Quote :

"Ahmadinejad said he had sent a message to Saudi King Abdullah proposing the countries cooperate in trying to ease the violence in Iraq — a message apparently delivered by Larijani. Saudi officials have not commented on the message."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

i wonder what was in that message...i wonder what these countries do that like we dont know about, etc.

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 11:04 PM. Reason : the whole sunni/shi'ite thing]

1/18/2007 11:03:35 PM

if that is true that is a huge deal. could actually solve some stuff.

1/18/2007 11:06:27 PM

^ahahahaha, so naive. The subtext of the proposal is that Iran will ally with their rival saudi arabia (and US ally) to tell the US to GTFO. Divide and conquer.

1/18/2007 11:49:58 PM

well get in line...because currently the US is trying the whole conquer the middle east thing...problem is...they didn't realize it was full of arabs and persians (iran)

1/18/2007 11:58:18 PM

^^well considering i think our presence there is responsible for much of the violence i dont see the problem.

1/18/2007 11:59:28 PM

It's probably on similar lines to the letter that he sent to the United States a while ago. He might also be trying to deflect attention from himself as discontent is growing within Iran. You know you're probably in trouble when a paper owned by the Grand Ayatollah begins publishing editorials critical of your actions...

[Edited on January 19, 2007 at 10:32 AM. Reason : .]

1/19/2007 10:32:44 AM

Iran = Persian & focal point of the Shia branch of Islam
Saudi Arabia = Arab & focal point of Sunni Islam and originator of Wahhabism

Something would indeed be up if these two got together.

1/19/2007 10:43:00 AM

^ My take is more hold your nose and solve the greater problem by working with people you don't like too much.

1/19/2007 11:36:35 AM

not too shabby of a thread mate...

1/19/2007 11:55:18 AM

^why thank u kind sir

1/19/2007 12:52:53 PM

^^^ Possibly, but the Saudi royal family is essentially propped up by the United States and just uses religion to control their population and divert them from the fact that the majority of the country's oil wealth is accumulated in their hands and not among the populace. So, they really don't have a common enemy in this one. They know we'll back them up if they're invaded and Middle East instability drives up the price of oil and thus their profits, so they have no real reason to hold their noses on this one.

1/19/2007 2:25:52 PM

^ ref: message_topic.aspx?topic=456952

[Edited on January 19, 2007 at 5:32 PM. Reason : .]

1/19/2007 5:29:42 PM

No chance of significant Iranian/Saudi cooperation whatsoever. None. Zilch. Zero. Remember that SA has recently started considering its own nuclear weapons program for the sole purpose of countering Iranian influence in the region. SA is threatened by Iran's increasing rise to prominence, and they both know it. If anything, Iran was spitting in their faces with this deal by putting it forward and letting it be known that they did as much.

1/19/2007 5:39:50 PM

Quote :

"well get in line...because currently the US is trying the whole conquer the middle east thing...problem is...they didn't realize it was full of arabs and persians (iran)"

wouldn't be a problem if we could do shit the way we're supposed to.....damn UN and all those other humanitarian fucktards

1/19/2007 7:25:57 PM

^ The only way we could control the Middle Eastern countries is mass genocide...or mass bribes...or appoint someone like the Shah who will masquerade as pro-Western interests but kill everyone that raises a finger.

1/19/2007 7:47:38 PM

Article from a financial guy about Middle East problems (his focus is on what it'll do to markets of course, but interesting all the same):

http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/2007/0119.html

Quote :

"A second key issue for 2007 is the Middle East. Geopolitical events are difficult to predict, but movement is afoot in the crescent of civilization. The popular consensus is that an Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran is unlikely due to political weakness of both Israeli and U.S. administrations. Therefore, there is “nothing to worry about.” However, the economic strangulation of Iran continues as pressure is applied on international banks and financial institutions to cut their ties with Iran. Top international banks from Japan’s Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Credit Suisse to Commerzbank have cut banking ties with Iran. In addition two carrier battle groups, the USS John C. Stennis and the Dwight D. Eisenhower along with the Boxer Expeditionary Strike have moved into the region. U.S. Admiral William Fallon, head of Pacific Command, is taking over as the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East. The transition of command from the Army to the Navy is striking. There have been other leadership changes in Iraq as well with General David Petraeus replacing General Casey. Both sides are provoking each other: the U.S. with the economic isolation of Iran and Iran with its attempt to foment civil war in Iraq. You also have other great powers involved with the Russians ready to deliver $1 billion TOR M-1 surface-to-air missile defense system to Iran. Both Russia and China have asked Iran to join their Shanghai Cooperation Pact. When you have a change in command and a military build up in the region as well as a step-up in sectarian violence, a match is ready to set fire to the tinder box of the Middle East. The best guess by experts is that the attack comes from Israel, which has the most to lose from a nuclear-armed Iran. The U.S. battle group sent to the region would act as a shield to deter Iran from retaliating in response to an attack by Israel against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Should this scenario unfold, turbulence would immediately beset the financial markets. Risk assets would be dumped, credit spreads would widen and the vulnerabilities of leveraged speculation in high risk assets would be greatly exposed. The immediate result would be a waterfall decline in the financial markets as the flight to quality takes hold. The beneficiaries of such a scenario would clearly be oil, gold, and short-term Treasuries. The speculation regarding such an event is that the upheaval in the financial markets would be brief. Central banks would pour hundreds of billions of liquidity into the markets to contain the fall out, similar to the Asian, Long Term Capital Management, and Russian debt default rescues. Whether this event takes place, and if it does, whether it will be short and brief is pure speculation. Nobody knows. However, it should be pointed out that leveraged speculation is greater today than what is was in 1997-1998. There is some degree of speculation that the reason the oil markets have been attacked the way they have since the later part of December is a prelude to an attack coming in late spring. We know the markets and the economy can handle $80 oil. Oil at $100 is another story. Clearly the recent drop in oil goes beyond weather. Some may think the talk of attack is nothing other than conspiracy. However, I regard the markets to be far too complacent on this issue. It is not as if we haven’t been warned by both warring factions. Iran has stepped up its violence in Iraq as we witness the bombings of the last few days. President Ahmadinejad has provoked Israel by his repeated speeches threatening to annihilate the country as soon as it is able. The U.S. is escalating economic pressure on Iran as well as building up its military forces in the region. The Middle East is clearly the most volatile and unstable part of the world. It is the world’s largest gas station where you have madmen running around lighting matches. Given the sequence of recent events and the increase in provocation by both sides the markets could be in for a major shock."

1/20/2007 12:15:48 PM

Quote :

"wouldn't be a problem if we could do shit the way we're supposed to.....damn UN and all those other humanitarian fucktards incompetent administration"

1/20/2007 6:39:55 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070205/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_working_together

2/5/2007 4:11:20 PM