Iran

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Iranian Base in Syria Nine Reported Killed

Israeli aircraft reportedly have launched a missile strike on an Iranian base outside of Damascus after monitoring what was described as “abnormal activity” and IDF troops went on high alert in the Golan.

Nine Iranian soldiers were killed as Syrian officials report that they shot down two of the Israeli missiles.

Syrian state media reported on Tuesday night that Israel conducted an airstrike south of Damascus, reportedly killing nine pro-Iranian fighters in an area previously identified as the site of a suspected Iranian military base.

Syria’s official SANA news outlet said that the country’s air defenses intercepted two Israeli missiles over the el-Kiswah area, south of Damascus. The report did not specify how many missiles were fired.

The attack happened in Kisweh, according to the official news agency SANA, about an hour after President Trump’s announced that he would be pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
High tension between rivals Iran and Israel have prompted an increasing number of strikes as of late. Iran has promised to respond to Israeli-led attacks aimed at Iranian outposts in Syria.
Those include an attack on Syria’s T4 air base in the Homs province in April that killed seven Iranian military personnel. And on April 30, Israel was accused of attacking government outposts in northern Syria, which left several pro-government fighters, some of whom were Iranians, dead.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said they’d identified “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and urged citizens in Golan Heights near Syria to ready bomb shelters.

The pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen news outlet reported that fires had broken out in the area following the blasts.

An official with the Iran-led axis of resistance told the Associated Press the strike targeted a Syrian army position and caused only material damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.
Videos from the scene, which was posted on social media, showed the moment of the strike’s impact and its aftermath. Surveillance footage showed a blast of white light as the bombs hit, followed by what appeared to be secondary explosions, supporting the claim that the targets of the strike were missiles. Cellphone videos also showed trucks burning and fires raging in the direction of the alleged Iranian base.

The video from the Times of Israel can be seen here

To read the entire article from Fox News, click here:

Featured Photo is a screenshot from Syrian television of the aftermath of the missile strike.

Military Supply Contracts Are Rife With Corruption/Law Breaking

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has to make some very tough decisions soon on a billion-dollar military service contract that provides food and equipment to our troops in the Middle East.

This decision regarding the behemoth Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport or KGL is just the latest in over a decade of allegations such as sanctions busting, corruption, and fraud that have followed the company.

The latest controversy involves a contract from January of this year, when the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency awarded $1.38 billion for food supplies to a subsidiary of KGL, long a logistics linchpin for American forces in the region. Yet the award came just weeks after a top KGL lawyer acknowledged to a U.S. court that the firm had years earlier set up a “ghost structure,” i.e., a company that existed in name only, as a go-between for a joint venture it had with a U.S.-sanctioned Iranian partner.
The award was also announced as two of the company’s recently resigned top executives sat in a Kuwaiti jail. On Sunday, those two executives, Saed Dashti and Marsha Lazareva, were sentenced in a Kuwaiti court to 15 and 10 years in prison, respectively.
The allegations revolve around KGL’s relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, known as IRISL, and affiliates, such as Valfajr, which were hit with U.S. sanctions in September 2008 for aiding Tehran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
In 2011, the Manhattan district attorney indicted a key IRISL executive, Mohammad Moghaddami Fard, for money laundering, records falsification, and other crimes, though he never stood trial. That same year, leaked emails revealed links between Fard and senior KGL executives demonstrating that he had helped run KGL’s joint ventures.
But KGL has continued to face questions, as in May 2016, when Fuad Dashti — a significant KGL shareholder and brother of its chairman — was arrested at San Francisco International Airport and charged with trying to transfer airplane parts to Iran. When he was brought to Washington for FBI interrogation, the U.S. government quietly allowed him to slip out of the country in the waning days of the Obama administration.
The Justice Department never publicly commented on the case, and a KGL lawyer said at the time that Dashti’s alleged conduct was unrelated to company business.
Even as legal challenges to KGL multiplied, however, the company continued to score lucrative deals. The Pentagon awarded KGL its $1.38 billion food contract in mid-January. The day of the award, KGL’s recently departed chairman and the other executive charged with felonies were still in a Kuwaiti jail awaiting trial. Both insisted upon their innocence.

