Missing The Context - U.S. Media Fail To Understand Persian Gulf Diplomacy And Action
There is a lack of ability or lack of willingness in 'western' media and politics to see the world through the eyes of others. This leads to wrong conclusions about certain situations and in consequence to misguided policies.
An example is yesterday's New York Times piece about an recent announcement by the United Arab Emirates:
As Iran Seizes Tankers in Gulf, U.A.E. Pulls Back From U.S.-Led Maritime Force - New York Times - May 31, 2023
The United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday that it had stopped participating in a maritime security force led by the United States, the latest hint of tensions between Washington and key Persian Gulf allies who complain that America has not done enough to protect them from Iranian threats.The unusual public statement came after Iran seized two commercial tankers in waterways near the Emirates in quick succession over the past two months. The Emirati Foreign Ministry said the country “withdrew its participation” from the Combined Maritime Forces two months ago “as a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners.”
Political analysts say the Emirati statement could be intended as a message to the United States that the country is displeased with the level of American protection for its allies in the Persian Gulf against threats from Iran and must look out for its own interests. Emirati and Saudi officials have repeatedly expressed frustration with U.S. policy toward Iran.
The parts of the above in italics mark the assumptions and miss-conclusions that come with the inability to see the world through the eyes of others. The ignorance of the state of affairs in the Gulf expressed through them is embarrassing.
The reason the UAE officials have given, bold in the above, is easy to understand when one sees the world through their eyes.
What was the last significant measure Emirati and Saudi officials took to "expressed frustration with U.S. policy toward Iran"?
Here is a hint:
Mediated By China Iran And Saudi Arabia Restore Ties - Moon of Alabama - Mar 20, 2023
The Saudis and the UAE, the later of which was never really enthusiastic about fighting Iran, have made their peace with it. They want and need economic development.
They had found that U.S. policies were leading either nowhere or towards a full fledged war in the Gulf which probably would have hurt themselves more than Iran. They therefore no longer want to support U.S. measures designed to express hostility towards Iran.
Here is it straight from the pages of the Tehran Times:
UAE determined to boost relations with Iran: minister - Tehran Times - May 31, 2023
Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, who is a Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Tuesday.The UAE’s minister emphasized Abu Dhabi’s determination to boost relations with the Islamic Republic, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.
...
“There are no limits to the all-out expansion of relations,” the top Iranian diplomat said, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry at the time.The two sides stressed the importance of broadening cooperation, including in the private sector.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his part, highlighted the common interests of the two countries in the development of mutual relations in various fields, laying emphasis on various opportunities for joint cooperation.
Regarding the new conditions in the region, he said that in recent weeks, the region is witnessing the strengthening of cooperation, including good relations between Tehran and Riyadh and the new conditions in Syria.
The two sides mutually invited one another for visits to Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
As the UAE (and the Saudis) are intent to build better relations with Iran it would be counterproductive for them to take part in any U.S. led security measure that is intended to take on Iran.
The New York Times interpretation, that the UAE wants more U.S. pressure on Iran, is wrong because it fails to recognize the seriousness of the steps the UAE and the Saudis have taken with Iran. It fails to see the world through their eyes.
We know the Times is wrong because the UAE had said so itself after a similarly wrong report appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
UAE rejects mischaracterisation of US-UAE conversations regarding maritime security - Gulf Today - May 31, 2023
The UAE has rejected the mischaracterisation, in recent press reports, of US-UAE conversations regarding maritime security.In a statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that the UAE is committed to peaceful dialogue and diplomatic engagement as a means of advancing the shared goals of regional security and stability.
'As a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners, two months ago, the UAE withdrew its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces,” added the statement.
MoFA stressed that the UAE remains committed to responsibly ensuring the safety of navigation in its seas, in accordance with international law.
The "effective security cooperation with all partners" now obviously includes Iran. The renewed relations with Iran are the reason why the UAE stopped taking part in anti-Iranian measures. It comes, as the UAE statement mentions, two months after the Saudis and UAE made peace with Iran.
But what about those two tankers Iran has seized?
Well, the New York Times is of course harping about those two but it forgets to mention a third, earlier seized one which started the whole clash and is the reason for seizing the two later ones.
US confiscates Iran oil cargo on tanker amid Tehran tensions - Arab News/Reuters - Apr 28, 2023
The US confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in recent days in a sanctions enforcement operation, three sources said, and days later Iran seized another oil-laden tanker in retaliation, according to a maritime security firm.
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Maritime security company Ambrey said the US confiscation took place at least five days before Iran’s action on Thursday. “Ambrey has assessed the seizure by the Iranian Navy to be in response to the US action,” it said in an advisory to clients.
“Both tankers were Suezmax-sized. Iran has previously responded tit-for-tat following seizures of Iranian oil cargo.”
The sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Washington took control of the oil cargo aboard the Marshall Islands tanker Suez Rajan after securing an earlier court order. The tanker’s last reported position was near southern Africa on April 22, ship tracking data showed.
The tanker Iran-owned oil load the U.S. stole at high sea is currently anchored off Texas. Iran responded by seizing two U.S. related tankers and their load in the Gulf.
It is obvious that this was a tit for tat action as Iran has done this before:
Last year the US tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil near Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf. Greece’s supreme court ordered the cargo returned to Iran. The two Greek tankers were later released.
So here is the real story, the one the UAE based its decision on:
- Iran and the UAE have made peace and want to build on that. They want win-win economic relations with each other.
- The U.S. steals an Iranian tanker load.
- Iran reacts by seizing two U.S. related tankers.
- The U.S. revives a U.S.-led maritime security force to push against Iran's tanker seizure.
- The UAE rejects to take part in the renewed anti-Iranian measure and says so publicly.
That is the full context the UAE acted in.
The New York Times however completely ignores the first two issues. Neither UAE-Iran relations nor the tanker the U.S. has seized are mentioned in its piece. It only reports the third and fourth measure to then misinterpret number 5, the step the UAE has taken in consequence of 1 and 2.
The Times writer even finds 'experts' who are as arrogant and ignorant as the herself to support her false assertions.
Think of the bad consequences such misinterpretations might cause when U.S. policy makers, who only digest the New York Times news diet, take action on such basis.
The lesson is that to understand one must see the world through the eyes of others. What information do they have? What is historic context they are living and acting in in? One can only understand what they do and why they do it when one puts oneself mentally into their situation.
Posted by b on June 1, 2023 at 15:20 UTC | Permalink
Excellent post. NYT is a government controlled media pysop of the U.S. They are incapable of objective, complete, truthful reporting.
Posted by: JustTruth | Jun 1 2023 15:29 utc | 2
"Think of the bad consequences such misinterpretations might cause when U.S. policy makers, who only digest the New York Times news diet, take action on such basis."
Pretty much everything that's haywire around the globe has its roots in American ignorance.
Posted by: comrade simba | Jun 1 2023 15:31 utc | 3
Wondering how the NYT will misrepresent this:
IAEA Closes Iran Nuclear Site File after False Claims Are Debunked
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to close the file on traces of what is claimed to be nuclear material at one of the alleged “undetected” sites in Iran following progress in cooperation between Tehran and the nuclear watchdog.The IAEA said in a confidential quarterly report on Wednesday that it had decided to close off the investigation of traces of uranium allegedly found at the Marivan site in Abadeh County, the southwestern province of Fars, after receiving a “possible explanation” from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
“The agency at this time has no additional questions on the depleted uranium particles detected at Marivan … and the matter is no longer outstanding at this stage,” the watchdog said.
