Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Saudi Arabia’s Syrian adventures may soon be over [updated at 2 PM]

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Saudi Arabia’s Syrian adventures may soon be over [updated at 2 PM]

Click here to access article by Salman Rafi from Asia Times Online.

[Salman Rafi Sheikh is a freelance journalist and research analyst of international relations and Pakistan affairs. His area of interest is South and West Asian politics, the foreign policies of major powers, and Pakistani politics.]

From the article:

Reports of Saudi king’s possible visit to Russia indicate that Saudi Arabia’s adventurism in Syria is coming to a close.

According to the Russian presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, the visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Russia is being worked out and agreed through diplomatic channels.

This shows Riyadh is ready to reach a ‘compromised solution’ on the Syrian crisis – a solution that may not be what the US seems to be attempting to achieve through its renewed engagement in Syria and Iraq and its (possible) policy of balkanization of Syria into different “safe zones.”

The possibility as argued by Rafi seems very realistic. This medieval kingdom and their associates are, and have been, a major anchor of US Empire policies. The reverberations of such a Saudi pivot to Russia would result in far more consequences than Saudi "Syrian adventures". Can you imagine how such a possibility is causing Empire directors to suffer collective apoplexy?

Note (a late post): You may be also may be interested in this post by F. William Engdahl entitled "Saudi Russo Rapprochement Back on Track" from New Eastern Outlook.