Defenistrator posted:

Ok, I might be having a stupid night. But I'm reading news how Israel is helping out Russian Oligarchs and my head is spinning.


Russia is literally attacking and killing Jews in Ukraine but Israel is supporting the Oligarchs and Russian Government?


Doesnt that - by Israel's own standards - Make Israel anti-Semitic???? My head's melting please someone explain the missing link.

GhostofJohnMuir posted:

wait until you find out the how some israeli politicians feel about viktor orban

Defenistrator posted:

Ok, I might be having a stupid night. But I'm reading news how Israel is helping out Russian Oligarchs and my head is spinning.


Russia is literally attacking and killing Jews in Ukraine but Israel is supporting the Oligarchs and Russian Government?


Doesnt that - by Israel's own standards - Make Israel anti-Semitic???? My head's melting please someone explain the missing link.

Absurd Alhazred posted:

I don't know that Russia is specifically targeting Jews in Ukraine, unless I'm missing something.

Israel is in a touchy situation in relation to Russia for at least two reasons: (1) they want freedom to operate against Iranian interests in Syria, but Russia is there with AA batteries that might actually be able to shoot planes down (2) there are a lot of Jews still in Russia and they don't want Russia to crack down on them ((3) Russian oligarchs have had a lot of influence in Israel). They also have a certain advantage in dealing with Russia because there are a lot of Russian-speaking Jews in Israel, some from Russia, more from other post-Soviet states.

GhostofJohnMuir posted:

wait until you find out the how some israeli politicians feel about viktor orban

Defenistrator posted:

Who? What?

Defenistrator posted:

That makes a lot more sense, thanks. But still, isn't Russia full anti-Semitic with the orthodoxy and all?

Defenistrator posted:

Who? What?

"The Independent posted:

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed his Hungarian counterpart as a “true friend of Israel” at the start of a controversial two-day visit that has sparked widespread outcry over Viktor Orbán‘s praise of Nazi collaborators.

"yair netanyahu posted:

i say swears online posted:

not particularly no. unless I'm missing something (you should probably link us something on those pogroms you mentioned) but I'd probably rather be jewish in moscow than budapest

Saladman posted:

Does Armenia go in the Middle East thread, or in the Eastern Europe thread? I don't remember where the Nagorno-Karabakh war stuff went but I didn't read the EE thread so ... maybe it was here? Or maybe iI guess if Afghanistan is "middle Eastern" then Armenia might as well be.

Anyway, it looks like Armenia and Turkey might normalize relations and reopen the border.

https://ecfr.eu/publication/acts-of-normality-the-potential-for-turkey-armenia-rapprochement/

I guess this must have already been in the works well prior to Russia, but presumably having a hostile Azerbaijan on one side, a similarly-stuck-between-enemies Georgia on the other, a mildly-antagonistic-at-best Turkey, and lukewarm (?) relations with Iran made them have to bury at least one hatchet. It's kind of surprising to me since a large part of why Azerbaijan won the Karabakh war was because of Turkish materiel.

Anyway maybe good news? I never followed the politics of the region too much, but it always kind of seemed to me like the Armenians were spiteful dicks to the Azeris from 1990-2020 in the once-Azeri-populated parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, although I imagine there was dickery going back and forth for generations before 1990 that "justified" why Armenia ethnically cleansed the area after the first Karabakh war. I have an Armenian friend here, and with the collapse of Russia's economy (and consequently, it will soon hit Armenia's substantially) she is now again almost as worried for Armenia's future as when she thought her drafted brothers might get sent to Karabakh to get hit by Bayraktars.

Warbadger posted:

Armenians were absolutely gigantic dicks when they (backed by Russia) effectively "won" the previous war, choosing to occupy a bunch of historically Azeri areas in addition to the areas that were historically Armenian and immediately ethnic cleansing them. It wasn't any more justified then than Azeris ethnic cleansing everything they grabbed in Nagorno-Karabakh would be now. There is no "good guy" side of that war, and the sooner they can settle on agreed upon borders and bury the loving hatchets the better.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

Delays at the formula 1 in Jeddah as the houthis have managed to blow up an Aramco oil depot in the city. Both impressive from a military point of view managing to successfully hit such a prominent target, but also a great strategy when there is going to be so much press around.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

The Saudi's have decided to build upon the PR disaster by implicitly threatening to hold the F1 teams hostage if they don't continue with the race.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

The Saudi's have decided to build upon the PR disaster by implicitly threatening to hold the F1 teams hostage if they don't continue with the race.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

The Saudi's have decided to build upon the PR disaster by implicitly threatening to hold the F1 teams hostage if they don't continue with the race.

Play posted:

I feel like that's a false rumor. F1 is doing the race because they'd lose hundreds of millions of dollars if they didn't, it's that simple. For me that's the obvious answer.

There were more attacks than just that one too, although now a three day ceasefire has been established, plus Ramadan is coming shortly which generally signals a pause in hostilities.

Play posted:

I feel like that's a false rumor. F1 is doing the race because they'd lose hundreds of millions of dollars if they didn't, it's that simple. For me that's the obvious answer.

There were more attacks than just that one too, although now a three day ceasefire has been established, plus Ramadan is coming shortly which generally signals a pause in hostilities.

Al-Saqr posted:

Saudi Arabia announces halt to all military operations in Yemen to give peace negotiations a chance during Ramadan

https://twitter.com/sparegions/status/1508906771737366528?s=21&t=9rr3VlRoIiYtzwcuspjFyg

Sinteres posted:

Super good news, especially since I thought Biden was going to give MBS a blank check to double down on mass murder to stabilize the oil markets. Obviously this could fall through, but I really hope it works out.

Warbadger posted:

KSA doesn't need more money to fight this war. They want direct US involvement along the lines of Russia involvement in Syria to push things along. Biden isn't likely to provide it.

Al-Saqr posted:

Saudi Arabia announces halt to all military operations in Yemen to give peace negotiations a chance during Ramadan

https://twitter.com/sparegions/status/1508906771737366528?s=21&t=9rr3VlRoIiYtzwcuspjFyg

Sinteres posted:

Super good news, especially since I thought Biden was going to give MBS a blank check to double down on mass murder to stabilize the oil markets. Obviously this could fall through, but I really hope it works out.

Al-Saqr posted:

big news, a big breakthrough deal agreeing to a two month ceasefire between KSA and the Houthis has been announced, the siege of Yemen is being lifted, the deal includes:-

- re-opening all ports and airports (especially Sanaa airport) under both sides to resume normal trade, shipping and travel purposes

- big prisoner transfers

-all military activity inside and outside the country to halt for two months with possible extension.

https://twitter.com/reuters/status/1509941215550230535?s=21&t=wXoWHV5Eyg4qKzgHMFxUSg

so in closing, KSA has lost the yemen war. the houthis are here to stay. Seven years of a disaster for nothing.

Al-Saqr posted:

big news, a big breakthrough deal agreeing to a two month ceasefire between KSA and the Houthis has been announced, the siege of Yemen is being lifted, the deal includes:-

- re-opening all ports and airports (especially Sanaa airport) under both sides to resume normal trade, shipping and travel purposes

- big prisoner transfers

-all military activity inside and outside the country to halt for two months with possible extension.

https://twitter.com/reuters/status/1509941215550230535?s=21&t=wXoWHV5Eyg4qKzgHMFxUSg

so in closing, KSA has lost the yemen war. the houthis are here to stay. Seven years of a disaster for nothing.

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Does this mean the Houthis won the war though? Will they keep fighting the Southern Movement for control of Aden?

Associated Press posted:

Pakistan in political turmoil as leader dissolves parliament

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister threw the country into political limbo on Sunday, accusing the United States of attempting to oust him and cancelling a no-confidence vote he was poised to lose. He then ordered the National Assembly dissolved so new elections can be held.

The moves by Imran Khan appeared to trigger a constitutional crisis: Pakistan’s Supreme Court must rule on their legality, but it adjourned until Monday and gave no indication when the matter would be settled. In Pakistan, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has just begun.

The dramatic episode was the latest in an escalating dispute between Khan and parliament, after defectors within his own party and a minor coalition partner joined the opposition and attempted to oust him from power. It was unclear on Sunday where the powerful military — which has directly ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75-year history — stood in the fray.

The former cricket star turned conservative Islamic leader sought to justify the measures by accusing the United States of trying to overthrow his government. His Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry accused the opposition of collusion with a foreign power when he successfully filed the motion to the deputy speaker of parliament to throw out the vote.

The opposition, which accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy, arrived in Parliament ready to vote Khan out of power, and say they have the simple majority of 172 votes in the 342-seat assembly to do so.

Khan, who was not in Parliament on Sunday, went on national television to announce he was submitting the dissolution request, which President Arif Alvi later executed.

“I ask people to prepare for the next elections. Thank God, a conspiracy to topple the government has failed,” Khan said in his address. According to Pakistan’s constitution, an interim government inclusive of the opposition will now see the country toward elections held within 90 days.

In the capital Islamabad, security forces braced for the worst, locking down much of the city as a defiant Khan called for supporters to stage demonstrations countrywide. Giant metal containers blocked roads and entrances to the capital’s diplomatic enclave, as well as Parliament and other sensitive government installations.

Khan has accused the opposition of being in cahoots with the United States to unseat him, saying America wants him gone over his foreign policy choices that often favor China and Russia. Khan has also been a strident opponent of America’s war on terror and Pakistan’s partnership in that war with Washington.

Khan has circulated a memo which he insists provides proof that Washington conspired with Pakistan’s opposition to unseat him because America wants “me, personally, gone ... and everything would be forgiven.” He offered no concrete evidence of US interference.

Political chaos also spread to Punjab — the country’s largest province — which is set to vote for a new chief minister. Khan’s favored candidate faced a tough challenge, and his opponents claimed they had enough votes to install their own ally. After a scuffle between lawmakers, the provincial assembly was adjourned until April 6 without any vote.

Pakistan’s main opposition parties — a mosaic of ideologies from leftists to the radically religious — have been rallying for Khan’s ouster almost since he was elected in 2018. Then, his win was mired in controversy and widespread accusations that the army helped his Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (Justice) Party to victory.

Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert with the Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace, said the military’s involvement in the 2018 polls undermined Khan’s legitimacy from the outset.

“The movement against Imran Khan’s government is inseparable from his controversial rise to power in the 2018 election, which was manipulated by the army to push Khan over the line,” said Mir. “That really undermined the legitimacy of the electoral exercise and created the grounds for the current turmoil.”

Pakistan’s military has a history of overthrowing successive democratically elected governments and indirectly manipulating others from the sidelines.

The opposition also blames Khan for high inflation that’s hitting households. But his government is also credited with maintaining a foreign reserve account of $18 billion, bringing in a record $29 billion last year from overseas Pakistanis.

Khan’s anti-corruption reputation is credited with encouraging expatriate Pakistanis to send money home. His government has also received international praise for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis and implementing so-called “smart lockdowns” rather than countrywide shutdowns. As a result, several of Pakistan’s key industries, such as construction, have survived.

Khan’s leadership style has often been criticized as confrontational.

“Khan’s biggest failing has been his insistence on remaining a partisan leader to the bitter end,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center.

“He hasn’t been willing to extend a hand across the aisle to his rivals,” said Kugelman. “He’s remained stubborn and unwilling to make important compromises. As a result, he’s burned too many bridges at a moment when he badly needs all the help he can get.”

Khan’s insistence there is U.S. involvement in attempts to oust him exploits a deep-seated mistrust among many in Pakistan of U.S. intentions, particularly following 9/11, said Mir.

Washington has often berated Pakistan for doing too little to fight Islamic militants, even as thousands of Pakistanis have died at their hands and the army has lost more than 5,000 soldiers. Pakistan has been attacked for aiding Taliban insurgents while also being asked to bring them to the peace table.

“The fact that it has such easy traction in Pakistan speaks to some of the damage U.S. foreign policy has done in the post 9/11 era in general and in Pakistan in particular,” said Mir. “There is a reservoir of anti-American sentiment in the country, which can be instrumentalized easily by politicians like Khan.”

https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-religion-ad929acf523850fdb63a5b6dd960f1d2

Kaal posted:

Sounds like Pakistan's military-supported prime minister is seizing power.

Kaal posted:

Sounds like Pakistan's military-supported prime minister is seizing power.