...
The confidential report by the Vienna-based IAEA also said its inspectors no longer had questions on uranium particles found to be enriched to 83.7% at Iran’s underground Fordow facility.
It’s unbelievable that those in Washington think they have the moral obligation to seize property from other states that do not follow its rules and regulations. Who gave them that power? Their patterns of behavior remind me of Mafia tactics during the middle of the 20th century. They knocked out the Mob domestically, but act like them internationally. And their newspaper people on the payroll are more than happy for good copy to print.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jun 1 2023 15:55 utc | 6
Outstanding reporting again, b!! The Outlaw US Empire can't abide peace breaking out in the Persian Gulf Region; it must have chaos and insecurity to advance its policies there and globally. I've posited for most of the year that the twin peace/security initiatives announced by Russia and Iran for the Region are being worked on very hard by all players with a helping hand being provided by China. What's more is this "disease" as seen by the Empire has a very good chance of spreading to the Horn of Africa region, which again would be detrimental to the Empire's policy goals.
Escobar's article in The Cradle lists the many different organizations that are all busily aimed at promoting peace, commerce and development within the Gulf Region and beyond, which is another development the Outlaw US Empire cannot abide as it finds itself essentially locked out. Why is that? Because the Empire only wants to promote war and chaos, not peace, commerce and development, so it can continue its hegemonic ways.
thanks b...
excellent breakdown and overview.... your quote - "The lesson is that to understand one must see the world through the eyes of others."
the new york times, wapo, wsj and etc. etc. - are not in the business of informing their readers.. they are in the propaganda business...to be successful in propaganda one needs to omit key details that would give a more balanced picture as they have done here... that is the disconnect.... news is informative, propaganda is selective information with the omission of important details.. we see it all the time in the western press over certain topics - mostly aligning with foreign policy objectives of the usa and friends..
Posted by: james | Jun 1 2023 16:01 utc | 8
I have seen reports that Israel may be preparing to attack Iran. If so, it will be their suicide. But Israel may believe it is now or never for them because of the recent developments in the region as well as Iran's continuing development of ever more advanced weaponry, such as their newly revealed Khorramshahr 4 super-missiles.
Posted by: FVK | Jun 1 2023 16:04 utc | 9
I still haven't fully understood how the split between the Gulf States/Saudi and the US came about. It's not enough to say China arranged a rapprochement between Saudi and Iran. That's merely the culmination or physical manifestation of something that's been developing for some time. I wonder whether it was not Trump's Abraham Accords that did it. It is notorious of course that peace treaties between Israel and the Arabs never work in any real sense. In Amman the Israeli Embassy sits isolated and hated by everybody, very cold relations, but Jordan can't get out of the agreement. I don't know Cairo, but I doubt if it's very different. I should think what happened in the Emirates and Bahrein was that the Emirs and King of B thought themselves free autocratic actors who didn't have to answer to anybody, there being hardly any national population. So they signed under pressure from Trump. But it is not in fact true that there's no public opinion, and it's universally hostile to Israel. A similar situation to Amman is to be expected: the Israeli diplomats sit isolated and ignored in their embassy. This may have turned off Gulfi's belief and interest in the protective powers of the US. Note that Saudi never did sign, in spite of the abortive meeting of Netanyahu and MbS in Saudi, where Netanyahu waited for hours and MbS never came: Saudi does have considerable public opinion expressed through the tribal chiefs and princes, and MbS was warned off.
And now the US policy is in the hands of its East European nutters, e.g. Nuland, and has other fish to fry.
Anyhow that's how it could have gone.
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 1 2023 16:15 utc | 10
I think that this New York Times article is even more devious than you have interpreted. It is always good to remember that the NYT is the mouthpiece for the intelligence branches.
I think the intelligence branches fully understand that UAE is working toward an alliance with Iran. The American people will see these NYT talking points repeated in other US media and won't see the denial by UAE of the interpretation.
So, what is the purpose of this obvious lying to the American people? I don't know their long game, but it can be guessed. Ramping up anti-Iran sentiment? Reinforcing US "security" in the region? Regime change attempts? More defense spending to launder into the pockets of neocons? Giving justification for the new US base being built in Syria?
It's not a mistake. It is purposeful pretending. I'm glad that you are showing that the NYT interpretation is wrong and how it is wrong because we so seldom see anything in the media but what they want to tell us.
Posted by: Belle | Jun 1 2023 16:23 utc | 11
The underlying factor in all this is the US arrogantly weaponising the dollar in its response to the Russian SMO in Ukraine. All these nations in this part of the world (I’m not even sure what to call it anymore, “Middle East” has colonial echoes, West Asia feels too imprecise; the Persian-Arabian subcontinent?) have measured their wealth in US$, because that is what they get paid for their oil in.
The draconian (and illegal) seizure of $-denominated Russian assets has woken many nations up to the potential danger of their own assets/wealth being seized if they do something that the US doesn’t like, so they are taking steps to stand up to the global bully.
Posted by: West of England Andy | Jun 1 2023 16:35 utc | 13
Presstitute: ”But nooooo! The Iranians are just mean, bad people! They do things we don’t understand just because they are crazy! That’s the only ‘context’ we need!”
And of course the presstitutes know they are correct because they have a participation trophy on their wall from a prestigious, safe-spaced, Ivy League adult daycare campus. They are employed by prestigious newspapers marketing departments for the Empire, so they are right and our host is wrong!
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This “misunderstanding” crap is the kind of posturing and bloviating that bullies do when working themselves up for a fight. The Empire is becoming dangerously unpredictable right now. Too much hyperventilating and delusion.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jun 1 2023 17:00 utc | 16
Belle # 12
I think the intelligence branches fully understand that UAE is working toward an alliance with Iran.
I do not disagree really with anything in your post. However I do not necessarily have to believe that they are forming an alliance with Iran. A phrase that I learned in some rooms that I repeated to young people who came from all over the world to work for a year at L'Arche is "Don't let anyone live rent free in your head." The expressions on their faces and their changes on their reactions to crappy people was priceless.
"Hell, lets just work with them, we see that Turkiye can work with Ukraine and Russia, etc., let us just find out how to stand each other, so they are Shia, at least they are Muslim. So they verbally espouse revolutionary goals, they are still a nation state just like us, why not just work with them on that basis," A working hypothesis conjecture of that magnitude by me putting myself into their shoes can be tenuous at best, but that is where I will leave it for today.
I can move on mentally and go to work caring for people at increasing risk of substandard care, frequent moves between facilities and death here in the usOfa. Any relaxations of discord between nations is balm for my brain.
Posted by: paxmark1 | Jun 1 2023 17:35 utc | 19
The demolition of the empire is self inflicted. The mindlessness of gun boat diplomacy, instead of advancing real policies has led to this crisis. The military industrial complex is as addicted to war, just as any crack addict is to a fix, just one more hit on more war, begging for a taste or a contract. The avarice is built into the nations governance, neither political faction in the USA (one party state, dem's/repub's are factions of the corporate state) will offer any change to the perpetual war policy. It is clear to China, Russia, Iran, South Africa, India and other nations that the USA is in terminal decline. The basis of power in the world is not military might, it has always been industrial strength. China has nearly 27,000 miles / 40,000 kilometres of high speed rail, USA 0, a total zero! China also uses high speed rail for freight. The high speed passenger and high speed freight trains are 100% build in China! The US public has been busy deciding who to vote for, the election cycle charade that never stops and is sold to the public addicted to hopium. The USA has been on a trajectory of self inflicted decline as a society, the greater public have become apathetic joining the deaf, dumb and blind who allow for crimes of state and elect the criminals over and over again!
