Shhhhh... Saudi Arabia "bans" English language

So someone tell me - if the Saudis really did ban the English language, how are they supposed to use the -10s and -20s for the M1 tanks and F15 / F16 aircraft we sold them?

The government in Saudi Arabia has decreed that the English language is to be banned by all government and private agencies. They must now use only Arabic, the language of the Quran.
The Gulf News reported that the use of the English language, widely used in business, has been banned, as has the use of the Gregorian calendar. The Islamic Hijri calendar will replace all use of Gregorian dates which are being used unnecessarily, according to a statement issued by a Saudi Ministry.

How do you break down the quarterly services schedule into the Hijri calendar, anyway?

By: Brant

Saudi Journalist About to Get a Headectomy

You know what's most disturbing about the news coverage of Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari's deportation back to Saudi Arabia for "blasphemous" tweets? No news organization will republish them. If someone is being deported to a country that's most like going to kill him for what he said - not did, but said - then shouldn't we know the text of what he said so we can judge for ourselves?

Malaysian authorities have deported a Saudi journalist accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a tweet.

Police confirmed to the BBC that Hamza Kashgari was sent back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday despite protests from human rights groups.

Mr Kashgari's controversial tweet last week sparked more than 30,000 responses and several death threats.

Insulting the prophet is considered blasphemous in Islam and is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Kashgari, 23, fled Saudi Arabia last week and was detained upon his arrival in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

He had tweeted his doubts about Muhammad on the prophet's birthday last week. Saudi clerics condemned his remarks as blasphemous.

You know where to find the text of the tweets? Wikipedia. The news won't tell you. Wikipedia will.

On the occasion of Mawlid on February 4, 2012, Kashgari published three tweets about an imagined meeting with Muhammad:
On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you've always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you.
On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more.
On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.

By: Brant

Huge US Deal to Sell F15s to Saudis

What the heck, theSaudis probably have $30 billion laying around their couch cushions.

The Obama administration on Thursday hailed a new $30 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia as both a hedge against Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf and an economic windfall that could create thousands of U.S. jobs over the next decade.

The agreement to sell 84 top-of-the line F-15SA fighter jets to the Saudi air force also provided a needed boost to U.S. relations with the oil-rich kingdom after months of strain over the White House’s response to the Arab Spring uprisings, U.S. officials and Middle East analysts said.

The deal, which was finalized after more than a year of negotiations, was announced during a week of increased tensions with Iran, which has renewed its threat to block ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response to international economic sanctions. The administration has pursued a policy of supplying advanced weapons systems to friendly Arab states to keep Iran’s regional ambitions in check.

“This sale will send a strong message to countries in the region that the United States is committed to stability in the gulf and broader Middle East,” Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told reporters.

What do you think - good idea? Bad idea? Is this sale mainly a diplomatic move, a security move, or an economic move?

poll by twiigs.com

By: Brant

Leopards In the Sand

The Saudi Arabian government has finalised a deal to purchase up to 200 Leopard 2 A7+ main battle tanks.

Probably not since the Second World War will the world witness the appearance of so many German battle tanks in a desert setting. But instead of the descendants of Rommel’s Afrika Korps, the tanks will be manned by Saudi military personnel.
That’s because Saudi Arabia will soon become the proud owners of up to 200 German Leopard tanks when the recent $2.5 billion deal negotiated with the German government is finalised. The Leopards the Saudis will receive are the latest model (2A7+) in the German arsenal and the best that country’s robust armaments industry can produce.

The German tank purchase is just part of the $60 billion the Saudi Arabian government has spent on an impressive array of weaponry the past couple of years. The United States has also contributed to this Saudi military build up, as the desert kingdom seeks to protect itself from what it perceives as a threat from Iran. Last year, the Saudi military bought 84 US F-15E two-seater warplanes, a special version, at about $100 million per aircraft.

Getting their hands on the German Leopard has always been a long-held, Saudi desire. In past years, the German government had always turned down Saudi requests to purchase the tank, as they could pose a danger to Israel.

“The Saudis have been asking for Leopards for quite a long, long time and the Germans keep saying no,” said Nick Brown, editor in chief of Jane’s International Defense Review, in the New York Times.

For its part, Israel has been noticeable for its silence on the sale. In the past, Israel has protested similar arms deliveries to the Saudis or issued cautionary warnings. The German publication Der Spiegel, which broke the story, said the deal was actually cleared by both Israel and the United States before Germany would proceed. For the United States, the long-desired tank sale could also be serving as means “to placate the Saudis,” who were furious when President Obama withdrew his support for Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, allowing a long-time ally to fall.

The probable reason for the lack of Israeli objections to the Leopard purchase is that Israel has become a silent associate of Saudi Arabia’s against the looming Iranian threat to both countries. In Israel’s view, any weapon that strengthens the Saudi kingdom and does not jeopardise Israeli security, such as 200 modern German tanks, also indirectly adds to its strength in regard to the Iranian danger. Besides, the Saudis have never represented a direct military threat to Israel, having taken only a very limited role in the Arab wars against her.

By: Shelldrake

German Tanks to Saudi Arabia? Cue the Ignorant Commentary!

So the Germans are selling tanks to the Saudis. Big whoop. Oh, what's that? You're protesting? How about this, come up with a reasonable protest, instead of babbling like a reactionary moron.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing growing criticism from across the political spectrum here after news of a multibillion-dollar deal for the secret sale of 200 tanks to Saudi Arabia leaked from the national security council that approved it.

The government has responded with what the German news media have called an “iron silence,” which has fueled rather than dampened the furor over a sale that experts estimate would be worth roughly $2.5 billion.

Germany strained ties with its NATO allies when it abstained in the United Nations Security Council on the resolution authorizing military action to protect Libyan civilians. Now the government has approved the shipment of the 68-ton tanks to Saudi Arabia even as the image of Saudi tanks rolling into Bahrain to help suppress the protests there remains fresh in the public’s mind.

According to the Web site of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, which produces the tank, the latest version, the Leopard 2A7+, includes “nonlethal capabilities” and an “obstacle clearance blade” almost like a plow in the front that can clear debris and roadblocks.

“This would be a perfect tank to drive into Bahrain and crack down on any uprising,” said Jan Grebe, a researcher at the Bonn International Center for Conversion, a nonprofit research institute that deals with security and development issues. “It’s also a good tank to fight any demonstrations in Riyadh.”

"A perfect tank to drive into Bahrain and crack down on any uprising" eh? Really? You ever actually use a tank in urban combat? Ask the Russian how it worked out in Budapest in '56. Or better yet, ask them about Grozny. Go talk to the Americans, who quit shipping tanks to Baghdad and instead starting walking the beat. Ever notice that the only footage of tanks putting down the Tianenman Square uprising is a guy standing on a highway overpass blocking them? Did the French use them in the banlieus in '05?

Tanks don't work in cities, folks. They just don't. They can blow the shit out of a building and create a fantastic pile of rubble for someone else to clean up, but all that does is make it less likely they'll be used domestically, because someone (usually the government) still has to clean up the mess, and tanks make a big f'n' mess.

More likely, the Saudis are looking to put tanks to use in the desert, where you've got great fields of fire, long engagement ranges, sight lines, and plenty of space around you to keep some crunchy from popping up with a grenade or Molotov cocktail and ruining your day.

This isn't the "perfect tank to drive into Bahrain and crack down on any uprising". Why? Because there is no perfect tank to drive into Bahrain and crack down on any uprising. There are plenty of armored cars, APCs, and other lighter vehicles with smaller armaments and more crew members. But they aren't tanks. Nor will they be.

This level of reactionary hysteria is common among those who have no clue what the hell they're talking about, but are perfectly happy protesting for the sake of protest. Enough already.

By: Brant

GrogNews Daily Headlines

Has the "covert war" already begun inside Iran? And will it do any more than delay the inevitable? It remains to be seen what, if any, effect it'll have on six-power talks with Iran.

Afghan support for the "insurgency" is rising, at least according to one questionably-scientific poll out there.

A suicide bomb has killed 50 in Pakistan. And another WikiLeaks revelation: the Saudis are deeply involved in Pakistani affairs.

China is telling the US that the Korean situation could get out of control. Uh yeah, because the People's Democratic Republic of Crazyland are off the rails. And to show their strength, the Southies are holding naval firing drills.

Among the other WikiLeaks, a list of facilities "vital to US security". Yay.

By: Brant

GrogNews Daily Headlines

The updates from Korea:
The Norks are warning that the region is on the brink of war is the US and South Koreans go ahead with their planned exercises. The region is apparently not on "the brink of war" because, y'know, they fired artillery at unarmed civilians or anything or anything. And just to join the fun, China is issuing warnings, too.
The Chinese media is also claiming the South Koreans are "relaunching" psychological warfare against the Norks. Oh, and Fox News thinks they know how to "take down" North Korea without a war.


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In other less exciting news

The Russians have opened a plant to destroy chemical weapons.

After finding a 'bomb factory' in a house in southern California, law enforcement had pulled out of working on it, claiming that they're scared shitless of blowing themselves up it's too dangerous.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 149 people they claim are al-Qaeda suspects.

The Paks claim to have foiled a bomb plot in their capital.

And yes, there are still loud and proud opponents of repealing DADT in the US military.

The Karzai government is blaming the British for the Taliban "impostor". Can we blame them for the 'real' Taliban?

The US is warning its allies about the upcoming Wikileaks dump.

Mugabe's Prime Minister is taking him to court, for all the good it'll do.

By: Brant

Former Guantanamo Bay Prisoner Revealed Al-Qaeda Package-Bomb Plot

Details are emerging about how US and British authorities were tipped off about the latest al-Qaeda bomb plot.

A leading al-Qaida militant in Yemen who surrendered to Saudi Arabia last month provided the tip that led to the thwarting of the mail bomb plot, Yemeni security officials said Monday.

The officials said Jabir al-Fayfi, a Saudi militant who had joined al-Qaida in Yemen, told Saudi officials about the plan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Several tribal leaders with knowledge of the situation, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed al-Fayfi's role.

U.S. officials have said an alert from Saudi Arabia led to the interception on Friday of two explosive devices, hidden in packages addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, on planes transiting in Britain and Dubai. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group's affiliate in Yemen, is suspected in the attempted bombing.

The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan on Monday cited Saudi security officials saying that the kingdom gave U.S. investigators the tracking numbers of the packages.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced that al-Fayfi had turned himself in. Al-Fayfi, who is in mid-30s, had been captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan following the 2001 toppling of the Taliban there. He was held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until early 2007, when he was released to Saudi Arabia.

There, he was put through the kingdom's rehabilitation program for militants. But soon after his release from the program, he fled to neighboring Yemen and joined al-Qaida there, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry. In September, he contacted Saudi authorities saying he wanted to turn himself in. A private jet was sent to the Yemeni capital San'a to retrieve him, Saudi security officials told the Saudi-owned daily Al-Hayat at the time.

The Yemeni security officials said they suspect that the Saudis planted al-Fayfi in al-Qaida in Yemen as a double agent.

Saudi security officials could not immediately be reached for comment whether al-Fayfi had a role in tipping them off to the mail bomb plot.

But al-Fayfi's surrender may have revealed other plots as well. In mid-October, Saudi Arabia warned European authorities of a new terror threat from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, saying the group's operatives were active on the continent, particularly in France.

Saudi Arabia has for years been working to infiltrate al-Qaida in its unstable neighbor to the south, Yemen. Saudi intelligence has recruited hundreds of informers in Yemen, gives powerful tribal chiefs generous stipends to ensure their loyalty and even passes out money within Yemen's security forces.

By: Shelldrake

LCS Variant For The Saudi Navy?

Iran's steady progress towards nuclear weapons capability may be one reason the Saudi government is showing interest in an LCS variant with ballistic missile defense capability.

The Saudi Arabian government is in discussions with the US Navy about the purchase of the Aegis combat system-equipped Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

Orlando Carvalho, president of Lockheed Martin's MS2 division, told reporters at Euronaval in Paris that the Saudi Navy was looking at the purchase of eight LCS-variant ships, called Surface Combat Ships, equipped with the lightweight SPY-1F Aegis system as part of an expansion of the oil-rich state's naval forces.

They have also shown an interest in the ballistic missile defence (BMD) capabilities of Aegis.

Both Austal USA and Lockheed Martin are awaiting the outcome of the LCS programme. Lockheed Martin is offering its Freedom-class single hull vessel, while Austal is competing with its Independence-class trimaran.

A decision on the chosen design is now expected towards the end of the year. The second Freedom-class ship, the USS Fort Worth, is 70% complete and should launch on 4 December.

On the company's stand at Euronaval is a model of the LCS equipped with the Aegis system, featuring the SM-2 missile vertical launch systems fitted into the superstructure just forward of the helicopter deck.

Unlike the US Navy's LCS, the Saudi examples will not be equipped to take modular mission packages but equipped like traditional warships.

By: Shelldrake

US Selling Aircraft to Saudis for Over $30b

That's right, "billion" with a "b". Bloomberg is reporting that the deal includes more F15s than the Saudis could expect to provide crews for, and a few battalions of Blackhawks.

A proposed U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia will include 84 new Boeing Co. F-15 fighter jets and may be valued at as much as $30 billion, according to a government official familiar with the plan.

The deal also calls for selling 72 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters built by United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky unit and refurbishing 70 Saudi F-15s, said the official, who asked not to be identified because terms are still under discussion.

Navy Vice Admiral Jeffrey Wieringa, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign sales, said separately today that Congress may be formally notified “within two months” about the transaction, which he said includes F- 15s, helicopters, ships and missile-defense systems. He said he couldn’t give specifics.

By: Brant

TOW Missiles to Saudis

Raytheon just got a $55 million deal for TOW missiles to Saudi Arabia.

Raytheon Company received a $55 million contract to deliver TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wireless-Guided) 2A Radio Frequency missiles to the U.S. government as part of a foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia's National Guard.

"TOW RF missiles are tremendous weapons because of their high mobility, rapid response and close-fire support capabilities," said Jim Riley, Raytheon's vice president of Land Combat. "This missile can give soldiers at the lowest tactical echelon immediate, precision firepower."

TOW RF missiles include an RF transmitter added to the missile case and an RF receiver located inside the missile. Since no launcher modifications were required for the transition to wireless, this growth in capability is transparent to TOW customers.

"On today's battlefield, potential targets are hiding in caves, behind boulders or in the mountains," said Shawn Ball, Raytheon's TOW international business development manager. "TOW RF missiles are more than capable of taking out these kinds of targets. The RF link enhances operations in urban environments by providing greater reliability and precision performance."

By: Brant

Israel Allowed To Use Saudi Airspace To Attack Iranian Nukes

Saudi Arabia has given Israel permission to use its airspace in any future attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran.

To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert.

“The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way,” said a US defence source in the area. “They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [US] State Department.”

By: Shelldrake

We don't ned no steenkin' badges!

It looks like the Bush administration read Thomas P.M. Barnett somewhere along the way. Apparently, they've been taking whacks at AQ whenever and wherever, without regard for borders, for the last 8 years:

Since 2004, the Pentagon has used broad, secret authority to carry out about 12 attacks against al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Sunday.
Quoting what it said were more than six unnamed military and intelligence officials and senior Bush administration policy makers, the newspaper said the military operations were authorized by a classified order signed by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with the approval of President George W. Bush.
Under the order, the military had new authority to strike the al Qaeda network anywhere in the world and a broader mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States, according to the Times.
Despite the order, each mission required high-level government approval, the Times reported.
The order identified 15 to 20 countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states, where Qaeda militants were believed to be operating or to have sought sanctuary, a senior administration official told the newspaper.

By: Brant

Corruption Investigation Snares Brits

A forthcoming report has a few unflattering things to say about British contractors and their government oversight of their contracts:

The report, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is thought likely to attack Britain's record on prosecuting companies and individuals who have allegedly paid bribes to foreign officials in order to secure contracts.
The OECD's anti-bribery working group began its review following the Serious Fraud Office's decision in 2006 to end its investigation into BAE's Al Yamamah contract with Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year the Law Lords rules that the SFO acted lawfully in stopping the probe on national security grounds.

It's not that they're the only ones bribing Middle Eastern officials for arms deals. They're just the only ones that got caught.

By: Brant