The Agonist - Arabia

Abu Dhabi develops food farms in Sudan

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:58:33 -0700

Xan Rice | Nairobi | July 2

The Guardian - · Oil-rich countries seek to guarantee supplies
· Global shortages trigger new land-lease deals

Abu Dhabi is to develop nearly 30,000 hectares of farmland in Sudan in the first step towards ensuring food security in the emirate.

The move follows similar projects by Middle Eastern countries locking up land from Brazil to Pakistan and Thailand to guarantee supplies of cereals, meat and vegetables at a reasonable cost. Although the region is rich in oil, lack of rain makes large-scale food imports a necessity, and it has been hit by the global food shortage, with prices and inflation rising sharply.

Watered by the Nile, Sudan has great agricultural potential, and it is reported to have offered Abu Dhabi free use of the land, hoping to benefit from the business links and technical know-how.

Thomas Friedman: "Mr. Bush, Lead or Leave"

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:01:51 -0700

June 22

Friedman loses it over Bush's latest "4th of July"circus on oil. I'd like to believe he wrote the title

NYT - Two years ago, President Bush declared that America was “addicted to oil,” and, by gosh, he was going to do something about it. Well, now he has. Now we have the new Bush energy plan: “Get more addicted to oil.”

But it gets better. The president actually had the gall to set a deadline for this drug deal:

“I know the Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past,” Mr. Bush said. “Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If Congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act.”

Saudi oil summit seeks answers to record-high prices

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:37:43 -0700

Jim Landers | Jeddah, Saudia Arabia | June 22

Dallas Morning News - An extraordinary meeting happens here Sunday along the shores of the Red Sea when the great powers of oil – producers, consumers, countries and companies – try to find a formula to break the global fever of oil prices.

The Saudi king says oil prices near $140 a barrel are too high, and he promises to raise oil production. The Chinese promise to raise gasoline prices closer to the world mark, which should chill the fastest-growing part of the demand picture.

Gulf Eyes ‘Oil-For-Food’ Deal With Neighbour

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:56:29 -0700

Meena Janardhan | Dubai | June 19

IPS - Recent attempts by Gulf countries to invest in farmlands abroad to counter soaring inflation and guarantee long-term food security could prove to be a win-win situation in the short-term for both the oil-rich region and its investment-hungry neighbours, but continued high oil prices may neutralise the gains in the long-run, feel experts.

With Gulf countries importing 60 percent of their food on average, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are taking the lead in investing in Asia and Africa to secure supplies of cereals, meat and vegetables.

Calling for transforming the buyer-seller relationship in the energy sector between India and the Gulf countries into a more substantial and enduring relationship, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research last month, "I see India’s requirement for energy security and that of the Gulf countries for food security as opportunities that can be leveraged to mutual advantage."

Middle East serves US some humble pie

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:52:22 -0700

Sreeram Chaulia | June 20

Asia Times - Since World War II, the Middle East has been one of the most penetrated regions in the world in terms of American presence, influence and domination. Apart from South America, no other area on the planet has experienced as gigantic a footprint of the United States, stretching during its zenith from Cairo in the west to Tehran in the east. If great powers are prone to throwing their weight around where they perceive vital interests, the US has done it with all means in the Middle East for over six decades.

By imposing itself on Middle Eastern countries in a rainbow of avatars - exploiter, peacemaker, ally, enemy, eminence grise and occupier - the US became an arbiter of the region's destiny. One measure of the colossal impact that Washington had as a result is that no major diplomatic initiative could afford to ignore "what the Americans want".

On the occasion of any significant political event in the Middle East, it used to be commonplace to ask whether it had an American hand or if it reflected American will. The very axes of change were shaped by American preferences and opposition to them. Until recently, that is.

Succession at House of Saud: The men who would be king

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:37:50 -0700

Anne Penketh | June 17

Independent - King Abdullah created a council to choose his successor and avoid a bloody feud. But will the Saudi princes allow it to?

When King Abdullah invites foreign leaders into his office in his opulent Jeddah palace, he sits by a painting which shows a supplicant presenting a petition to the elderly monarch's father – the man who gave his name to modern Saudi Arabia.

As the dignitaries glance from father to son, their gaze comes to rest on the 84-year-old ruler seated before them in the wood-panelled and marble room, wrapped in his chestnut robe. They can be forgiven for thinking: who's next? Because uncertainty is looming over the literally tottering House of Saud. Saudi Arabia's geriatric leaders are at each others' throats, circling like caged animals waiting for the first to die.

King Abdullah is supposed to be succeeded by his half brother and arch-rival, Crown Prince Sultan, who is also in his 80s. However, since the crown prince returned from medical treatment in Geneva at the beginning of May, there have been rumours that he is dying of cancer. The possibility that he could die before the king has aroused fears that the bitter feud between the two rival wings of the Saud family could be reignited in a power struggle in which dozens of contenders could come forward to claim the throne. The king has 60 siblings.

Saudi oil output to rise in July

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:40:21 -0700

June 15

BBC - Saudi Arabia will increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month in a move to meet growing world demand, the United Nations says.

The news was announced after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon met Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in Jeddah for talks on the high oil price.

Last month, the Kingdom increased its production by 300,000 barrels a day.

The country is thought to be the only oil producer with the ability to pump substantially more crude.

It argues that the current high prices are caused by speculators rather than any shortage of crude oil.

Saudi king prepares ground for interfaith meeting

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:42:49 -0700

Riyadh | June 7

Reuters - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has won backing from Muslim clerics from around the world for an interfaith dialogue with Christians and Jews, state media reported on Saturday.

Some 500 religious scholars and academics gathered for a 3-day conference in Mecca which ended on Friday as the first step of a plan announced by the Saudi king this year to create a dialogue with other faiths.