Posted by: Bill Miner | Jun 1 2023 17:35 utc | 20
" what is the purpose of this obvious lying to the American people? I don't know their long game, but it can be guessed. Ramping up anti-Iran sentiment? Reinforcing US "security" in the region? Regime change attempts? More defense spending to launder into the pockets of neocons? Giving justification for the new US base being built in Syria?
It's not a mistake. It is purposeful pretending. I'm glad that you are showing that the NYT interpretation is wrong and how it is wrong because we so seldom see anything in the media but what they want to tell us.
Posted by: Belle | Jun 1 2023 16:23 utc | 12
In the U.S., after watching the obvious crimes involved in stealing an election, the State-controlled Press and Internet eagerly sing the company song. "Bad Iran, Bad Russia." And now the most recent tune, "Bad China". Of course it would be "Good China" if China supported the U.S. WarMOngers against Russia.
What a sick puppy the U.S. has become. Distemper requires only one Mercy Solution. And it is coming.
Thanks b.
Posted by: kupkee | Jun 1 2023 17:45 utc | 21
It’s not a misunderstanding. It’s deliberate reinterpretation for western news consumer consumption to justify further aggression.
The NYT is very aware of the story they just don’t want to print it as it is.
Posted by: The Phoenix | Jun 1 2023 17:50 utc | 23
Posted by: The Phoenix | Jun 1 2023 17:50 utc | 24
It’s not a misunderstanding. It’s deliberate reinterpretation for western news consumer consumption to justify further aggression.
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And if you are stupid/media illiterate, we will teach you:
Grant for Bulgaria on the program for media literacy in Europe of the US Department of State. Source: state.gov
A two-year program of the US State Department will educate Bulgarians on what information to believe. This is according to a notice of a federal contract published on the US State Department's website on May 4. The deadline for submission of tenders is June 19 and the envisaged funding is $ 878,045 (BGN 1.6 million).
According to the announcement of the grant "Media Literacy in Bulgaria", Bulgarians are media illiterate and massively believe in anti-Western propaganda and disinformation.
"Manipulated information and propaganda flood the Bulgarian population with messages designed to undermine democratic institutions, undermine the country's Euro-Atlantic orientation and exacerbate social divisions. Due to the limited focus on media and information literacy in the school system and in public discourse, many Bulgarians do not have the tools or training to critically assess the credibility of news and are not aware of the extent to which false messages pose a threat to Bulgaria's security, as well as to political, social and economic stability.
And we even send you a Teacher
U.S. Sends Special Envoy to Fight 'Disinformation'
The Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Center for Engagement of the United States, James P. Rubin, will visit our country this week, the State Department said in a statement.
Rubin will travel from May 28 to June 3, during which time he will be in Bratislava, Sofia and Brussels.
In Bratislava, the special envoy will attend the GLOBSEC 2023 forum to improve regional security coordination, the State Department said.
At each stop, Rubin will meet with representatives of local government and the EU, as well as representatives of civil society, to strengthen support for anti-disinformation initiatives.
He will discuss ongoing efforts by Russia and other actors who spread disinformation to undermine democracy and national security, and how our nations can collectively counter threats in the information space.
"In early May, James Rubin and the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski met in Washington, where they signed a memorandum between the two countries on a strategic partnership in the fight against disinformation, which will allow the two countries intensive cooperation "in countering the manipulation of information and combating disinformation."
https://obektivno.bg/sasth-prashtat-speczialen-pratenik-u-nas-za-borba-s-dezinformacziyata/
This is absolut crazy-but the europeans go with it!!!! We are totally hijacked
Posted by: Paul from Norway | Jun 1 2023 18:09 utc | 26
@ FVK | Jun 1 2023 16:04 utc | 9
Any direct Israeli military attack on Iran is most unlikely. Rather, Israel constantly tries to keep the pot boiling in order to sic the US on Iran; that has been its goal all along. While Israel engaged in a few adventurous attacks in the past, such as the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, all of that is long in the past now. Today, any Israeli attack on Iran might bring the thousands of Hizbullah missiles raining down on Israel from Lebanon, and Hizbullah's capabilities have probably been enhanced since the experience of the 2006 war there.
Also, for its part, the US has been very reluctant to attack Iran, which is a bit big for it to do. Iran is not surrounded and beset by enemies the way Iraq was in 1990-2003 and is much bigger in size and population, nor is there the opportunity to exploit the sectarian splits that plagued Iraq. During the great window of opportunity under Bush, 2007-2009, when Cheney was constantly pushing to attack Iran, it never happened because the military vetoed it. If it couldn't be done then, it is even less likely to be done now. There is also the problem that Iran might be able to block all oil shipments from the Persian Gulf, which would cause an immediate economic crisis.
Posted by: Cabe | Jun 1 2023 18:15 utc | 27
Thanks, b. Rip-snorter post!
Couldn't help noticing that the language used in UAE's MoFA public statements contained phrases used in China's promotion of peace, tranquility and mutual respect. It's a winning formula. The Yankees must be seething with impotent rage.
....
Thanks also for your IAEA news @ #4. It's great that that organisation has finally decided to GROW UP.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 1 2023 18:18 utc | 28
Thanks for the posting b
US media are the Hollywood producers of empire and their job is to project empire's view of how things should be.
It is not so much that they fail to understand but they refuse to accept is more the issue we are seeing......its propaganda all the way down
The shit show continues until it doesn't
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 1 2023 18:31 utc | 29
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 1 2023 16:15 utc | 11:
I still haven't fully understood how the split between the Gulf States/Saudi and the US came about. It's not enough to say China arranged a rapprochement between Saudi and Iran. That's merely the culmination or physical manifestation of something that's been developing for some time.
For me, it was a moment of: "Ah, finally!!!". For decades I couldn't understand how Middle East government willingly kissed Empire's ass while the Empire was conspicuously pro-Zionism and hostile to Arab nations and aspirations. It should have happened long ago, shortly after the 1967 Israeli aggression. But no, they stayed steadfast as Empire's cronies and shoeshine boys. What just happened couple of months ago is what I have thought all along should have happened in Arab/Persian self interests. Anyway, it finally happened, and auspiciously progressing.
What I don't understand is, Europe being advanced entities all around and modern in legality/common sense matters, that just about ALL of Europe (old and new) believes Empire's bullshits of China genociding Tibet/Xingjiang/HongKong/Taiwan......, just on the basis of "some informed high level sources dah dah dah said so". All it takes is just one Tibetan/Uyghur/Pro-Independence HKer or Taiwanese, who may have received a couple thousands of bucks to say certain things, then all of a sudden these become grounds for imposing sanction or forming military alliances against China. And such silly antics sells in their populations like wild fires spread across dried grasslands. That, mon ami, I don't understand!
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Jun 1 2023 18:33 utc | 30
I don't think it was misunderstanding on part of the nwt reporter as the us seizing of the tanker is well know . I think it is just a hit piece to try to squeeze Iran more
Posted by: A.z | Jun 1 2023 18:47 utc | 31
B, when it comes to dissectiing MSM reports, you are by far the best analyst I've found on the web. Thank you for all that you do!
Posted by: HT | Jun 1 2023 18:57 utc | 33
Gapminder.org did one of its studies on western journalists and it discovered that on average they were even more ignorant than the general public. If you want to understand anything about the world, newspapers are one of the least reliable sources to learn from. It is better to read books and data based studies that provide facts from multiple independent sources. Unfortunately most journalists spend their University time in a drunken stupor and missing class and when they are done write whatever.
It takes allot less effort to write stuff that agree with your audiences misperceptions than to write something that challenges them, hence stories about the Middle East that resemble hallucinations and fairytales.
Posted by: ATM | Jun 1 2023 19:03 utc | 34
Oriental Voice | Jun 1 2023 18:33 utc | 31--
Bribes to such Compradors and other means of corruption plus the authoritarian nature of many of those nations. But then the Empire began attacking its own assets via the Arab Spring, the actual rape and destruction of Libya and the attempt to do the same to Syria on the heels of the illegal Iraq War all of which were used to infiltrate US Bases into the region whose ultimate aim was to support the Zionists and continue the siege on Iran. IMO, Russia's intervention woke up those national leaders but then they still needed to learn the hard way through defeat in Yemen and Syria, while Iran was able to rise to a point where it proved its immunity to the Outlaw US Empire. Yes, there were further policy gaffs by the Empire that contributed, most notably by Trump and Pompeo. IMO, the regions leaders did something Neocons refuse to do--reflect on the past and future while also being urged along by both Russia and China. Iran's sincerity about wanting peace and security for the Region also played a big role. But thoughts of the future, particularly by the Sauds, and what the future required is what swayed all the most.
The collective We're Sorry said by the Arab League to Syria and to Iran is extremely significant given the nature of their culture. That has made the space for moving forward collectively possible. Zerosumism was finally seen for what it is--never-ending enslavement to a Master--while its opposite Win-Winism meant freedom. That's what the RoW has learned while the West remains blind to what its taught to others.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry said the country “withdrew its participation” from the Combined Maritime Forces two months ago.
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Blinken, Icky Vicky, et. al. still think that they can bully their way across the world.
Maybe they can, but it might not be working out that way. Next year, maybe even earlier, might tell. NYT as mouthpiece for DoS, quelle surprise! WaPo continues to be the CIA stand-in.
Posted by: Acco Hengst | Jun 1 2023 19:21 utc | 36
IMO, Russia's intervention woke up those national leaders but then they still needed to learn the hard way through defeat in Yemen and Syria, while Iran was able to rise to a point where it proved its immunity to the Outlaw US Empire. Yes, there were further policy gaffs by the Empire that contributed, most notably by Trump and Pompeo.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jun 1 2023 19:15 utc | 36
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Incredibly accurate take. Not clear to me is how DoS would respond, other than by an escalation of its bullying.
Posted by: Acco Hengst | Jun 1 2023 19:24 utc | 37
Very good piece. Consider-
1. The US emerged from WWII as the preeminent global power, which rested on unrivaled military and economic might, control of worlds energy reserves, primarily in the ME and maintaining the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
2. All of the pillars supporting US global power have been systematically undermined by decades of neo-liberal economic policies (tax cuts for the wealthy and regressive tax policies, financial deregulation, bank/Wall St bailouts and job outsourcing) and spending astronomical amounts of taxpayer money on the Pentagon and strategic debacles in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine. The result- US government debt has exploded- currently $32 trillion (does not include municipal, consumer or corporate debt), while at the same time, the Russia-China-Iran axis has achieved military and economic parity with the US. Indeed, the American empire has declined to the point where its very survival is dependent upon continuous debt monetization (aka money printing) to keep financial markets and the military going.
Washington has no interest in understanding the ‘world through the eyes of others’, but rather wants to control energy resources in the Persian Gulf and is constantly destabilizing the region, either through direct military intervention (eg., Iraq) or via their proxy, the Zionist project in Israel. This instability does not benefit the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Iran and other Gulf nations. Further, these countries have watched the US engage in economic warfare- economic sanctions and asset confiscation of any country viewed as an impediment to US global power. The fact that KSA and UAE have improved relations with Russia, China and Iran is indicative of the relative decline of US power. As stated by Lord Palmerston of Great Britain, countries do not have ‘permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
See- The Middle East and US global power: Fossil Fuel- Lifeblood of the American Empire Nov 22, 2022; https://thesaker.is/the-middle-east-and-us-global-power-fossil-fuel-lifeblood-of-the-american-empire/
Why the change in the Gulf States ?
They want to join the winning team.
Posted by: Exile | Jun 1 2023 19:47 utc | 39
While touring Israel and Europe back in 1984, I had the misfortune of actually meeting some of America's purported "allies". Admittedly these were younger, less pragmatic people, but their opinions were honest. Not only the Swedes who were neutral but the British, French and Germans were intensely hostile towards the United States. The British remain aggrieved about having to repay the lend lease loans that saved their butts. The hostility was so intense that I found it necessary to pretend that I was Canadian to seduce the local women.
The word "parasite" would be a far more accurate description of the Eurotrash then "ally.". They clearly expected America to pay for their defense or believed no defense was needed. I resolved then that the US should, when it became practical, free itself from its entangling alliances and revert to its historic policy of isolationism.
When the Berlin Wall fell and the Warsaw Pact as well as the Soviet Union imploded, the rationalization for NATO as well as other US alliances became void. It was time for America to fold up its nuclear umbrella and bring its troops home. Unfortunately; Iraq invaded Kuwait and George H W Bush felt compelled to protect Japan's and Europe's oil supply. (The US was already a net oil importer, but most imports came from Africa and Latin America.) Investing in energy independence would have been much cheaper than fighting a war.
The Gulf War provided a pretext for NATO's continued existence. President Clinton, who had zero experience or expertise in foreign policy, was eagerly persuaded to go on the warpath to expand NATO. Serbia was bombed relentlessly to enable jihadists to impose Sharia law. Meanwhile; the Pentagon and CIA were providing an ample supply of nubile young interns to keep President Clinton content.
The 9-11 attacks provided yet another pretext to expand NATO. George W Bush was less venial than Clinton and the threat of a nuclear 9-11 was terrifying. However; he lost sight of any realistic mission.
The election of Obama was catastrophic for America. Aside from being easily manipulated by the Deep State, he appointed Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State! Hillary then assembled the team of Victoria Nuland and Samantha Powers to incite the war in the Ukraine.
President Trump was fought relentlessly and eventually impeached by the Deep State for resisting efforts to expand NATO into the Ukraine. You might recall that Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, an immigrant from the Ukraine, was the accuser. Speaker of the House Nutty Nancy Pelossi eagerly went along because she would become one heart beat closer to becoming the President. Vice President Pence was to stupid to understand that a conviction would have guaranteed his assassination.
Now with stumbling Biden as President, America's alleged allies (security dependants) are realizing that they better prepare to be on their own. They are making peace with their former enemies and telling America to go fuccck itself.
The bad news for Russia and almost everyone else is that all of America's security dependants are going to start building nuclear arsenals so that they can fend for themselves.
Posted by: Elmer Fudd | Jun 1 2023 20:15 utc | 40
Must be very interesting for historians such as k, so many big things. The way things ebb and flow and cycle.
The Silk Road. The Fertile Crescent.
What is before “biblical”? Primordial?! Old forces at play.