To be deemed worthy of becoming a contractor with the United States government, the company must be considered “responsible” which means they must have integrity, business ethics and meet other criteria according to the government. This doesn’t sound like anyone at KGL.

To read the entire article from Foreign Policy, click here:

Photo Instagram of Saed Dashti and Marsha Lazareva KGL executives sentenced to jail in Kuwait

Don’t Expect Anything to Come From Kerry’s Disdain for the Logan Act

The news this week has shown that since the pressure is being ramped up to repeal the Iran nuclear deal that John Kerry has been openly working behind the scenes, contrary to what the administration is saying and trying to save the Iran nuclear deal that he helped push thru with the Obama administration.

The Boston Globe published a piece that had Kerry engaging in shadow diplomacy behind the scenes meeting twice with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif trying to find ways to keep their deal in place. He’s also been in contact with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who not so coincidentally is Germany’s most strident anti-Trump voice. During the 2016 elections, Steinmeier, who was a big supporter of Barrack Obama called Trump a “hate preacher.”

Kerry met with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini who was part of the Iran deal on the European side. Mogherini has been criticized as someone who is far too soft on Iran and gave a speech stating that “Islam belongs in Europe politics.”

Kerry has also met with French President Macron twice, in NY and Paris to discuss sanctions and the regional nuclear question.

His actions have widely called for him to be charged under the Logan Act. He’s had 40+ years of violating it, as he’s constantly been at odds with it. Even Alan Dershowitz has said that if the Logan Act were to be enforced, Kerry should be charged.

But first what is the Logan Act and why was it put on the books.

The Logan Act was written in 1798 while President John Adams was in a period of increased tensions with France. After several envoys from Adams’ Federalist Party made no headway with the French, Dr. George Logan, a state legislator, and pacifist met with several French leaders. It was a big scandal of the day because Logan’s meetings deliberately undermined the policies of the current administration.

The law passed in 1799 by a 58-36 vote in the House and 18-2 in the Senate states:

953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

The writers of the act left the language somewhat vague as to allow the government certain flexibility in using or possibly abusing it. However, only twice since 1799 has anyone ever been charged under the Logan Act. Once in 1802 and another in 1852 and neither one resulted in a conviction.

Kerry has a very long history of siding with the people who are not our friends or allies and several of these may be violations of the Logan Act. They include but are not limited to:

During the Vietnam War, Kerry likened Ho Chi Minh to George Washington and falsely claimed that U.S. troops were widely committing war crimes.
Joined Cuba and the Soviet Union in denouncing the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983
Called President Reagan a warmonger for wanting to beef up U.S. missiles in Europe.
Denounced U.S. aid for the Contras in Nicaragua and openly solicited talks with Daniel Ortega
Called the bombing of Libya and Gaddafi “unjustified”
Sided with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and was against Israel putting up a border fence for security
Kerry argued that Iran needs nuclear power and while they continue to try to build nuclear weapons which will be used against allies in the Middle East, continues to push the agenda.
Kerry’s organization, called Diplomacy Works, consisting of many of his staff from Washington is making dozens of phone calls, writing newspaper pieces, producing television snippets, all in an effort to undermine the current administration and its policies.

So while several conservative media outlets are calling for Kerry to be charged under the Logan Act, if you think it is going to happen, don’t hold your breath. First of all, finding a prosecutor who wants to go down that slippery slope will be extremely hard if not impossible to find. No one wants to touch this political hot potato. Why?

Despite several Republicans calling out Kerry for undermining the Trump administration, they don’t want to see Kerry charged because they don’t want the same law being used against them. And rest assured, many Republicans are just as cavalier with the act as are the Democrats and in this case Kerry.

Democrats were quick to point the finger at Mike Flynn with his meetings with Russia after the election. But the difference, at least there was that Flynn was representing the administration that was getting set to take over, not one who had been out of office for more than a year.

John Kerry is the former secretary of state and former senator holds no governmental office. He is not authorized to speak on behalf of the United States. And there can’t be any question now that he is actively trying to undermine current American foreign policy by trying to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran that he in part negotiated.

Will the current Secretary of State and former head of the Central Intelligence Agency Mike Pompeo order him to stand down and to stop negotiating on behalf of the United States? That is possible but if done so, will probably be done quietly and with little fanfare. Of course, if ordered to do so, there is also little doubt that the President’s own phone will be relaying the details thru Twitter.

But will Kerry face the music in court for violating the Logan Act? Those odds would be astronomical. He’s skated by for more than 40 years now, why would anything change?

Photo: Wikipedia

Israeli Intelligence Pulls Off a Coup and Reveals Iranian Nuke Program

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on Israeli television on Monday night and revealed to the country that the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad pulled off an incredible intelligence coup.

Netanyahu called it the greatest intelligence achievement in history. While that may be stretching it a bit, it is an extraordinary piece of intelligence gathering. What the Israelis did is amazing in the scope of the amount of actual weight and volume. Their agents somehow lifted from right under the Iranian’s noses, the entire archive of the Iranian nuclear program.

“Iran’s leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said Monday evening at Israel’s Defence Ministry. The Prime Minister was standing in front of blackout curtains which he’d soon pull back.

“Tonight I’m here to tell you one thing: Iran lied.”

“Iran lied about never having a nuclear weapons program,” he said. “One hundred thousand secret files prove it did. Second, even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge for future use.”

After signing the nuclear deal with the Obama administration, the Iranians moved their entire archive to a non-descript looking warehouse in the Shorabad district of Tehran. But inside the facility which Netanyahu showed the television audience, were a series of massively reinforced safes which the Prime Minister claimed contained over half a ton of binders, written material, presentations and compact discs. Netanyahu claims that the binders contained 55,000 pages of material and the discs another 55,000 more.

Netanyahu then saved the bombshell, “a few weeks ago, Israel obtained half a ton of the material, inside this vault.”

Moving to the right side of the stage, Netanyahu dramatically revealed two black curtains, which he pulled back to reveal two bookcases containing 55,000 pages inside different binders and an additional 55,000 pages stored on 183 Compact Discs.

Netanyahu was speaking in English. His message wasn’t just to his countrymen, although he began and ended his presentation in Hebrew. This was a message to the people of Europe and especially to President Trump. He’s reiterating what has long been known thru intelligence circles but never admitted in the prior administration. If Iran is released from the accord in seven years, in 2025, as the agreement requires, then expect a nuclear Tehran shortly thereafter if not before.

From a breaking SOFREP article by “Eli” on Monday,

One of the documents appears a statement that the original program (Omad) was to be divided into two programs in which one will be conducted openly and transparently while the other under total concealment. In another document the Iranian project director is quoted that, “from now on the program will work under the cover of scientific research for medical reasons.” According to the Israeli Prime Minister, this project is still taking place at the Iranian SPND agency under the direct supervision of the Iranian defense ministry. This organization, previously exposed by the NCRI in 2011 consists of seven different subdivisions or sections, each responsible for specific parts and of Iran’s nuclear weapons research.
Additional information which was highlighted during the press release:

The original objective of Project Omad, which came to a halt in 2003 was to create 5 nuclear warheads
Among the sensitive information was simulations of nuclear weapon explosions.
Maps and additional information regarding possible test sites for nuclear experiments.
The famous Fordow facility already appears in the initial plans of Project Omad.
The manager of Project Omad, which was stopped in 2003 is today the director of the Iranian nuclear program.

With Secretary of State Rex Tillerson removed, the last remnant of opposition to tearing up the Iran deal is gone. President Trump now has National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who were both critical of the Iran deal.

Asked on Monday what his reaction was of the Netanyahu presser, Trump spared few words. “I think if anything what’s happening today and what’s happened over the last little while … has really shown that I’m 100% right” about the deal, Trump said.

The critics of Israel and Netanyahu have already decried this revelation as “no smoking gun” without having seen all of the evidence, which the Prime Minister says was already corroborated by American intelligence agents.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister criticized Netanyahu for his tweet on Monday, saying “BREAKING: The boy who can’t stop crying wolf is at it again. Undeterred by cartoon fiasco at UNGA.”

Zarif tweeted “You can only fool some of the people so many times.”

Mr. Netanyahu concluded his speech with what amounted to a direct address to Washington.

“In a few days President Trump will make a decision on the Iran nuclear deal,” he said. “I am sure he will do the right thing for the United States, the right thing for Israel and the right thing for the world.”

Photos: Wikipedia, AP

Missile Strikes on pro-Assad Forces in Syria Kill Dozens

Many Syrian troops loyal to President Assad and Iranian troops assisting them were killed in a missile strike that targeted several locations.

The Syrian military said facilities in Hama and Aleppo provinces were struck.
It did not say if there were any casualties. But a UK-based monitoring group said four Syrians and 22 foreigners, mostly Iranians, died.
It is not known who was behind the attacks. But Western nations and Israel have previously hit sites in Syria.
Earlier this month, the US, UK and France bombed three facilities they said were associated with the Syrian government’s alleged chemical weapons programme.
Israel is meanwhile alleged to have hit an airbase reportedly serving as an Iranian drone command centre and containing an advanced Iranian air defence system.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will issue a statement on Monday evening on a “significant development” regarding the nuclear deal between Western powers and Iran.
A Syrian military source cited by the official Sana news agency did not identify any specific locations, saying only that the military sites were “exposed… to a new aggression” at 22:30 (19:30 GMT).
The source added that the strikes came after “terrorist organisations” had suffered defeats in the countryside around the capital, Damascus, an apparent reference to the recent recapture of the Eastern Ghouta region from rebel groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said one strike appeared to have targeted a depot for surface-to-surface missiles at the 47th Brigade military base, south of the city of Hama.
The pro-opposition Orient News website also reported that large explosions were seen coming from what were believed to be ammunition caches at the base.
Opposition media activist Mohammed Rasheed told the Associated Press that debris from the explosion at the depot struck parts of Hama and that residents of areas near the base fled their homes.
Missiles are also reported to have hit locations in the Salhab area, west of Hama city, and the area surrounding Nairab military airport, which is close to the city of Aleppo and its international airport.

The SOHR reported that 26 soldiers were killed, the majority of them Iranians. Over 60 were injured, several of them seriously and many were still missing. Iranian state-run news services stated that “reports of killed Iranian troops were baseless.”

It is believed but has not been confirmed that the missiles were fired by the Israelis.

To read the entire article from BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Video Screenshot

Due to Declining National Support Is a Military Coup a Possibility in Iran?

Water shortages, economic and political fallout at home, increased military presence Syria and other countries have resulted in larger protests in Iran. The government cracked down violently against the protests in over 80 cities which have resulted in at least 21 deaths.

In early February, dozens of women were arrested for taking off their head scarves and protesting against mandatory veiling in Tehran.
Later the same month, police clashed with members of the Gonabadi Sufi order, which led to five deaths, according to Gonabadi activists, and hundreds arrested. In late March, Arabs staged protests in Khuzestan province after a the national TV excluded their community from a program about Iran’s ethnic diversity. Then in April, the security forces cracked down on water shortage protests in Isfahan province. Labour strikes in various cities across the country have also persisted.
Apart from these protests, the Islamic Republic has been facing numerous social-economic and political problems, including a rapidly depreciating currency, worsening droughts and deepening military involvement in Syria. At the same time, the government has not been able to alleviate many of the root causes of these issues.
It is amid these heightened tensions that the possibility of a coup against the current government, whose term expires in 2021, has arisen. There are already some signs that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could be moving in that direction if Ayatollah Khamenei orders them to do so.
There is a growing consensus among Iranian political elites who believe implementing radical reforms is the only solution to these crises. But reforms seem very unlikely since Iran’s dual political structure is in deadlock.
The elected bodies of the regime, including the president and the parliament are incapable of creating any meaningful change because their powers are limited by the system in place. At the same time, the unelected bodies, including the supreme leader, the judiciary, and security forces, which enjoy vast political powers, believe that it is the government’s incompetency that is causing the current problems.

