Middle-East re-alighnment

Alain Juppe has made some strong statements about Syria and Hezbollah:
"French foreign minister says he believes roadside bomb which injured 5 French UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon carried out by Hezbollah at Syria's urging."

There are two reasons why traditionally pro-Arab French come forward with such sharp criticism:
1. They believe that the Assad's days are counted and prepare the ground for military or, at least, diplomatic (for example, in the form of strong sanctions and recognizing alternative government) intervention a la Libya, which would guarantee France a greater diplomatic and economic role in post-Assad Syria.

2. This is part of the re-alignment in the Middle East that I believe has been happening for some time: the Arab-Israeli conflict is superseded by pro-Iranian and anti-Iranian coalitions. The pro-Iranian force has been already well defined: Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, enabled by political backing from Russia and China. On the other hand, the anti-Iranian force is forming slowly due to the traditional antagonism among its partners: Israel and Saudi Arabia with other oil-rich states wary of the Iranian interference. In addition, the anti-Iranian coalition lacks the necessary political backing from the nowadays passive United States. The last circumstance gives France and other European states a good opportunity for a greater role in the Middle East (such as: cheaper and more secure oil supply, more contracts for oil-exploring European companies, broader markets for European companies, particularly where it comes to the arms sales... and more arms sales. All of these, by the way, are very useful for overcoming the economic crisis.)

UPDATE 12/12/11: No less harsh condemnation of Syria from the German foreign minister:
""I am really shocked about what I heard about the atrocities in Syria. Five thousand people were killed, civilians, people who ask for their freedom and civil and human rights," he told reporters."

"Progressive" crown prince of Saudi Arabia

An informative article about Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, the new crown prince of the Saudi Arabia. I am posting this as an example of a common journalistic trick - you read such an article and get a positive impression about its hero, who is "wise", "progressive" and a "good guy" in general. What the article omits, however, is that Saudi Arabia is a highly oppressive regime, which does not tolerate opposition, prohibits religious freedom, and, above all, denigrates women. And, all his positive sides notwithstanding, Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz will be just more of the same...

Addition:
A nice example of a similar, but more spectacular story is the Vogue's profile of Asma al-Assad and ger gentle husband (the dictator of Syria)... but the profile has been wisely removed by Vogue awhile ago.

While the US sleep, Middle East arms to its teeth

A very informative article about the military build-up in Saudi Arabia, prompted by teh weakness of teh American policy in the Middle East and the United States's reluctance to confront the soon-to-be-nuclear Iran:
"Over this year of Arab Spring revolt, Saudi Arabia has increasingly replaced the United States as the key status-quo power in the Middle East — a role that seems likely to expand even more in coming years as the Saudis boost their military and economic spending. 

Saudis describe the kingdom’s growing role as a reaction, in part, to the diminished clout of the United States. They still regard the U.S.- Saudi relationship as valuable, but it’s no longer seen as a guarantor of their security. For that, the Saudis have decided they must rely more on themselves — and, down the road, on a wider set of friends that includes their military partner, Pakistan, and their largest oil customer, China."

The article is worth reading in a whole. Here is one of the most interesting paragraphs:
"The Saudi shopping list is a bonanza for U.S. and European arms merchants. That’s especially true of the air force procurement, with the Saudis planning to buy 72 “Eurofighters” from EADS and 84 new F-15s from Boeing. The rationale is containing Iran, whose nuclear ambitions the Saudis strongly oppose. But Riyadh has an instant deterrent ready, too, in the form of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal that the Saudis are widely believed to have helped finance. "