Posted by: Rae | Jun 1 2023 20:23 utc | 41
"
The lesson is that to understand one must see the world through the eyes of others. What information do they have? What is historic context they are living and acting in in? One can only understand what they do and why they do it when one puts oneself mentally into their situation.
"
Impossible for most of those self-identified as Europeans. Individualist mind erases alterity.
Posted by: Tamanra | Jun 1 2023 20:29 utc | 42
@karlof1, #36:
Thanks for your reply. What you wrote, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, et al, was precisely what I had in mind in wondering how the Arabs let the Empire raped them in the past, and you're right the Empire did it on Zionists' behalf. Nasser once said the Arabs must unite against Zionism, and he named Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Hafez al-Assad of Syria, and Gaddafi of Lybia as likely successor to him to unite the Arabian world in this cause. Sure enough, the Empire eliminated all three of them (well in the case of Assad, it was done to the son of Hafez) while the rest of Arab just sit and watched.
I believe the present generation of Arabian leadership are less in awe and colonial minded than their fathers of the West. I hope too they would amend the damages done in Yemen. Things are looking up!
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Jun 1 2023 20:29 utc | 43
This is why I long ago stopped reading any “hard” news stories in the Times. So many of them are laden with falsehoods and propagandistic content. “Soft” news and features, however, are fairly innocuous, but even there the reader must be vigilant.
Posted by: Rob | Jun 1 2023 20:39 utc | 44
The NYT has a day job of framing and spinning fake and real events to fit the US narrative.
Beyond that and reflecting on b's analysis of the NYT coverage on the Persian Gulf events, it does feel like a somewhat helpless 'oh it's nothing!'.
Small and hitherto deeply loyal vassals like the UAE come out in open defiance of the hegemon's military. Recently Lula said Brazil should drop the USD for trading, now adding and so should the whole of South America. Nearly every day another vassal raises eyebrows with similar statements.
It's starting to look like a global stampede to get out of the crumbling USD edifice. A realisation must be spreading that you can't wait safely until the USD really does collapse, pick up your bags and carry them over to another side. When the CBDCs go live, replacing the current money, those USDs are no longer yours. You can't take them out, you can't sell your USD-demoninated stocks/bonds/treasuries/private equity/property etc. without approval of the US. CBDCs are like personalised shop vouchers and they are only worth at any given moment what the shop guy says. The first stage of USD CBDC implementation is announced to start in July under the name "FedNow". The offical claim that FedNow is not the first step toward a CBDC tells you all you need to know.
So vassals wishing to save their USD-denominated assets need to take political risks and start moving things now. The same logic applies to other Western fiats whose CBDC schedules are similar, staggered out by a few months.
Posted by: Leser | Jun 1 2023 20:45 utc | 45
Honestly, I think even NYT goons know exactly the reasons and are just deliberately lying and saying things blatantly opposed to the truth.
"They had found that U.S. policies were leading either nowhere or towards a full fledged war in the Gulf"
Weird. I wonder what might have happened 15 months ago that would led them to that obvious conclusion. I mean, US policies have never led any country to full-fledged disruptive deadly and massively destructive war.
At least, Ukraine serves as a case lesson to the rest of the world, about what happens to countries that the USA wants to "protect" and "help defend themselves". Looks like some in Taiwan and the Gulf States have taken notes.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Jun 1 2023 20:54 utc | 46
"Isolationism" is a contrived concept developed during WW2 to use as a foil for the new type of "Internationalism" that was to emerge as Outlaw US Empire policy. Any decent student of US History will tell you US policy was anything but isolationist from its plantation to 7 December 1941 when "everything suddenly changed and America was thrust unwillingly upon the global stage" as some Court Historians have loyally detailed.
Rae | Jun 1 2023 20:23 utc | 42--
The Bible is actually a recent work when compared to those well before it on which many of its tales are based. Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's Laws are two that considerably predate it. The realization that a very large area off the shores of Southeast Asia (Sunda) were dry land during the Ice Age has spurred anthropologists to rethink why Asia has always supported a much greater population than Africa, Europe not even coming close during the time periods being considered. When I taught, I always used this observation made by Herodotus to get students to think: "There was once a time when women stood upright while urinating and men squatted." And there are many similar examples within Joseph Campbell's Mask's of God series related to the Mythos. The reason I minored in Anthropology is because it begins when written human history no longer tells us anything and looks to our origins, which of course is history. IMO, one of the most amazing places to visit related to human history is Mesa Verde in Colorado and other related examples of human habitat. Not just the Why but also the ingenuity.
For me, Primordial relates to the onset of life forming from organic chemicals in a manner that's only know somewhat beginning to be understood. Yet that too is history. And thus I've given away how I view history--it's not just human history; it's all history, and we only know a small fraction of it all; so, we ought to be humble, not arrogant.
I had the same exact thoughts yesterday when perusing the Drudge Report which linked to the WSJ article in question under the (transcribed by Drudge) title: USA Pressured to Secure Persian Gulf After Iran Seizes Tankers...
The WSJ piece is here: https://web.archive.org/web/20230530234904/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pressured-to-secure-persian-gulf-after-iran-seizes-tankers-7bab70cb">https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pressured-to-secure-persian-gulf-after-iran-seizes-tankers-7bab70cb">https://web.archive.org/web/20230530234904/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pressured-to-secure-persian-gulf-after-iran-seizes-tankers-7bab70cb
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jun 1 2023 21:24 utc | 49
Oriental Voice | Jun 1 2023 20:29 utc | 44--
Thanks for your reply. As you likely know, there was a very important connection between the world of Arabia and China signified by the Silk Road, but commerce wasn't the most important aspect of that relationship. The intellectual and cultural were far more important. Unfortunately, time eroded both the Arab and Chinese worlds, both suffering from Colonialism. Escobar has done a great service for revising that period. But I also believe a series of Chinese also reminded the Arab world of what once was and could again be; to recall that Europe was a basketcase until it revised its militarism and attacked the Arab/Islamic world. Russia having a large Islamic population it's always coexisted with has more than regained the USSR's standing in the Islamic world, while noting on the linked map where the vast majority of that world's located. Tha alliance between the Islamic, Chinese and Russian civilizations is strong and growing stronger. IMO, the dynamic interactions between those three will be the big future happening as most of the West erodes in importance.
Great summary b and refreshing.
When stationed in Gulf I began to understand the pearls & fishing heritage of Gulf coastal Arabs and how many have families on both eastern and western shores. In modern terms if an Iranian wants to become a nuclear physicist he first applies to his Kuwaiti/Qatari/Emirati cousins to petition for citizenship.
It's a far more natural relationship than divide and rule.
Posted by: Mercury | Jun 1 2023 21:42 utc | 51
Thanks b for this enlightening article. It's an amazingly simple explanation that puts the spotlight on a driver behind the current Anglo-US War on Everyone culture.
Posted by: Dim sim | Jun 1 2023 21:58 utc | 52
I'm not sure b is right about this:
"There is a lack of ability or lack of willingness in 'western' media and politics to see the world through the eyes of others."
It seems to me the MSM sees the world through the eyes of the US deep state.
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jun 1 2023 22:06 utc | 53
Constituents of the new multi-polar world tend to place economic interests ahead of military interests (as the US does).