The king's call, which followed a meeting with Pope Benedict at the Vatican last year, sparked much interest from Jewish and Christian groups around the world.

The Mecca meeting recommended "conferences, forums and discussion groups between the followers of the prophetic messages, and relevant civilisations, cultures and philosophies to which academics, media and religious leaders will be invited", according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Arabic and Linguistic Politics

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:07:35 -0700

Every language is incapable of expressing certain ideas fully. In the time I've spent learning Arabic, for example, I've never heard of a precise way to express the concept of "too much." You can say "a lot," you can compare things, and you can say "the most...xyz" (the biggest, the most wonderful, etc), but as far as I know you can't say that something is "too much."

If I wanted to, I could probably build an argument about how that quirk of the language reveals something deep about Arab culture. Maybe extremism and terrorism could even be explained in this fashion - we could say, what surprise is it that a language that has trouble conveying the notion of excess is spoken by Muslim terrorists? That would be ridiculous, of course. Yet we hear arguments like that all the time. Self-appointed experts on Arab and Islamic culture parade through major news networks and newspapers, throwing out cheap and often baseless generalizations that too many Americans, I am afraid, accept at face value.

Indicted Saudi Gets $80 Million US Contract

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:11:55 -0700

Gretchen Peters | June 4

ABC News - The US military has awarded an $80 million contract to a prominent Saudi financier who has been indicted by the US Justice Department. The contract to supply jet fuel to American bases in Afghanistan was awarded to the Attock Refinery Ltd, a Pakistani-based refinery owned by Gaith Pharaon. Pharaon is wanted in connection with his alleged role at the failed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), and the CenTrust savings and loan scandal, which cost US tax payers $1.7 billion.

The Saudi businessman was also named in a 2002 French parliamentary report as having links to informal money transfer networks called hawala, known to be used by traders and terrorists, including Al Qaeda.

Interestingly, Pharaon was also an investor in President George W. Bush's first business venture, Arbusto Energy.

Syria allows inspectors into suspected nuclear site

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:24:38 -0700

Lee Glendinning | Damascus | June 2

The Guardian - Syria has agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the country this month, where they expect to examine a site destroyed by Israeli warplanes in September last year.

The area in the north-east desert, allegedly a reactor site, was destroyed in an Israeli air raid. The US gave its intelligence to the IAEA to verify in April, at least 12 months after Washington says it obtained decisive evidence.

The US has said the air strike was on a plutonium-producing reactor secretly being built with the aid of North Korea. It accused North Korea of helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor which "was not intended for peaceful purposes".

The UN nuclear agency announced today that Syria would let inspectors into the country to investigate allegations of illegal nuclear activity. Experts would visit this month, Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA chief, said.

more

Inflation surge for Saudi Arabia

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:57:35 -0700

April 29

AMEINFO - Saudi Arabia has just announced that its inflation surged to 9.6% in March, still lower than the inflation levels in Qatar and the UAE, but very challenging for an economy where lower income earning groups are hard hit by the increasing cost of food.

High oil prices are to blame for mounting inflation rates in the region, alongside local currencies that are pegged to the US dollar at a time of falling interest rates.

High oil prices are fuelling domestic investment and global business is flocking to the region putting further pressure on the existing supply of accommodation and other infrastructure.

Syria and Six Party Reconsidered?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:10:26 -0700

From tonight's Nelson Report comes some interesting comments and an element of reconsideration (or consternation):

SUMMARY: the super-classified briefing for select Members on Capitol Hill was promptly given to the TV networks, a move which didn't make Congress any happier about the seven-month delay in explaining why the US thinks Israel wiped-out a North Korean aided nuclear plant in Syria.

In fact, our experts see no reason for Israel to bomb, as no way the plant was able to produce nuclear weapons grade materials, even IF it was a nuclear plant, which some still challenge.

What Really Happened In Syria And Why The Six-Party Talks Might Collapse Becuase If It

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:25:55 -0700

Sheesh, this is just absolutely unreal, proving once again that truth is stranger than fiction. It's complicated and convoluted and I'll be following this story (and its spin-offs) more closely in the near future. But for now from tonight's Nelson Report on 'that Syrian nuke facility' and how the North Koreans were involved in it:

SUMMARY: six months after the event, Capitol Hill finally got a full-scale briefing on the Syrian plant destroyed by Israeli bombs after photo-recon allegedly proved it was a nuclear facility patterned after N. Korea's Yongbyon.

Allegedly intended to boost the Administration's case for continued 6 Party negotiations with N. Korea, carrying out the "Singapore" finesse of us telling the DPRK what it's doing, and they not denying it?

But...it may have had the opposite effect, especially since they are denying it for now, pending what Korea desk chief Sung Kim brings back.

CIA obviously mistrusted Capitol Hill capacity to "leak" responsibly, objectively...why else the leaks, starting Tuesday, with emphasis on what the intel community wants Cap Hill to hear, think?

NY Times story this morning hints that A/S Chris Hill is on the way out, and allegedly close associates seem to feel they can say he will quit soon, if he isn't forced out.

The "real story" on Syria intel reflects intrigue inside the White House, between "war with Syria" advocates vs those who have actually learned a few things from Iraq.

At a minimum, you have to worry that regardless of what happens in Pyongyang, the 6 Party process is about to be scuttled right here in Washington...stay tuned.

If you want the full story there's more.

Saudi bribery probe decision overturned

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:14:43 -0700

April 10

Independent - The Serious Fraud Office's decision to drop its investigation into alleged bribery and corruption involving arms deals between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia was overturned by the High Court today.

The ruling was an extraordinary victory for anti-bribery pressure group Corner House Research and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation arose out of BAE's £43 billion Al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia in 1985, which provided Tornado and Hawk jets plus other military equipment. background