very similar to the US show revealing Iron Dome. it's fun to watch warmongers beat their chests ... then cough.
On Thursday, May 1, 2014 10:51:46 AM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > *http://tinyurl.com/klcc2uy <http://tinyurl.com/klcc2uy>* > > > > > > [image: > http://www.al-monitor.com/files/live/sites/almonitor/files/images/almpics/2014/04/RTR3N4BI.jpg?t=thumbnail_570] > > An explosion is seen during Saudi security forces' "Abdullah's Shield" > military drill in Hafar al-Batin, April 29, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Faisal > Al Nasser) > Saudi Arabia puts on show with 'Abdullah's Shield' > > Author: Bruce RiedelPosted April 30, 2014 > > Saudi > Arabia<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/saudi-wahhabi-leaders-see-turkish-caliphate-threat.html>staged > its largest-ever military exercise this week to demonstrate its > capability to defend itself against its northern Shiite neighbors. The > guest list for the event was the most potent symbol of Saudi power, > bringing together its Gulf allies with Pakistan and its nuclear shield. > > Summary⎙ > Print<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/saudi-arabia-military-show-signal-washington-tehran.html?utm_source=Al-Monitor+Newsletter+%5BEnglish%5D&utm_campaign=5780c62dc5-January_9_20141_8_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_28264b27a0-5780c62dc5-93108985>The > kingdom’s largest military exercise ever was a signal to both > Washington and Tehran. > > > > Bruce > Riedel<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/authors/bruce-riedel.html> > > > > Posted April 30, 2014 > > > > According to the Saudi media, the exercise, code-named Abdullah’s > Shield, involved 130,000 Saudi troops. The maneuvers were held in the > kingdom’s Eastern province at King Khaled Military City, in Hafr al-Batin, > facing Iran and Iraq, and were timed to coincide with the ninth anniversary > of King Abdullah’s ascension to the throne. > > The highlight of the exercise was a military parade for the assembled > guests during which the Saudis publicly displayed for the first time their > Chinese CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Secretly purchased in > 1987 during the Iran-Iraq War, the aging missiles have a range of 2,650 > kilometers (1,646 miles). In China, they are equipped with nuclear > warheads. The missile deal was arranged by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, > then Saudi ambassador to the United States, and caused an uproar in > US-Saudi relations after US intelligence found them being deployed in > hardened missile silos in the Saudi desert. Bandar assured Washington they > did not have nuclear payloads. > > Crown Prince and Defense Minister Salman bin Abdulaziz presided over the > exercise and the parade. Prince Mutaib, King Abdullah's son and National > Guard minister, and Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayef joined > Salman. Foreign guests included King Hamid of Bahrain and the crown prince > of Abu Dhabi, Muhammad bin Zayed, as well as senior officials from Kuwait > and Oman. Only Qatar was missing from the stage, a sign the Saudi-Qatari > rift<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/yemen-frontline-saudi-qatar-feud.html>is > not over. > > The pre-eminent guest was Gen. Raheel Sharif, the Pakistani chief of army > Staff. Sharif is the most important military commander in Pakistan and the > man who controls the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world. The > Saudis and Pakistanis are well-aware that rumors, which the two > helped stoke, have circulated for decades that Pakistan has committed to > providing nuclear warheads for the CSS-2 missiles. The Pakistani press > highlighted that Salman had personally invited Sharif to the kingdom when > the crown prince visited Pakistan earlier in the year. On television, > Sharif was shown sitting next to Prince Mutaib, a sign of royal favor. > > The Saudis wanted to signal several things with the exercise and their > guest list. First is a message of deterrence to Tehran and Baghdad. The > Saudis see the two Shiite-dominated states as existential foreign threats > to the kingdom and view the increasingly tight alliance between them as a > clear and present danger. Such Saudi commentators as former intelligence > chief Prince Turki bin Faysal have been outspoken in warning that if Iran > obtains a nuclear capability, Riyadh will have to develop its own. As one > of the architects of the Saudi-Pakistan alliance in the 1970s and 1980s, > Turki’s remarks implicitly and deliberately signal where and how Riyadh > would acquire its deterrent. > > The United States is another intended recipient of the Saudi missile > message. Saudi media have been restrained in their commentary on President > Barack > Obama<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/obama-middle-east-failure-myth.html>’s > > visit to the kingdom last month. The discussions during Obama's trip have > been characterized as candid and offering mutual clarifications. This > suggests King Abdullah and his advisers were less than fully satisfied. The > subsequent collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has undoubtedly > further undermined the king’s confidence that Washington is moving to > resolve the region’s problems effectively and decisively. > > US-Saudi relations are far from broken, but they remain strained. Riyadh > wants Washington to be tough on Iran and to keep the sanctions regime in > place even if a nuclear deal is reached. It fears Iranian mischief-making > and subversion as much as nuclear blackmail. Abdullah remains astonished at > how naive the United States was in promoting Shiite majority rule in Iraq > after the 2003 invasion, an error in judgment the king finds irresponsible > to this day. He likes to remind American visitors that he warned against it > for years before the war. > > The Saudis are also disappointed that Washington is not more eagerly > embracing the military dictatorship in Egypt. Field Marshal Abdel Fattah > al-Sisi<http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2014/04/egypt-military-background-president-rationale.html>had > been a military attache in Riyadh and a Saudi favorite. The Saudis want > Washington to back his regime fully, not half-heartedly. They, the United > Arab Emirates and Kuwait have already committed billions to keeping Sisi in > power. > > Saudi-American cooperation remains strong on other issues despite > the strains. The two are currently engaged in a major offensive against > al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen. Both see that organization as a > serious threat and want to eliminate its leadership. Cooperation on arms > supply to the Syrian opposition has apparently also improved. Nonetheless, > the military exercise and parade in Hafr al-Batin vividly underscore the > kingdom’s inner circle of allies. No partner is more important than > Pakistan for the royal family. > > > > > __._,_.___ > > > Visit Your > Group<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmM2RuMDE5BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEzOTg5NTY0MTE-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! > Groups]<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlaGs0NWJkBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTM5ODk1NjQxMQ--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of > Use<https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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