The Arabs cannot extract themselves from USA control with their oil wealth all stuck in USA assets - mostly real estate investments all of which cannot be uprooted. The Arabs have been caught in a very sinister trap set by the USA. Other countries must also be watching and asking, when will we be next. Best case scenario is not being greedy and stay away from investing in USA.
On the other hand, hanging on to the coattails of the USA is bound to be counter-productive, with the Iranian 'Sword of Damocles' hanging over their heads. A defeated Iran, even if it happens, is not going to disappear overnight. How many times have Iran risen from the ashes in its tumultuous history, going back to the era of the Persian empire? This is a civilization, not a simple country that can be trampled upon like Germany and Japan.
One question not answered is what is going to happen to all those Arab assets in the USA should the empire really collapse? The wealth of the Gulf derived from oil is going to end up in smoke.
Anonymous
Trump is going to hit Iran 'hard' now. From wanting to make Iran go back to the stone age six months ago, to just hitting 'hard' seems like a massive backtracking move. The moral of the story is never to make threats that cannot be put into practice. You lose credibility and trust and embolden the enemy.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Trump going to hit Iran 'hard' with anyway? With twits? Bombs are now obviously precious and in short supply, so just lobbing a few at a time just to show the world that USA is still fully loaded. The USA cannot even fool the world, least of all the Iranians.
Iran will always be in the Middles East. It had been in the Middle East for 2500 years, existing as a civilization that used to be called Persia. It did not collapse with all the revolutions, uprisings and external subterfuge. A civilization does not fall that easily, just like China. It endures, absorbs the disasters, manages the chaos, grow into it humbly and becomes stronger.
How strong is Iran today militarily is still a mystery. How strong has Iran grown in the face of the conflict with the USA is just speculative at best, but what we have seen is not imaginary but real. Each successive escalation by the USA is met with ever more destructive retaliation by Iran. Iran can honestly boast about having the bomb in a very short time, if not already there.
60% of Iran's enriched Uranium is reported by some sources to have already been removed to Russia for safekeeping. True or false is one thing, but there is no smoke without fire. Iran and Russia do not have to announce that move in twits. What is left in Iran could just be empty bunkers that the USA can keep bombing and sending IAEA inspectors to confirm. By the way, Iran has totally denied such IAEA inspectors to do the snipping on behalf of the USA.
I think the removal of Iran's enriched Uranium to Russia is a smart move, a game changer in fact. Even if they should fall into the hands of Russia for good, it is still safer than letting the USA have them and gloating about it.
Saudi Arabia is still going ahead with building the Jeddah Tower, having seen the logistical problem now facing the Burj Khalifa. I just wonder what benefit is going to be derived from being able to boast about the tallest building in the world. I guess it is a question of having so much money and nowhere to throw. But all that myth about unlimited oil wealth is ending for the Gulf countries.
ReplyDeleteJust 17 years or so into its lifespan, huge problems are surfacing for not just the Burj Khalifa alone, but Dubai as a whole. The desert heat is causing massive problems with the structure, the cooling system of the building is facing upgrading problems, the lack of a sewage system is monumental for a building of that size, and the structural integrity of the whole building is causing sleepless nights for residents and occupants. They may have tried to shield the steel embedded in concrete from corrosion during construction, but that is falling apart as well. Cleaning the exterior of the building is a logistical nightmare, with the very top beyond reach.
The higher a building goes, the more problems with its maintenance as it ages. Pumping water up to the top against gravity is a huge problem. Dubai depends entirely on desalination for its water and any hiccup in its water purification system means no water for that kind of building and others for a long stretch.
The USA should not try to target Iran's water resources, or else Dubai will be targeted in retaliation and suffer massive collateral damage That is a certainty and Iran knows where to inflict the most damage to hurt. .