Iran, Russia demand immediate halt to Saudi-led intervention in #Yemen

my understanding of these sorts of fleet war games follow scenarios in which one side or the other is forced to play as if they have made a major error or the enemy pulls some sort of technical wonder and see how it would play out. the idea is to have really bad stuff happen in the simulation so that it does not later happen in real life. OPFOR often wins. in fact the saying is OPFOR always wins. not quite true; but close enough for it to be a saying that sticks around every battle sim center.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

The good thing about this exercise is it was able to locate a fatal flaw in Carrier Fleet doctrine. Better to find out during an exercise than during a shooting war.

originally posted by: IamAbeliever
I think we will see a direct strike on Tehran by Saudi Arabia. And if not the Saudis, then Israel will take a shot at them once this nuclear deal between the US and Iran is complete.

Bash me if you want, but someone is gonna crack a nuke off over there very soon.

No bashing needed. The Saudis try to pull Pakistan into the conflict.
america.aljazeera.com...

This means they could have ordered some of "their" nukes (SA paid them) to be delivered.
www.brookings.edu...

So SA nuking Iran is not impossible.


I think this is the moment another local power is waiting for and will take the chance to "nuke back" all of them...

a reply to: NotMoose

I hereby delegate the functions and authorities vested in the President --- to the Secretary of State.

Thats about as scary a thing as I can imagine.

Kerry lost the Vietnam war, he lost the bid for the presidency, he's now acting on behalf of the president without so much as a vote from congress? Doesn't that violate the chain of command?

I thought the vice president was to take over if the president is unable to continue in his capacity?

a reply to: greyhat


Apparently, the Israelis are saying that the nuclear deal netwee the US and Iran is even worse than they thought. If this deal gets done then I would almost bet on Israel striking Iran.

I fear that things over there are just getting warmed up.

Nobody is going to nuke Iran because Russia and China might not take kindly to it.

They support Iran and Syria so the US can’t get its flunkies to do much to Iran without consequences.

This tells us one reason why the US is destabilizing Arab countries. (They only destabilize countries that are close to Russia and China.)

The reason is that it wants to get rid of the potential friends of Russia and China in the ME.

So far they have got Iraq, Libya and almost Syria.

The Russians and China have taken a hard line on Syria and won't accept anyone nuking Iran

Lets just clear a few things up before everbody gets to out of control. First Irans ties to the Houthi barely exist. they sell them weapons. And that is it. Yemen is simply not on Irans radar because nobody will ever have real control over the entire nation. Iran does not train, send advisors or have any sore of agreements with them. This is not Syria or Lebanon where Iran's is actively involved. So this is not going to effect Iran talks. The fact that Iran's interest is so little is a big reason the Saudis acted as they are not worried about Iran doing anything about it. Saudi Arabia also has limited goals, they are not trying to take out the Houthi, simply push them back to the territory they normally control. With four different factions in Yemen, the Houthi are needed to keep things in balance.

Next, the Saudis and Israel do fear the Iran deal. Not because Iran will have nukes but because Iran will quicky become a wealthy nation and before the revolution Iran was a key US ally in the region, wealthy with powerful Western armed and trained military forces. A US backed Iran will callenge both Israels position as the US most important ally in the region and Saudi Arabia's claim to be the regional leader.

For Israel a West friendly powerful Iran means the US is less likely to continue its protection of Israel from the international community and that Israel will have to get serious about peace talks or end up under santions.

For Saudi Arabia the claim to be the regions leading state is already being challenged by Turkey. The Saudis hate the Muslim Brotherhood while Turkey if ok with them, seeing them as a counter to radicals. Egypt is also moving to take a more active role and challenge Saudi Arabia's leadership. Adding Iran to that mix would see most likely Turkey and Iran working together.

This is also a great game of being most important to the US. A US backed Iran might mean that the Saudis suddenly find the more Western pressure on human rights, a problem for Israel as well.

