From within a generally well constructed New York Times article the new Mid-East normal begins to surface.  The vacuum left in the wake of Obama’s policies are leading to alignments of self interest….. And as a direct consequence a nuclear arms race. 

New York Times […] Through Egypt, a major beneficiary of Saudi aid, the kingdom is backing plans for a combined Arab military force to combat Iranian influence around the region. With another major aid recipient, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia is also expected to step up its efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, potentially setting off an arms race in the region.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, left, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, center, and the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

All this comes just a few weeks after the death of King Abdullah and the passing of the throne to a new ruler, King Salaman, who then installed his 34-year-old son Mohamed in the powerful dual roles of defense minister and chief of the royal court. (more…)

Al Nusra is a front for, and has openly aligned with, al-Qaeda in Syria – which is essentially ISIS.

It is not a secret that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has tried to deliver the maximum benefit to ISIS (in Northern Syria) in direct opposition to the Kurds who are trying to formulate their own independent nation of Kurdistan. Erdogan views Kurdistan as a proxy for Irans’ growing sphere of influence.

Erdogan opposes Iran for many ideological reasons, but arguably most of all because he sees Iran’s growing influence as a threat to his own political ambitions to lead a new Ottoman Empire.

In my opinion Erdogan views his envisioned construct as most possible with a constituency of: ISIS, The Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusra (al-Qaeda) and various other segments of Sunni Islam including the Palestinian Authority, vis-à-vis Hamas. Erdogan, like Obama, has more grand aspirations than his own territory – all of his prior behavior aligns with this perspective.

So it comes as no surprise to see Turkey’s Erdogan take the opportunity provided by the distractions of both Yemen and Iraq, to act against one of Iran’s benefactors in Syria, namely Assad. (more…)

INDIA – A Bangladeshi blogger was hacked to death in Dhaka on Monday, the second such attack on a critic of religious fundamentalism in the mainly Muslim country in less than two months.

Three knife-wielding attackers set upon 27-year-old Washiqur Rahman near his home on Monday morning, weeks after the murder of an American atheist blogger in Dhaka triggered international outrage.

Police said they had arrested two suspects at the scene and retrieved three knives, but a third escaped.  Deputy commissioner Wahidul Islam said Rahman had been “brutally hacked to death”.

“They hacked him in his head and neck with big knives and once he fell on the ground they then hacked his body,” he said. (more…)

It is interesting, and not incidental, to see CNNi (CNN International) lead the shift in leftist talking points about Egyptian President Fattah el-Sisi by focusing on their collectivist opinion that el-Sisi is “a hardliner”.

However, actions -what CNN would like to avoid- of Sisi speak louder than the CNN words. Sisi has shown over the past two years his willingness to insure minority protections within Egypt yet he has simultaneously taken a zero tolerance position toward Islamic extremism.

The Muslim Brotherhood, as a political construct, is the extremist bane of all mid-East moderates. The Muslim Brotherhood is essentially the larger construct within ISIS; and yet the Muslim Brotherhood is discussed on leftist news media as if they are not a terrorist entity.

Because of the frequency and scope of this specific media narrative it simply cannot be coincidental; someone is driving this false narrative.

CAIRO (AP) – Arab League member nations formally announced on Sunday an agreement to form a joint military force. While details of how such a force would actually operate remain thin, the agreement is a telling sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots, whether against Islamic militants or Iran-backed groups.

(more…)

On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced he’d be extending his stay in Switzerland to continue talks with Iran and the foreign ministers of five other countries. The parties involved in the talks haven’t revealed many details about how close they are to a deal.

“As you know we have never been so close to a deal,” European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini said.

[…] Add increased instability the conflict in Yemen has brought to the region and the fact that the U.S. is helping in strikes against Iranian-backed rebels there, and progress in the talks suddenly seems more important. (more)

Meanwhile – President Barack Obama kicked off the spring season on Saturday with a weekend golf getaway in Florida, teeing off with former NBA star Alonzo Mourning and former sportscaster Ahmad Rashad.

During his stay at the Floridian National Golf Club, less than 50 miles up the coast from Palm Beach, Obama planned to be out of public view, with no official events scheduled. After arriving midday Saturday, he immediately hit the links with Mourning, Rashad and Cyrus Walker, a cousin of Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, the White House said. (more…)

Brave guy. The entire leftist world will be out to assassinate him.

