Oct 14 2018
We may see a ‘Megrahi Scenario’ being applied to cover up the Khashoggi Affair By Abdel Bari Atwan In his recent comments, US President Donald Trump gave us an indication of how the case of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who went into his country’s consulate in Istanbul last Tuesday and never reappeared, may be […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 10 2018
If Turkey doesn’t reveal the truth, there should be an international inquiry into the Saudi journalist’s disappearance By Abdel Bari Atwan It is painful to see the case of the disappearance of the well-known Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi becoming more mysterious by the day. With all the conflicting information, and the absence of conclusive evidence, […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 8 2018
The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi is a message to all the Saudi crown prince’s critics, wherever they may be By Abdel Bari Atwan The Turkish security authorities have yet to live up to their promise to reveal full details, with supporting video evidence, of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi since he went into […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 2 2018
Why did the Saudi crown prince’s visit go so badly wrong? By Abdel Bari Atwan The biggest question being asked in most diwaniyas and gatherings in Kuwait and the Gulf region is about Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman’s visit to Kuwait. Why did he postpone it for a day, from Saturday until Sunday? And why did he […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 23 2018
More attacks can be expected as US/Saudi destabilisation plans unfold By Abdel Bari Atwan When US President Donald Trump accuses Iran of being behind most if not all terrorist attacks in the world; Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman openly vows to take his battle with Iran into Iranian territory; and Israel threatens to continue attacking […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Saudi Arabia •
Aug 21 2018
Why is the US getting Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pay for its deployment in Syria? By Abdel Bari Atwan Donald Trump treats most of his Arab allies in the Gulf region as cash-dispensing machines. His shamelessness in this regard reached new heights at the weekend when he tweeted that he had decided to stop providing […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf, United States of America •
Aug 12 2018
Riyadh seems to think it needs no other friends so long as it has Donald Trump By Abdel Bari Atwan Saudi Arabia has ratcheted up its harsh punitive measures against Canada in response to the Canadian foreign minister’s tweet condemning the detention of Saudi rights activists and demanding their immediate release. The Financial Timesreported that […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Aug 9 2018
Targeting civilians has become a deliberate policy of the Saudi-led coalition By Abdel Bari Atwan It is hard to comprehend the logical and moral criteria on which spokesmen for the Saudi-UAE coalition base their defence of the air-strikes their warplanes – the world’s most modern, expensive and precision-killing – launch against civilian targets in Yemen. […]
By mahaburbar1 • Islamic emirate of the Caucasus, Saudi Arabia, Yemen •
Aug 7 2018
Saudi Arabia should practice what it preaches before complaining about foreign interference in its internal affairs By Abdel Bari Atwan It would be an under-statement to describe Saudi Arabia’s response to the Canadian government’s criticism of its human rights record as a mere over-reaction. The Canadians publicly called for more freedom for Saudi women’s rights […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Jun 15 2018
What will the Arab governments that yielded to Trump’s blackmail and betrayed Morocco say to their peoples? By Abdel Bari Atwan It was shocking and shameful that seven Arab states voted for the US-led three-country North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup football finals at the FIFA Council meeting held in Moscow on […]
By mahaburbar1 • Morocco, Saudi Arabia •
Jun 11 2018
Why the Gulf states are wooing Jordan after trying to undermine it for years By Abdel Bari Atwan Suddenly, after seven lean years marked by political marginalisation, financial strangulation and massive and unbearable regional and international pressure, Jordan has become the most important focus of regional concern. Those who worked so hard to marginalise the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Jordan, Saudi Arabia •
Apr 3 2018
The young Saudi crown prince seeks US approval by sucking up to Israel By Abdel Bari Atwan A close reading of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman’s lengthy interview with The Atlanticleaves the impression that it is the most important and significant he has yet given — not just because of the new attitudes and information it revealed, […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Mar 8 2018
An extraordinary welcome is laid on for Muhammad Bin-Salman in London By Abdel Bari Atwan London these days is hosting a political circus without precedent, featuring a variety of performers and impresarios and a clash of political colours, due to the three-day visit of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia which began on Wednesday. Days […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Mar 2 2018
Score-settling between Trump’s Arab allies undermines his plans against Iran By Abdel Bari Atwan We do not know what Donald Trump’s real intentions and motives were when he called the leaders of the three main parties to the Gulf dispute – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – this week to invite them […]
Feb 26 2018
Saudi Arabia continues to needlessly make more enemies for itself By Abdel Bari Atwan Saudi diplomacy under the current foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, has been distinctly lacking in the qualities and practices normally described as ‘diplomatic’: such as the use of verbal restraint to suppress quarrels, defuse tensions and improve a country’s relations with other […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jan 28 2018
Did the detained media moguls capitulate to Muhammad Bin-Salman? By Abdel Bari Atwan Between Friday evening and Saturday morning, the Saudi authorities released some of the most high-profile of the 200+ individuals arrested nearly three months ago on charges of corruption. Their detention had become a liability to the kingdom due to the damage it […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jan 7 2018
Cash hand-outs can’t keep a lid on Saudi public discontent forever By Abdel Bari Atwan It was no surprise nor coincidence that Saudi King Salman’s decision to order a 52 billion riyal (around $14 billion) hand-out to more than 1.2 million public employees and pensioners to compensate for inflation followed the outbreak of anti-government protests […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Dec 21 2017
How much longer before the Saudis agree to negotiate a way out of Yemen? By Abdel Bari Atwan Saudi Arabia’s leaders did not commemorate the passage of 1,000 days since they began their war on Yemen. But the main target of that war, the Houthi Ansarallah movement, was never going to let the occasion pass […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, Yemen •
Dec 20 2017
Trump’s new National Security Strategy should alarm his Arab allies By Abdel Bari Atwan Donald Trump has been giving his Gulf Arab allies a hard time in recent days. His vetoing of the draft UN Security Council resolution that would have compelled him to rescind his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was an […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf, Yemen •
Oct 19 2018
Seeking the Head of Muhammad Bin-Salman
Attempts to bury the Khashoggi case by blaming rogue operatives are unlikely to succeed By Abdel Bari Atwan There are three main parties currently standing in the way of US President Donald Trump’s plans to whitewash the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside his country’s consulate in Istanbul, and to absolve Saudi Arabia’s de facto […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •