Not sure you are getting Yemen correctly. The STC was backed by the UAE and was trying to oust the recognized government of Yemen which of course does not control the part of Yemen controlled by the Houthi. The same uae 🇦🇪 that is backing the RSF in Sudan which has brutalized the populace I disagree that KSA is aligned with the MB. The MB is not viewed positively and is in fact embedded in Qatar. The so called moderate GCC country.
I do agree that there is a sort of cognitive dissonance in keeping the old and the new in the same brain at the same time but I think they are doing pretty good at the evolution. The big changes only started in 2017 and the whole country was a bit on ice for almost 2 years due to Covid. There is a new generation coming up that will be different than their parents and grandparents. Not modern western secular per se. But very much more modern.
Al-Islah does have MB roots and was backed by saudi against leftist and Marxist forces in North Yemen which was back by Russia during the cold war. After Yemen reunification in 1990 it became the Islah Party and yes had substantial backing from Saudi and was considered a client of Saudi. But in 2014 Saudi blacklisted the MB and there was a chill to the relationship with Al Islah. As the yemen civil war heated up in 2015 Saudi did again deepen its relationship and backing of Al Islah but this part of the world is very tribal and they were anti Houthi so this was an exception to Saudi's now hostile posture towards the MB.
The US is backing the new President of Syria who has a terrorist background. Turkey is all over Syria trying to get influence. The GCC including Saudi is there too. Assad was a butcher. Lets hope they do better. Everyone knows the history. I am way more worried about Turkey ambitions than Saudi
And i disagree with you. America backed the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians which worked in terms of getting Russia out of Afghanistan. The next chapter of course was globally ugly as they morphed into whatever you want to call it.
the Saudi's are not backing jihadists. they are backing a tribal group against the Houthi.
You really think that members of the royal family are held accountable for following the rules and laws that everyone else does? LOL!
I spent 8 years in the ME and the only country that came close to this ideal was Oman, everywhere else “Wasta” was the rule.
What’s wasta? It’s the word for political influence that allows all sorts of exemptions and exceptions to the rules everyone else lived by. I had a co-worker locked up in a Kuwaiti jail, after a traffic accident, until our local fixer showed up with a sheikh, while the Sheikh browbeat the police captain his assistant opened the cell and took my coworker away. No further word was ever spoken of the incident.
I think it is a lot better. not black and white; but a lot better. There is less corruption, not no corruption. There are HRH princes under long term house arrest and are not allowed to travel outside the country including some big names. Saudi remains a hierarchal, patriarchal society so sure a royal prince will get better outcome than a regular person. But there is less impunity, less corruption; it is going in the right direction.
What is their end game? Empower jihad regionally so that jihadis eventually overthrow the Saudi government, since jihadis view Saudi government as illegitimate?
I couldn’t believe when people said that KSA was moderating. Always thought they were ridiculous. It was Wahhabism that brought the Saudis to power and only Wahhabism will keep them there.
Very Thoughtful and on point.
Not sure you are getting Yemen correctly. The STC was backed by the UAE and was trying to oust the recognized government of Yemen which of course does not control the part of Yemen controlled by the Houthi. The same uae 🇦🇪 that is backing the RSF in Sudan which has brutalized the populace I disagree that KSA is aligned with the MB. The MB is not viewed positively and is in fact embedded in Qatar. The so called moderate GCC country.
I do agree that there is a sort of cognitive dissonance in keeping the old and the new in the same brain at the same time but I think they are doing pretty good at the evolution. The big changes only started in 2017 and the whole country was a bit on ice for almost 2 years due to Covid. There is a new generation coming up that will be different than their parents and grandparents. Not modern western secular per se. But very much more modern.
Al-islah party is backed by Saudi Arabia and it is an “islamist” party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Islah does have MB roots and was backed by saudi against leftist and Marxist forces in North Yemen which was back by Russia during the cold war. After Yemen reunification in 1990 it became the Islah Party and yes had substantial backing from Saudi and was considered a client of Saudi. But in 2014 Saudi blacklisted the MB and there was a chill to the relationship with Al Islah. As the yemen civil war heated up in 2015 Saudi did again deepen its relationship and backing of Al Islah but this part of the world is very tribal and they were anti Houthi so this was an exception to Saudi's now hostile posture towards the MB.
I live in Saudi. They are against the MB
I know they are against the MB. This is the entire point in this piece. They are against MB domestically, but now backing jihadists regionally.
The US is backing the new President of Syria who has a terrorist background. Turkey is all over Syria trying to get influence. The GCC including Saudi is there too. Assad was a butcher. Lets hope they do better. Everyone knows the history. I am way more worried about Turkey ambitions than Saudi
And i disagree with you. America backed the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians which worked in terms of getting Russia out of Afghanistan. The next chapter of course was globally ugly as they morphed into whatever you want to call it.
the Saudi's are not backing jihadists. they are backing a tribal group against the Houthi.
we may not agree on this
You really think that members of the royal family are held accountable for following the rules and laws that everyone else does? LOL!
I spent 8 years in the ME and the only country that came close to this ideal was Oman, everywhere else “Wasta” was the rule.
What’s wasta? It’s the word for political influence that allows all sorts of exemptions and exceptions to the rules everyone else lived by. I had a co-worker locked up in a Kuwaiti jail, after a traffic accident, until our local fixer showed up with a sheikh, while the Sheikh browbeat the police captain his assistant opened the cell and took my coworker away. No further word was ever spoken of the incident.
What years were you in the ME and where ? My experience is Saudi the last three years. I have no knowledge of matters in Kuwait
I think it is a lot better. not black and white; but a lot better. There is less corruption, not no corruption. There are HRH princes under long term house arrest and are not allowed to travel outside the country including some big names. Saudi remains a hierarchal, patriarchal society so sure a royal prince will get better outcome than a regular person. But there is less impunity, less corruption; it is going in the right direction.
What is their end game? Empower jihad regionally so that jihadis eventually overthrow the Saudi government, since jihadis view Saudi government as illegitimate?
I couldn’t believe when people said that KSA was moderating. Always thought they were ridiculous. It was Wahhabism that brought the Saudis to power and only Wahhabism will keep them there.