An aide working for the Nuclear Negotiation team has defected in Switzerland. The aide immediately tells the authorities about his direct knowledge that Secretary Kerry and the U.S. Negotiation team are actually working to assist Iran. I’ll bet you a donut this was the substance of the courier letter from Rouhani to Obama yesterday.

WH says Pres Obama has received contents of letter from Iran Pres Rouhani., but WH choosing not to disclose contents or response.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 27, 2015

(Via UK Telegraph) A close media aide to Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, has sought political asylum in Switzerland after travelling to Lausanne to cover the nuclear talks between Tehran and the West.

Amir Hossein Motaghi, who managed public relations for Mr Rouhani during his 2013 election campaign, was said by Iranian news agencies to have quit his job at the Iran Student Correspondents Association (ISCA)

(more…)

It is never about the truth, it is always about placing themselves in the best political light. The White House sincerely does not care about the extent of the lies, they simply need to provide their advocates with a political claim to use in their defense.

The White House team (ValJar, McDonough, Blinkin and Rhodes) genuinely felt they could use the Bergdahl release in 2014 as an opportunity to spike the football and claim a patriotic victory. They genuinely thought the U.S. electorate would dance in the streets and give the White House high praise for Sgt. Bergdahl’s release. Hence the grand display in the rose garden with Mom and Dad.

It should be noted (by his own choosing) Bowe Bergdahl has never talked to his parents, not even in the past year since his release. Never talked to them nor met them, not once.

The White House had no idea Bergdahl was considered a traitor by so many people, they were caught completely off-guard. Everything after that has been a strategy of avoidance, obfuscation, misleading statements and political positioning. Including the latest strategy to ‘leak’ information that is absurd, ridiculous and stated only to protect their own image.

Washington (CNN)  Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told the military he left his unit in eastern Afghanistan in July 2009 intending to walk to the nearest U.S. military outpost to report wrongdoing, believing he could not trust his own commanders to deal with his concerns, according to sources familiar with the Army investigation. It is the clearest indication yet of the motive behind his decision to leave his post. (more…)

Following on the heels of verified reporting the nuclear agreement will not be put in writing.

WH says Pres Obama has received contents of letter from Iran Pres Rouhani., but WH choosing not to disclose contents or response.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 27, 2015

Am told the Rouhani letter to Pres Obama was written in Farsi with an accompanying English translation from Iran.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 27, 2015

“INCOMPREHENSIVELY BAD” – As Iran hailed “massive progress” toward a deal on its nuclear program, an Israeli official described the terms of the looming agreement as “incomprehensibly” bad and rejected the Obama administration’s contention that it would keep the regime a year away from accumulating enough fissile material for a bomb. (more…)

Several media sources have stated over the past two weeks that France is not happy with the rushed acquiescence inherent within a dangerous nuclear deal with Iran.

Last week, citing her own first-hand (eye-witness) information – CBS’s State Dept. Correspondent, Margaret Brennan, who is traveling with the negotiation team, stated the French contingent was highly concerned about how Secretary Kerry seemed to be rushing for a deal regardless of consequence.

It might seem odd at first to see France being the least favorable to a nuclear deal with Iran, but it’s really not surprising considering how France is positioned politically and militarily.

Current French President Francios Hollande, a self-described socialist, is at his weakest point since election with conservative electoral sentiment surging in France. French nationalists are benefactors from the reality of failed multi-culturalism – especially as it pertains to Islamists who refuse to assimilate and/or accept traditional cultures of France.

It was specifically because the Obama administration predicted French reluctance to engage in diminished nationalist sentiment the Clinton led U.S. State Department launched “The Rivkin Project” in 2010. (more…)

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(Al Arabia )Fighter jets of Saudi-led coalition forces pounded a Republican Guard camp in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa as Operation “Decisive Storm” continues for the second day targeting Houthi strongholds and their camps on Friday, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

The offensive comes after powerful explosions rocked Sanaa Thursday night as the coalition forces carried out air strikes against the Shiite rebels who control Sanaa.

Witnesses said an air raid by the coalition forces targeted both Houthi members and supporters of the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Al-Istiqbal military camp west of the capital. (more…)