So this a political struggle and threat not a militray one. Nobody is nuking anybody, not is anybody attacking anybody. It is a regional political game to be retain unquestioned US support. On the plus side, the US comes out on top, local nations will have to improve human rights and between Iran and Turkey and the Arab League the US has proxys in the region to keep a lid on things without wasting US lives.

a reply to: MrSpad

Wish I could give applause.


You basicaly summed it up all in a logical way.

Sadly tbe warhawks and chickenhawks on ATS will just ignore you, lable you a obama supporter and continue the bomb iran rhetoric.

People don't seem to understand that the Saudi Sunnis and the Iranian Shias are just two sides of the same radical Islamic coin.

Don't let your blind assumption that any horse the US backed must ergo, ipso facto be the worst horse blind you to this. It's really just a case of second verse same as the first with these two.

If I had to root for any faction to back in the ME right now, I'd think about maybe the Kurds and see if they were maybe a bit different since they've never had any power over there.

Putin letter to Arab summit triggers strong Saudi attack

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy on Sunday, telling an Arab summit that he should not express support for the Middle East while fuelling instability by supporting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

In a rare move, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that a letter from Putin would be read out to the gathering in Egypt, where Arab leaders discussed an array of regional crises, including conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

"We support the Arabs' aspirations for a prosperous future and for the resolution of all the problems the Arab world faces through peaceful means, without any external interference," Putin said in the letter.

His comments triggered a sharp attack from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

"He speaks about the problems in the Middle East as though Russia is not influencing these problems," he told the summit right after the letter was read out.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia have been cool over Moscow's support for Assad, whom Riyadh opposes. The civil war between Assad's forces and rebels has cost more than 200,000 lives in four years.

"They speak about tragedies in Syria while they are an essential part of the tragedies befalling the Syrian people, by arming the Syrian regime above and beyond what it needs to fight its own people," Prince Saud said.

"I hope that the Russian president corrects this so that the Arab world's relations with Russia can be at their best level."

Click link for remainder of article...

a reply to: MrSpad

For Israel a West friendly powerful Iran means the US is less likely to continue its protection of Israel from the international community and that Israel will have to get serious about peace talks or end up under santions.

For what the US did and tried to do to Iran in the 90s, 00s, and 10s..........Iran will never again look to be buddy buddy with US. Exchanging formal greetings would be the max. the Persians would go with the US.

Same for Russia. Putin or no Putin, Russia will never again seek "kiss ass" friendship with US.

Both Russia and Iran are better off building terms with Asia and other third world.

US........please keep your LGBT lifestyles and single parent family orientations and similar deviations for your own pleasures. Good for you !!

a reply to: Xcathdra
lawl, what a crock of #. The biggest supporters of terrorism in the world, who are actively arming Syrian rebels and terrorists, and likely also the chemical weapons. Pot meet kettle

originally posted by: IamAbeliever
a reply to: greyhat
If this deal gets done then I would almost bet on Israel striking Iran.

I fear that things over there are just getting warmed up.

Seems they have a new ABM system. This would make a decaptivation strike possible. But first they need to find some other idiot to do the first strike for the books of history.

"Israel’s new anti-ballistic missile system ‘phenomenal’ in testing
Pending further successful final run, Israel could bring David’s Sling online in months, boosting long-range missile defenses
By Avi Lewis April 1, 2015, 7:50 pm 33 "

www.timesofisrael.com...

Is it me, or are nations getting awfully cavalier about crossing borders and invading nowadays?

a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes

This problem is a result of the "war on terror" doctrine.

You don't like someones inner tensions? Great, all terrorists, just bomb them!

Pakistan to sit on the fence for now

...
A well-placed source in the government told Pakistan Today that “immense public and media pressure” had compelled the federal government to put off, at least for time being, the troops dispatch for Yemen offensive.

“The government has been taken aback by the unprecedented public and media pressure against joining the Yemen war. Moreover, the meeting was briefed that the media pressure was so enormous that even the right-wing religious outfits were also reluctant in supporting the government in this regard,” the source added.
...

a reply to: theultimatebelgianjoke

Good news for peace.