Canberra, 12 June 2016 The armies that burst out of the Arabian Peninsula with the message of the Prophet Muhammad and the initial teachings of a fledgling religion were numerically small, seldom more than 20,000 soldiers and often much smaller. However, they were a homogeneous group, fully comprised of Arabs who had embraced the […]
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Tag Archives: Yemen
SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN: DRAWING THE BATTLE LINES
January 20, 2016 
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Canberra, 20 January 2016 Ever since King Salman came to power in early 2015 and brought about sweeping changes in the hierarchy within the monarchy, the administration has been pursuing a more vigorous foreign policy than the one followed by the previous regime of King Abdullah. The focused objective has been to limit to the […]
Continue readingSAUDI ARABIA: CHARTING A COMPLEX COURSE
July 11, 2015 3 Comments
Canberra, 11 July 2015 From the very beginning of their rule of the Saudi kingdom, the al-Saud family has embraced the principles and practices of the Wahabi ideology, an extreme and strict version of Islam. The support for the extreme variety of Wahabi teachings increased in 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in neighbouring […]
Continue readingPAKISTAN: STUCK IN A CUL-DE-SAC
June 22, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 22 June 2014 Pakistan, a state created in the name of Islam, is today divided along linguistic, ethnic, tribal and sectarian lines. It also claims to be the ‘heart of Asia’, making any observer want to ask, ‘a wounded, bleeding heart?’ While it is beset with domestic issues that directly threaten the well-being of […]
Continue readingYEMEN: WHO IS FIGHTING WHOM, AND WHY?
April 29, 2015 3 Comments
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 […]
Continue readingTHE WAR IN YEMEN: ANOTHER POWDER KEG BLOWS UP
April 4, 2015 4 Comments
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. […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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