...from Foreign Brief,Constituents 23, 2022--
The UAE’s Iranian strategy
The UAE’s significant economic interests in Iran have been the primary factor driving friendly relations. The UAE is by far the largest exporter of non-oil goods to Iran, accounting for 68% of Iran’s imports. During a six month period in 2021, the UAE exported three times more goods to Iran than Turkey, the next largest exporter. The UAE’s exports represent $7 billion in goods, and that figure is likely an undercount, since many exporters refrain from declaring their goods because of sanctions. This quantity of exports is possible because the UAE has become Iran’s primary link to the global economy since the reimposition of stringent US sanctions in 2018.Companies in the UAE order manufactured goods from Western and East Asian firms and then profit by reselling them to Iranian customers at inflated prices. The arrangement works for both parties, as Iran does not have ready access to these goods from other sources, and Emirati companies make a large profit. Total exports to Iran are set to exceed $12 billion in 2022. Both countries are also keen to expand the relationship in the near future, pledging to increase trade to $30 billion by 2025.
Aside from its direct economic ties to Iran, the UAE is also keen on using its engagement as a means of reducing the odds that Iran will destabilize the region. Iran has a history of seizing ships in the Gulf, and a flare up with Iranian proxies in Yemen could be damaging. With the US looking to lessen its commitments in the Middle East, a key pillar of regional security seems set to weaken. Iran may seek to exploit this and gain influence across the region, potentially increasing its presence in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and other unstable states. This could provoke a reaction from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners. The UAE is seeking to lessen the odds of such conflict by deepening Iran’s dependence on its neighbors. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 1 2023 22:51 utc | 54
One of the areas in which the US will be pulling out all the stops in its efforts to prevent any outbreaks of peace is the UAE's involvement in Yemen and Socotra.
The UAE appears to be sponsoring a south Yemeni separatist movement, likely to revert to the old Aden Protectorate borders, in order to hang on to its control of the Gulf entrance through Aden and Socotra.
This clashes with Iran's support for the latest incarnation of the ancient Imanate in Sa'ana, the so called Houthis.
On the other hand, if the Gulf is to become an area policed by its neighbouring states and emptied of its imperial fleets UAE will have no interest in keeping, at considerable expense, a grip on the gulf of Aden.
Posted by: bevin | Jun 1 2023 23:13 utc | 56
As both Hersh and Sachs have noted on numerous occasions the NYT once upon a time did a bit of reasonably decent investigative journalism .... NO MORE. It is a State Dept. mouthpiece and peddles propaganda ... it doesn't even have a decent Gardening section.
The pace of change in ME/West Asia is staggering ... and I welcome it ... I have experience in the region and have met all nationalities .... respect gets one a long way in Islamic cultures ...
An accumulation of factors have led to the present reset ... I mention just a few:
# Suleimanii's revenge
# The $300 billion in RF assets
# OPEC +1
# Tilt to China and Belt and Road
# RF/Iranian partnership
# Colour revolutions
# RF/China partnership
# An untrustworthy hegemon
# The shambles of all these wars
# Rising populations and the need for development and jobs ...
# Diminishing fear of Israel
# Trade with China
# Islam
#
Posted by: Don Firineach | Jun 1 2023 23:17 utc | 57
Spot on MoA,
The U.S. is guilty of ... 1. lack of empathy, and 2. narcissism (believing that the world 'craves' U.S. leadership)
Pride comes before a fall.
Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jun 1 2023 23:19 utc | 58
B proves doubly perspicacious in this remarkable post -- reminding us of realities excluded by the agitprop machine, and also whittling down to a core philosophical issue. I'd even call it a spiritual issue, such that the incapacity of US Americans to take a walk in someone else's shoes is a grave spiritual deficit afflicting most of our polity, imho.
Though Jean-Paul Sartre, like all philosophers, is flawed, I find his anti-colonial writings intriguing because he uniquely focuses on the damage colonialism wreaks on the colonizers themselves. US American solipsism is the perfect example of such profound damage to the souls of colonizers -- especially those too oblivious to know they're colonizers. It's not just damage to foreign relations, folks.
You've got a whole nation of very poor, lonely people, who can't even see things through the eyes of the people they live with. Who can't relate, period. Martin Buber taught that reality itself consists only of relation, and that relation is reciprocity. US Americans don't live on a planet where real relationships are even possible, by and large.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jun 1 2023 23:45 utc | 59
Elmer Fudd | Jun 1 2023 20:15 utc | 41 :
*** The Gulf War provided a pretext for NATO's continued existence. President Clinton, who had zero experience or expertise in foreign policy, was eagerly persuaded to go on the warpath to expand NATO. Serbia was bombed relentlessly to enable jihadists to impose Sharia law. Meanwhile; the Pentagon and CIA were providing an ample supply of nubile young interns to keep President Clinton content.***
Not quite no foreign policy experience. "Rhodes Scholar" Clinton went to Oxford University (in England) as part of his Vietnam draft-dodging ... Oxford being a long-running Establishment cesspit from which many UK and foreign traitors and degenerates have slithered.
Posted by: Cynic | Jun 2 2023 1:22 utc | 60
karlof1 | Jun 1 2023 21:06 utc | 48
Thank you to you and b for your commentaries this morning (I live in Japan).
I studied history as a minor subject at university (in the 1980s) but never managed to fit in any anthropology, which I regret since it has gradually become one of the areas of study that most interests me.
I read this book shortly after it was published in 2004, and it has had an enduring impact on me:
Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization, by Richard Manning
Much more recently, a friend recommended this book, which was partially inspired by the one above but comes from quite a different perspective and includes more recent advances in research:
Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, by James C. Scott
They are both worthwhile reads, IMHO.
Posted by: tawharanui | Jun 2 2023 2:01 utc | 61
I still haven't fully understood how the split between the Gulf States/Saudi and the US came about. …
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 1 2023 16:15 utc | 11
I was still reading the Post (and stupidly believing it) daily in 2018 when Jamal Khashoggi was killed and there were constant, bilious op-ed demands bring the medieval headchopper to justice and campaign promises to get tough with Saudi that carried over into official hostility when Biden was installed. All that went away when Biden came begging for oil. But I am sure if you are looking for reasons for the Saudi part of the split, that whole episode could not have sat well with MbS.
Posted by: user430058 | Jun 2 2023 3:37 utc | 62
@ user430058 | Jun 2 2023 3:37 utc | 69
re: Biden came begging for oil
reuters, Jul 15, 2022
Biden confronts Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi murder, expects action on energy
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman he held him responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, shortly after exchanging a fist bump with the kingdom's de facto ruler.
On a trip to reset relations with a country he had called a pariah after Khashoggi's killing in 2018, Biden said the crown prince, known as MbS, denied involvement in the murder and said he had held those responsible to account. . . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 2 2023 4:00 utc | 63
The draconian (and illegal) seizure of $-denominated Russian assets has woken many nations up to the potential danger of their own assets/wealth being seized if they do something that the US doesn’t like, so they are taking steps to stand up to the global bully.
Posted by: West of England Andy | Jun 1 2023 16:35 utc | 14
I am of the same opinion. For oil exporters in Persian Gulf, the security of their investments is of extreme importance, so their vital interest is that the grab of Russian assets will not pay, and they reduce the exposure to a similar piracy. The world economy is only so big, so relocating huge assets cannot be done quickly, but even gradual switch has a secondary effect of putting pressure on USA.
Once they started to review their priorities, the enmity with Iran, Shia heretics that they are, became secondary. Patching the relations with Iran has several profound advantages:
1. Better security arrangement than the alliance with USA. USA is interested in inflaming local conflicts and using them to create dependency and market with highly overpriced weapons. Mutual non-aggression understanding takes care of the threat from the north.
