Report: Saudi Arabia to Buy Nukes if Iran tests A-bomb
Saudia Arabia would move quickly to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran successfully tests an atomic bomb, according to a report. Citing an unidentified Saudi Arabian source, the Times newspaper in the U.K. (which operates behind a paywall) said that the kingdom would seek to buy ready-made warheads and also begin its own program to enrich weapons-grade uranium.
The paper suggested that Pakistan was the country most likely to supply Saudi Arabia with weapons, saying Western officials were convinced there was an understanding between the countries to do so if the security situation in the Persian Gulf gets worse. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have denied such an arrangement exists.
Iran, which follows the Shiite branch of Islam, and Sunni Saudi Arabia are major regional rivals.
Israel Urges World to Reject Palestinian Unity Government
Amid continuing uncertainty regarding what the Doha agreement between Fatah and Hamas actually means, Israel is stepping up its demand that the international community not accept an unreformed Hamas as part of the Palestinian Authority government.
“The international community can play a role in promoting peace,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a paper circulated Thursday on the Hamas- Fatah deal. “It must stand by the Quartet’s three principles. By clarifying to the Palestinian Authority that impenitent terrorist organizations cannot be partners with those seeking peace, the world will be telling the Palestinians that terrorism will not be tolerated or rewarded.”
The Quartet established three criteria for engaging with Hamas: that it give up terrorism, recognize Israel and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. The agreement signed Monday in Doha calls for the establishment of an interim unity agreement, with PA President Mahmoud Abbas replacing Salam Fayyad as the PA’s prime minister. -Source
Obama Advisor Samantha Power Calls for Invasion of Israel
In 2002 Samantha Power made the above statement, calling for a U.S. military invasion of Israel. In January 2009 President Obama appointed Samantha Power to the National Security Council, as director for multilateral affairs.
Demonstrations Whisper of an Arab Spring in Jordan
KARAK, Jordan — Beneath a statue of a glowering Saladin, the medieval Islamic warrior, a crowd unfurled banners and began chanting protests against the country’s leadership in its palaces and government offices far below the precipices of this ancient fortress town.
Jordan’s Hashemite monarch, King Abdullah II, who turned 50 last month, has had to become accustomed to such scenes as he celebrates the 13th anniversary of his rule.
“We want social justice,” the crowd chanted after Friday Prayers on Jan. 27, reading from a handwritten list of political, economic and social grievances. “Real elections,” they shouted. “I’m a citizen, not a beggar.”
Such public criticism of Jordan’s nearly century-old monarchy would have been unthinkable just a year ago among these tribesmen of the heartland. -Source
TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Israel is reported to be seeking to deploy fighter aircraft in Cyprus, its partner in developing a natural gas bonanza under the eastern Mediterranean, to protect the vital energy resources. Turkey is seen as one of the main threats.
The move follows the announcement Sunday by the Noble Energy Co., of Houston and its Israeli partner the Delek Group, that they had made a new discovery off the Israeli coast that could contain 1.2 trillion-1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Israel is already preparing to launch a major security operation to protect the offshore fields and the attendant facilities in its waters.
This will involve missile-armed patrol vessels, round-the-clock aerial surveillance by unmanned drones and other naval detachments, primarily to defend the energy zones against attack by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed force in neighboring Lebanon. -Source
Libya Unable to Control Militia Violence, Looting
TRIPOLI: Libya, the country that witnessed the Arab world's most sweeping revolution, is foundering. The government of the interim Prime Minister, Abdel Rahim el-Keeb, is virtually paralysed by rivalries that have forced it to divide power along lines of regions and personalities, by unreachable expectations that Muammar Gaddafi's fall would bring prosperity and by powerlessness so marked the national army is treated like another of the many warring militias.
This week one militia assaulted another militia at a seaside base in Tripoli to rescue a woman who had been abducted.
When the guns fell silent, briefly, the scene that unfolded felt as chaotic as Libya's revolution - a government whose authority extends no farther than its offices, militias whose swagger comes from plentiful guns and residents whose patience fades with every volley of gunfire that cracks at night.
The woman was soon freed. Then the plunder began: a box of grenades, rusted heavy machineguns, ammunition belts, grenade launchers, crates of bottled water and an aquarium propped improbably on a moped were taken. Men from a half-dozen militias ferried out the goods, occasionally firing into the air. They fought over looted cars, then shot them up when they did not get their way.
''This is destruction,'' said Nouri Ftais, a 51-year-old commander, who offered a rare, unheeded voice of reason. ''We're destroying Libya with our bare hands.'' -Source
Syria's Second City Aleppo Bombed, Dozens Dead
Two explosions have hit Syria's northern city of Aleppo, state-run TV said on Friday. The attack struck the security compounds, killing at least 28 people and wounding 175 The blasts were the first in Syria's largest city. It has not been affected seriously by the Syrian uprising that began in March.
On January 23rd, 2012, the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Saad-Eddine Al-Othmani met with his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci in Algiers. For those acquainted with North Africa political affairs, this visit, if not historical, can certainly be termed as a step towards thawing the relations between Algiers and Rabat.
Moreover, the Tunisian President, Moncef Marzouki has reserved his first trip abroad this month for a tour of the neighbouring countries of the Maghreb. In addition, ministers of foreign affairs from across the region will also gather in Rabat on February 17th-18th to attempt to re-active inter-state cooperation. All these events may be seen as positive steps towards the re-activation of theUnion du Maghreb Arabe (Arab Maghreb Union, known by its French acronym UMA).
Since its foundation in February 1989, the UMA has indeed more often than not been the subject of articles and analysis about its incapacity to achieve tangible goals, and the fact that it resembles something of an empty shell. Indicatively, 6 UMA Summits have been held in the last 23 years, equalling one every almost four years. For many observers, the reasons behind such a stalemate are to be found in the Western Sahara conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front. -Source
Members of the Saudi Special Forces
Qaradawi Meets Hamas Leaders, Predicts "Victory"
A Hamas delegation headed by the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Gaza met Yusuf al Qaradawi, the highly influential Muslim Brotherhood theologian, in Qatar Saturday. In the love fest which followed, as reported on Qaradawi's website, "His Eminence also gave the people of Gaza and Palestine the good news that victory is near and at the door."
Along with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the delegation included Yehya Al-Sinwar, a top security strategist, and his deputy Rawhi Mushtaha, recently released from long terms in Israeli prison as part of the prisoner swap. They invited Qaradawi to visit Gaza, where he could broadcast over Hamas's media outlet, al Aqsa TV. They also prayed that God would extend the Sheikh's life to allow him to pray alongside them in Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque. -Source
