Canberra, 29 April 2015 All the nations of the Middle-East are now at war—against one another or against undefinable entities who are pursuing their own warped agenda—ruthlessly attempting to shore up lost prestige, struggling to retain power and influence, and to regain long lost command over the region. The rationale put forward is the necessity […]
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Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia
THE WAR IN YEMEN: ANOTHER POWDER KEG BLOWS UP
April 4, 2015 
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Canberra, 4 April 2015 A ten-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia that also comprises members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) launched airstrikes in Yemen on 25th March. The Saudi ambassador to the United States stated that the operation was aimed at preventing the radical Houthi movement from taking over Yemen. The airstrikes were conducted […]
Continue readingTHE KING IS DEAD-LONG LIVE THE KING – SAUDI ARABIA: A LEGACY OF FOREIGN POLICY BLUNDERS
February 11, 2015 2 Comments
Canberra, 11 February 2015 Much is being written about the ‘peaceful’ transition of power and the rapid administrative overhaul that has been undertaken by King Salman in the fortnight or so that he has been in power in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi newspapers are trumpeting the changes as heralding a new era within the kingdom. […]
Continue readingSAUDI ARABIA: ON THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA
December 30, 2014 1 Comment
Phuket, Thailand, 29 December 2014 The entire Arab world is situated within the region now called the Middle-East. However, the Middle-east is not exclusively Arab; there are numerous non-Arab minorities resident in the region and there are three major non-Arab nations that straddle it—Iran, Turkey, and Israel. Even so Saudi Arabia, the richest nation in […]
Continue readingDECIPHERING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE Part II The US-led Coalition
November 18, 2014 2 Comments
Canberra, 18 November 2014 [This is the second part of a two-part series analysing the on-going conflict in the Middle East] Introduction The US-led coalition has been fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria since offensive air operations were launched on 8 August. Aside from the Western nations, the coalition includes Saudi Arabia, […]
Continue readingDECIPHERING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE Part I: The Major Participants
November 18, 2014 1 Comment
Canberra 18 November 2014 [This is the first part of a two-part series analysing the on-going conflict in the Middle East] Introduction The world is continuing to look at the Islamic State (IS) as yet another, and admittedly more potent, terrorist or ‘jihadi’ network. This is a rather simplistic view since the current conflict in […]
Continue readingTURKEY ON THE BRINK PART II: THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE
October 9, 2014 0 Comments
Singapore, 9 October 2014 [This is Part II of a two-part series analysing the precarious situation that Turkey has created for itself in the most recent conflict raging in the Middle-East against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.] Turkey’s decision to join the coalition fighting against the Islamic State (IS) along with other […]
Continue readingTURKEY ON THE BRINK PART I: THE DEBACLE OF FOREIGN POLICY
October 8, 2014 0 Comments
Singapore, 8 October 2014 [This is Part I of a two-part series analysing the precarious situation that Turkey has created for itself in the most recent conflict raging in the Middle-East against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.] For years Turkey has tried to become part of the European Union and for years […]
Continue readingTHE CONFLICT WITH THE ISLAMIC STATE: FUTURE OF THE ARAB MONARCHIES
September 30, 2014 0 Comments
Singapore, 30 September 2014 President Obama’s address to the UN last week was the first clear statement made by him emphasising the need for liberal intervention in the Middle-East in order to defeat religious extremism. His speech contained a barely concealed anger at the financial and ideological support that is being given by the Arab […]
Continue readingTHE ARTICULATED STRATEGY TO FIGHT THE ISLAMIC STATE: IS IT SELF-DEFEATING?
September 20, 2014 2 Comments
Canberra, 20 September 2014 President Barack Obama has detailed his strategy to degrade, defeat, and ultimately destroy, the Islamic State (IS) [the IS is also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)] currently considered the most threatening of the various terrorist groups operating primarily in the Middle East. Fundamental to the […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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