2. Reduced need for American weapons removes favorite American method to apply pressure on Gulfies. Even in the last Fall, irate American Democratic senators were floating the idea of freezing weapon sales to KSA+UAE because the latter agreed to an OPEC production cut.
In the same time, trade with Russia and Iran yields non-negligible gains, particularly in Dubai, but even KSA got a nice piece of action.
And mind you, why absolute monarch of the Gulf would care one way or another who is more authoritarian: Russia or Ukraine? The newest edition if NATO ideology has not attraction for them.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 2 2023 4:30 utc | 64
Posted by: user430058 | Jun 2 2023 3:37 utc | 69
re Khashoggi. I doubt if the Kashoggi murder plays that great a role, as it is not only Saudi, but also the Gulf states which are concerned in the US split with the region.
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 2 2023 6:25 utc | 65
Posted by: bevin | Jun 1 2023 23:13 utc | 57
I thought the UAE had largely withdrawn from South Yemen, but you're right, google doesn't give any sign of a withdrawal from Socotra. At any rate, UAE are on the way out from Yemen; they don't have the resources for a long-term occupation.
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 2 2023 7:37 utc | 66
Posted by: Giyane | Jun 2 2023 7:10 utc | 67
There was a lot of Islamic trade with the Vikings and Scandinavia in the 9th-11th centuries, via the Volga (pre-Rus and pre-Kiev). It was not particularly Shi'a, though with the rise of the Shi'a politically in the 10th century, there might be some traces. For example, the most famous imitation of an Islamic coin by Offa King of Mercia (the area of Birmingham UK) in the 9th century, round 830, has a purely Sunni text, but it didn't matter because they couldn't read it.
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 2 2023 7:58 utc | 67
Maybe they understand perfectly well, it's just that being de facto deep state MICIMATT* run media, they need to lie to their readers to keep the wars going and give voters the perceived justification for them.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MICIMATT
Posted by: Et Tu | Jun 2 2023 8:15 utc | 68
The lesson is that to understand one must see the world through the eyes of others.
This lesson is worthless to those who must maintain the delusion of power, for the delusion cannot exist without belief in a single dominating notion of "right" and "wrong".
Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jun 2 2023 8:40 utc | 69
It gets better:
https://iranpress.com/content/77984/iran-saudi-arabia-uae-and-oman-form-joint-navy
Posted by: Bart | Jun 2 2023 10:39 utc | 70
As I recall, the US seized a tanker from Iran a few years ago and sold the oil. From my mind that sure as hell is piracy.
Posted by: Chicago Bob | Jun 2 2023 10:48 utc | 71
I wouldn’t rely on any bit from the NYT article as it is what the Pentagon and CIA wants you to believe. Operation Mockingbird epilogue.
It doesn’t rhyme with the basic facts and it gives no pass to comment on thrash. especially where it involves the Middle East and the only democracy the Jewish State from biblical reading, ask the Kahanists in Bibi’s cabinet.
More likely the urgency of the Arab states and Iran to unite against the imminent threat of a joint US-Israeli attack on the Islamic republic of Iran. Similar to fall 2002 when the Bush-Cheney cabal would not take any advice from ally Saudi Arabia and warnings not to invade Iraq to overthrow dictator Hussein as this would open Pandora’s Box, in Washington terms the Neocon Plan to redo the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia never agreed to the Abraham ’Economic’ Accords as Jerusalem will always be a break point in any talks with Israel. The sheiks of the Emirates were many years very close to Israel through the intelligence services, espionage and cooperaton by hiring experts from the NSA and Unit 8200. The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Mossad operation in Dubai must have left a lasting impression of the prowess of Israeli intelligence and agents. The fact that the UAE is finished with Uncle Sam is the biggest story. Over a decade ago I predicted the Americans would be thrown out of the Arab peninsula before long and Saudi Arabia, and so it happened .
UAE Hired U.S. Mercenaries to Hack Enemies' iPhones With Advanced Spy Tool (Pegasus)New report reveals 'Project Raven,' an espionage endeavor by the Gulf country that started in 2016 and spans targets from Yemen to Turkey.
Basic agreements between UAE and Israel for signing the AA agreement were already violated before the ink of the signatures were dry. Specifically, settlement expansion would be paused 😊
As for #Joe, he was finished with the grave personal insult to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Learn about Arab honour through the ages :-)
For Saudi King Salman, the Palestinian cause, status of Jerusalem has the highest priority.
[For his visit, King Salman must have granted Joe immunity as normally his head would have been on the chopping blac]
I doubt if the Kashoggi murder plays that great a role....
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 2 2023 6:25 utc | 66
Well, it did lead to sanctions, which seem to be a common theme. I am a humble neophyte here and I don't pretend to any kind of expertise, happy to defer to those more informed. But I do remember it was a pretty big deal in the political media in Washington at the time:
"US, Saudi steps in Kashoggi case don't go far enough, lawmakers say"
Posted by: user430058 | Jun 2 2023 12:39 utc | 74
More background
I have collected hundreds of sources on the tanker war in the Persian Gulf and in the high seas. Starting from the British seizure of Iranian tanker Grace I in 2019 until present. (The links lead to the ACLOS wiki)
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Jun 2 2023 12:42 utc | 75
The damage the NYTimes has done to intelligent friends of mine has. been one of the more appalling occurrences of my experience studying the world. In the 80s it did its job, but it was just about all we had except The Village Voice, or The Boston Phoenix. Papers you could grab from corner boxes.
That period of our early development when the youth of my era were finding lucrative managerial class work gave the paper the tools it needed to invent reality I think. Because events like The Sunday Times because.e a ritual.
This mind altering experiment I have no doubt the cynical perpetrators of this crime believe is harmless or beneficial. I personally have never felt that a delusional experience is either. I'd rather face the music and pay the price for knowing how the world actually is. A world where the most benign smile the kindest person will kick you to the gutter. A world where you too may ask yourself, "my god what have I done?"
So I think there's a kind of fear and cowardice inherent in the true believers of the NYTimes. A fear of uncertainty and upheaval and out of the ordinary that doesn't jibe with a comfy lifestyle of ease leisure or varieties of hedonism.
Posted by: Geoff | Jun 2 2023 13:01 utc | 76
Along with this Gulf shakeup the US Navy has rid itself of one bad habit -- the Gulf is no longer the Arabian Gulf, as it was for a while, it is properly the Persian Gulf.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 2 2023 13:14 utc | 77
Superlative piece, b.
Re:"Yes, there were further policy gaffs by the Empire that contributed, most notably by Trump and Pompeo."
Posted by: karlof1 | Jun 1 2023 19:15 utc | 36
=======
As if they, not the Neocons, were driving US foreign policy. And who do the Neocons serve? There is your 'Empire.' They use the collective wealth and might of the US, UK, France, Germany and many more but not in the interest of their peoples whose governments are captured in the all pervasive nets of those same networks. Which, finally, the Rest of the World seem to be resisting, even though those same materialist, transactional networks have tentacles in all leading nations.
The Russians, including Dugin, call it the 'Anglo Saxons' which is a bit strange. Who are the Saxons? The Saker's Anglo-Zionists is better but still a little off since this is not a racial or ideological phenomenon. In any case, people like Trump and Pompeo are low down in the pecking order.
Hello friends,
The White Western Judeo-Christian mass media cannot be trusted. Way too many lies and deceptions. Way too much psychological warfare garbage.
