqi Air Force personnel have been killed. The Iraqi resistance is sure that the Badr Organization is behind most of the killings, having been provided information on some of the targets by Iranian intelligence.
However, the Iraqi resistance is surprised how a list of the officers trained in Pakistan was handed over to Badr. The only possible conduit is Pakistan's cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under which it provided the list to the CIA, and it was then passed on to Badr.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GL17Ak01.html
U.S. fears prospect of Saudi coup, weighs invasion plans
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
WASHINGTON — The United States has raised the prospect of a military invasion of Saudi Arabia.
The House Armed Services Committee considered the possibility of a Saudi coup and U.S. response during a hearing on Oct. 26.
Saudi Arabia, with 200,000 military and National Guard troops, is the largest oil producer and exporter, with an output of nine million barrels of oil per day, according to Middle East Newsline. The Arab kingdom is the third largest supplier of oil to the United States, with more than 1.55 million barrels per day.
The scenario was outlined by Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, who cited a Saudi coup as one of several threats to the United States.
"How should the United States respond if a coup, presumably fundamentalist in nature, overthrows the royal family in Saudi Arabia?" O'Hanlon asked. "Such a result would raise the specter of major disruption to the oil economy."
The response could include the deployment of three U.S. Army divisions backed by fighter-jets and airborne early-warning and alert aircraft. In all, the U.S.-led mission could include up to 300,000 troops.
Congressional sources said the House hearing, which focused on future threats in the Middle East and other regions, marked increasing U.S. concern of Saudi instability. They said the open hearing echoed a series of briefings on Saudi and Gulf Arab instability given by non-government analysts to the State Department, Defense Department and National Security Council since 2002.
The House committee was told that U.S. concern of a Saudi coup appears greater than ever. O'Hanlon said such a coup would also destabilize Pakistan, a nuclear power since 1998.
"This type of scenario has been discussed for at least two decades and remains of concern today — perhaps even more so — given the surge of terrorist violence in Saudi Arabia in recent years as well as the continued growth and hostile ideology of Al Qaida along with the broader Wahabi movement," O'Hanlon said. In his testimony, O'Hanlon envisioned a Saudi coup as resulting in the emergence of what he termed a fundamentalist regime intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. Another prospect was that the new regime would seek to disrupt the oil market.
"Indeed, it might be feasible not to do anything at first, and hope that the new regime gradually realized the benefits of reintegrating Saudi Arabia at least partially into the global oil economy," O'Hanlon said. "But in the end the United States and other western countries might consider using force."
O'Hanlon envisioned a U.S.-led military operation designed to seize Saudi oil wells, located along the eastern coast. Washington and its allies would place the proceeds from Saudi oil sales into escrow for a future pro-Western government in Riyad.
A U.S.-led military force of 300,000 would be required to secure the entire Saudi Arabia, O'Hanlon said. He said about 10,000 troops could capture eastern Saudi Arabia, which contains virtually all of the kingdom's oil wells. But more than 100,000 additional troops would be required to protect the wells and other vital infrastructure.
"An operation to overthrow the new Saudi regime and gradually stabilize a country of the size in question would probably require in the vicinity of 300,000 troops, using standard sizing criteria," O'Hanlon said. "So in fact a coastal strategy, while easier in some ways and perhaps less bloody in the initial phases, could be fully half as large and might last much longer."
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/0....157638889.html
Report: Blast Damages Saudi Pipeline
Updated 9:08 AM ET February 24, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - An explosion occured Friday at a major oil refinery in Buqayq, eastern Saudi Arabia, a Saudi oil official said. A pipeline was damaged in an attack on the refinery, Al-Arabiya TV reported.
The explosion was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives that was detonated by the shots of security guards who fired on it as it tried to drive into the refinery, a reporter for the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report from the Saudi authorities.
The guards managed to stop a second vehicle at the refinery's gates, the reporter said.
Two assailants were killed in the attempt to break into the oil complex at Buqayq, which lies 45 miles southwest of Dammam. No guards were wounded, the reporter said.
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=060224&cat=news&st=newsd8fvh6vo3&src=...
Why would Bush whose status is waning make such an unpopular decision to go ahead with the port deal the supposed brainchild of his administration of which he claims to have known nothing.
Lobbying aside we need the UAE.
The United States has raised the prospect of a military invasion of Saudi Arabia including a 300,000 US military force. 10,000 troops could capture eastern Saudi Arabia, which contains virtually all of the kingdom's oil wells. I would venture the US requires the UAE’s allegiance which borders Saudi’s oil wells located along the eastern coast and that this is at least one reason Bush gave permission for a state-owned business from the United Arab Emirates to take over operations at six major U.S. ports. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10704051/
It should also be remembered that the US in the past has used the UAE to harass Iran and that a new study has warned that oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia could be destroyed by Iranian medium- and intermediate-range missiles. The UAE will in addition be used to keep the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf's valuable shipping lane, open.
#msg-3136614
#msg-7432891
"We have naval visits there and landing rights," said Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which has set a briefing on the subject for Thursday. "We have to move carefully in considering the implications of what we do." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/politics/22port.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&p...
Since the start of the so-called war against terrorism in Afghanistan in October,2001, (Operation Enduring Freedom), there have been reports that the United Arab Emirates has also agreed to host US U-2 planes in one of its Air Force bases and it has been sensitive to the leakage of any information on this.
#msg-7123196
In 1992, the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of violating
understandings reached when Sharjah allowed Iranian forces onto Abu Musa
(Ras Al Khaimah, now part of the UAE, never accepted Iranian occupation of
the Tunbs). Specifically, the UAE protested Iran’s attempts to limit access to Abu
Musa,and Iran evidently became concerned that the UAE might even invade the
islands (with outside assistance). Indeed, when the United States surged forces
into the Gulf in response to renewed Iraqi threats to Kuwait in the fall of 1994,
Iran reportedly increased its defenses on Abu Musa.
42
Tehran’s hold on these is-
lands is likely to remain a sensitive point as the United States occasionally
“surges” naval forces into the Gulf, as well as intensifies its rhetoric, in its cam-
paign against the “axis of evil.”
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:AEgPbHdNrq0J:www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Autumn/pdfs/art7...
If civil war breaks out in Iraq it very possibly will spread to Saudi Arabia and Iran.
And Bush has been giving the Indians firewater.
To head off this threat of a Shi'ite clergy-driven religious movement, the US has, according to Asia Times Online investigations, resolved to arm small militias backed by US troops and entrenched in the population to "nip the evil in the bud".
Asia Times Online has learned that in a highly clandestine operation, the US has procured Pakistan-manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry. Consignments have been loaded in bulk onto US military cargo aircraft at Chaklala airbase in the past few weeks. The aircraft arrived from and departed for Iraq.
#msg-5461656
Sunnis on hit list
The contacts said that over three dozen former Iraqi Air Force personnel have been killed. The Iraqi resistance is sure that the Badr Organization is behind most of the killings, having been provided information on some of the targets by Iranian intelligence.
However, the Iraqi resistance is surprised how a list of the officers trained in Pakistan was handed over to Badr. The only possible conduit is Pakistan's cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under which it provided the list to the CIA, and it was then passed on to Badr.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GL17Ak01.html
U.S. fears prospect of Saudi coup, weighs invasion plans
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
WASHINGTON — The United States has raised the prospect of a military invasion of Saudi Arabia.
The House Armed Services Committee considered the possibility of a Saudi coup and U.S. response during a hearing on Oct. 26.
Saudi Arabia, with 200,000 military and National Guard troops, is the largest oil producer and exporter, with an output of nine million barrels of oil per day, according to Middle East Newsline. The Arab kingdom is the third largest supplier of oil to the United States, with more than 1.55 million barrels per day.
The scenario was outlined by Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, who cited a Saudi coup as one of several threats to the United States.
"How should the United States respond if a coup, presumably fundamentalist in nature, overthrows the royal family in Saudi Arabia?" O'Hanlon asked. "Such a result would raise the specter of major disruption to the oil economy."
The response could include the deployment of three U.S. Army divisions backed by fighter-jets and airborne early-warning and alert aircraft. In all, the U.S.-led mission could include up to 300,000 troops.
Congressional sources said the House hearing, which focused on future threats in the Middle East and other regions, marked increasing U.S. concern of Saudi instability. They said the open hearing echoed a series of briefings on Saudi and Gulf Arab instability given by non-government analysts to the State Department, Defense Department and National Security Council since 2002.
The House committee was told that U.S. concern of a Saudi coup appears greater than ever. O'Hanlon said such a coup would also destabilize Pakistan, a nuclear power since 1998.
"This type of scenario has been discussed for at least two decades and remains of concern today — perhaps even more so — given the surge of terrorist violence in Saudi Arabia in recent years as well as the continued growth and hostile ideology of Al Qaida along with the broader Wahabi movement," O'Hanlon said. In his testimony, O'Hanlon envisioned a Saudi coup as resulting in the emergence of what he termed a fundamentalist regime intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. Another prospect was that the new regime would seek to disrupt the oil market.
"Indeed, it might be feasible not to do anything at first, and hope that the new regime gradually realized the benefits of reintegrating Saudi Arabia at least partially into the global oil economy," O'Hanlon said. "But in the end the United States and other western countries might consider using force."
O'Hanlon envisioned a U.S.-led military operation designed to seize Saudi oil wells, located along the eastern coast. Washington and its allies would place the proceeds from Saudi oil sales into escrow for a future pro-Western government in Riyad.
A U.S.-led military force of 300,000 would be required to secure the entire Saudi Arabia, O'Hanlon said. He said about 10,000 troops could capture eastern Saudi Arabia, which contains virtually all of the kingdom's oil wells. But more than 100,000 additional troops would be required to protect the wells and other vital infrastructure.
"An operation to overthrow the new Saudi regime and gradually stabilize a country of the size in question would probably require in the vicinity of 300,000 troops, using standard sizing criteria," O'Hanlon said. "So in fact a coastal strategy, while easier in some ways and perhaps less bloody in the initial phases, could be fully half as large and might last much longer."
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/0....157638889.html
Report: Blast Damages Saudi Pipeline
Updated 9:08 AM ET February 24, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - An explosion occured Friday at a major oil refinery in Buqayq, eastern Saudi Arabia, a Saudi oil official said. A pipeline was damaged in an attack on the refinery, Al-Arabiya TV reported.
The explosion was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives that was detonated by the shots of security guards who fired on it as it tried to drive into the refinery, a reporter for the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report from the Saudi authorities.
The guards managed to stop a second vehicle at the refinery's gates, the reporter said.
Two assailants were killed in the attempt to break into the oil complex at Buqayq, which lies 45 miles southwest of Dammam. No guards were wounded, the reporter said.
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=060224&cat=news&st=newsd8fvh6vo3&src=...
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