Used toilet napkins have more value than the likes of New York Times 'news'paper.🤓
Posted by: Ali | Jun 2 2023 13:34 utc | 79
“Can’t avoid the fact that Russia is an adversary” so says the chairman of American Arms Control Association. But the real problem for the U.S. is this administration has got things backassward. They are now hamstrung with huge issues left unresolved, from multiple directions and all at the same time. The U.S will continue to poke and prod for any and all opportunities to promote/protect their interests globally but all the excess baggage is starting to really drag it down.
And Trump wants to throw a big party.
Posted by: thecelticwithinme | Jun 2 2023 15:15 utc | 80
“Can’t avoid the fact that Russia is an adversary” so says the chairman of American Arms Control Association. But the real problem for the U.S. is this administration has got things backassward. They are now hamstrung with huge issues left unresolved, from multiple directions and all at the same time. The U.S will continue to poke and prod for any and all opportunities to promote/protect their interests globally but all the excess baggage is starting to really drag it down.
And Trump wants to throw a big party.
Posted by: thecelticwithinme | Jun 2 2023 15:15 utc | 81
“Why aren't these seizures considered piracy?”
Posted by: team10tim | Jun 1 2023 17:47 utc | 23
1st Principle: LAWS BE DAMNED! It’s like taxation. ‘Legal’ when done by the entity with the most firepower and jail cells (Empires, States, Crime Syndicates, Banks…) but a crime when done by others - especially ‘legal’ owners. See also Syrian oil, Peruvian lithium, Iraqi oil, etc…
Posted by: Phlogiston_Warrior | Jun 2 2023 15:39 utc | 82
tawharanui | Jun 2 2023 2:01 utc | 62--
Thanks for your reply and the reading suggestions. I share the hypothesis that the development of agriculture was so revolutionary that it ruptured the long-established culture that regulated human affairs causing a dysfunction that has yet to be remedied and thus the chaos that's mostly reigned since.
@ Tamanra | Jun 1 2023 20:29 utc | 43
So you believe diversity of thought is best served by anti-individualist philosophy?
Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 2 2023 16:02 utc | 84
@ karlof1 | Jun 1 2023 21:06 utc | 48
Give me water, sunlight, copolymers, and a couple billion years, and I'll show you people arguing it never happened.
Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 2 2023 16:05 utc | 85
you too may ask yourself, "my god what have I done?"
Posted by: Geoff | Jun 2 2023 13:01 utc | 77
Many people find difficulty facing the music when they have a fear of music. Equally difficult to remain in light when “Facts don't do what I want them to”, enough to make people cross-eyed and painless...
Posted by: West of England Andy | Jun 2 2023 16:12 utc | 86
@ my 78
re: the US Navy has rid itself of one bad habit -- the Gulf is no longer the Arabian Gulf
I'm wrong (again).
...from Navy
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Commander, 5th Fleet's area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 21 countries, includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen. . . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 3 2023 3:50 utc | 87
The UAE withdrew from this exercise as they decided to seek a path to peace other than the bellicose posturing exhibited by US led "coalitions." How long will it be before other "willing partners" of the US discover the same?
Posted by: laguerre | Jun 1 2023 16:15 utc | 11
«I still haven't fully understood how the split between the Gulf States/Saudi and the US came about. It's not enough to say China arranged a rapprochement between Saudi and Iran.»
It is purely imaginary, just public relations: no USA bases have never been closed, the Gulf rulers who are very aware that up to 90% of their populations are immigrant are totally dependent on USA support to keep domestic power, the USA could "color revolution" them, and there are no substitutes.
Given that the current (like many past ones) rulers of Arabia have spoken of wanting a "final solution" to the Sh'i issue, the current cold peace with Iran must be just a pause.
In particular MBS must be terrified of the ever increasing percentage of oil consumed domestically (because of Inkhata the saudi ruling class encouraged an incredible fertility boom in the 1970-1990s), and thus not exportable, has been trying to develop export activities to replace oil, so probably he wants to have a truce with Iran to try to sort out his domestic problems. Iran has the same problem, so they are available. Besides several decades-old projections showed that the oilfields of Arabia and Persia would start having issues around this time, and even with new better extraction technology that is bound to happen soon.
As a result they are talking up the hydrogen economy, hoping to become a big hydrogen exporter, something that they would not do if they thought that they still had enough oil to continue being rich:
Posted by: Blissex | Jun 3 2023 13:53 utc | 89
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 2 2023 4:30 utc | 65
«the security of their investments is of extreme importance»
That's actually irrelevant, they have much bigger issues: some of those states have 50-80% indian/pakistani populations, why don't the indian or pakistani governments organize them to simply take them over? Think about it.
The "native" sheiks and citizens simply cannot hold onto their fiefs by force. Besides in colonial times the Gulf, Oman, and Aden were effectively ruled from the Bombay Presidency, not directly from London. Plus the saudi family have had big issues with native movements like Inkhata.
The ruling elites of most Gulf states are kept in power by the USA military, and thus they owe the entirety of their lives and fortunes to the USA. If they ever did anything to piss off the USA government to the point that the USA government would want to confiscate their loot, they would have to worry more about the USA government ensuring they joined a list containing Saddam Hussein and Muhammad Gaddhafi...
Posted by: Blissex | Jun 3 2023 14:07 utc | 90
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jun 1 2023 22:06 utc | 54
«It seems to me the MSM sees the world through the eyes of the US deep state»
More precisely through the eyes of "investors", who also largely control the "deep state" (as well as the "visible state"). Nearly everybody outside the USA understands since an early age that billionaires don't buy and control media chains to let them publish "investor" unfriendly content, unless they are crazy (and Elon Musk may be that type of crazy).
https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-images/political-cartoons-caricatures/38_00392.htm
Posted by: Blissex | Jun 3 2023 14:13 utc | 91
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 2 2023 4:30 utc | 65
«Even in the last Fall, irate American Democratic senators were floating the idea of freezing weapon sales to KSA+UAE because the latter agreed to an OPEC production cut.»
Frank Zappa pointed out that Congress is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex, so my guess that it is so much else just a spectacle.
Posted by: Blissex | Jun 3 2023 14:29 utc | 92
Posted by: BrightSpark | Jun 1 2023 16:12 utc | 10
I wouldn't waste any time analysing Western media. Better time could be spent analysing a turd.
While it may not have been your intent, be aware that you are effectively calling to limit the ongoing discussion exposing the manipulative Western media.
Would you prefer to censor this topic?
Posted by: robin | Jun 3 2023 19:01 utc | 93
Scorpion | Jun 2 2023 13:17 utc | 79
*** The Russians, including Dugin, call it the 'Anglo Saxons' which is a bit strange. Who are the Saxons? The Saker's Anglo-Zionists is better but still a little off since this is not a racial or ideological phenomenon. In any case, people like Trump and Pompeo are low down in the pecking order.***
Intriguing coincidence of timing that wokist Establishment "history" academics at Cambridge University have suddenly decided to declare there is no such thing -- and never was such a thing -- as "Anglo Saxon".
While not claiming the same about various Jewish / Israeli assertions, however far fetched and self-serving.
Posted by: Cynic | Jun 4 2023 13:08 utc | 94
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AmeriKAN mainstream media lie through their teeths on a daily basis.....Glad to hear the Arab world are finally working together like brothers....
Posted by: AI | Jun 1 2023 15:29 utc | 1