There is talk among Iran’s hardliners that having a military president under the control of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei would solve all of their domestic and economic issues.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russia, China Strengthen Ties to Challenge US in the Middle East

U.S. sanctions against Russia have resulted in pushback from Moscow. The Russians and Chinese have pledged to strengthen their bilateral military and political ties to challenge U.S. interests everywhere but especially in the Middle East. Moscow has one of its biggest allies in Syria and the Russians are surprisingly taking the side of Iran as well in this latest development.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met Tuesday with Air Force General Xu Qiliang, deputy vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, and other regional military officials as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the eastern city of Qingdao. As increasingly powerful Russia and China build up their clout on the world stage, they sought a more united front against the U.S., which frequently challenged their rise.
“Time changes everything,” Shoigu said, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. “But, fortunately, it does not change our relations both personally between us and between our states, and the very close, friendly relations of the heads of our states serve as a guarantee of this.”
Shoigu praised “the privileged character of intergovernmental ties” evidenced by numerous meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both of whom secured enough national support to extend their terms last month. He said the two nations were continuing “their strategic course toward further boosting friendly and trustworthy ties in the defense sphere,” calling this relationship “an important factor for maintaining global and regional security.”
The U.S. and its allies have accused Assad of using chemical weapons in rebel-held territory, and President Donald Trump has twice ordered missile strikes against Syrian government facilities. The U.K. and France joined in the latest and most intense round earlier this month, despite warnings not only from Russia and Iran, but China as well, all of whom doubt Assad’s role in alleged toxic gas attacks. China has also joined Russia, Iran and other countries in investing in the war-torn country’s reconstruction.

The Russians characterized the recent gas attack and resultant Allied coalition response as “Western Style”, in a play on words that may mean their dropping the pretext of no gas attack happened to the U.S. and coalition did it to allow a missile attack.

To read the entire article from Newsweek, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Could a Clash Between Iran and the US Troops Be Coming in Syria?

While both Iran and the United States have engaged in a war of words since the fall of the Shah, their enmity has never spilled over into open conflict. But now the two sides are increasingly moving in that direction as their forces are getting within close proximity to one another in Syria.

Tensions between Iran and the United States over Syria are at the highest they have been since the country’s civil war started in 2011.

While the two countries have repeatedly voiced indignation about the other’s presence in Syria, they have not reached the point of a military confrontation so far.
While the US has targeted fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad who have threatened its Kurdish allies and air bases, it has not directly attacked Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers, who command both pro-Assad militias and are embedded with Syrian military units.
Similarly, while Iran has warned the US against intervening in Syria, it has not instructed the groups under its sway to target the US.
In recent months, however, questions arose as to whether the US will continue its policy of non-confrontation with Iran in Syria.
Last month, US President Donald Trump appointed John Bolton, a trenchant critic of Iran, as his new national security adviser.
A George W Bush-era relic, best known as an advocate of the Iraq war, Bolton has reportedly lobbied Trump for a more aggressive posture on Iran.
The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, also fueled concern about escalation when she said that preventing Iran’s entrenchment in Syria was one of the Trump administration’s top priorities.
Iran’s main regional rival, Israel, is said to have informed US intelligence officials before targeting Iranian positions in Syria, a sign of increasing cooperation between the two, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Militias backed by Iran for their part have vowed to target the US presence in Syria.
“What we are currently seeing is the most serious attempt by hawkish and conservative advisers to get the US directly involved in the Syrian war, an attempt that echoes Israeli concerns about US withdrawal plans from Syria,” said Joe Macaron of the Arab Center Washington, DC, further explaining that the hawkish position is not universally accepted.
“Trump himself and the Pentagon are resisting this temptation, Israel will most probably continue in the foreseeable future to fight its own battles against Iran.”

Right now the Iranians believe that the U.S. position in Syria is untenable and while they’ve set their hooks deep in the Syrian regime, they know that open conflict with the U.S. is counterproductive to their long-term goals. But anything can happen.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo Syrian Army

Saudi Arabia in Talks With US to Deploy Troops to Syria

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the kingdom is in talks with the United States about sending some of their troops into Syria as part of a planned wider coalition consisting of Arab troops.

In his comments on Tuesday, Adel al-Jubeir said the deployment offer was “not new”, adding that Riyadh had previously proposed the idea to former US President Barack Obama.
“We are in discussion with the US, and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis about sending forces into Syria,” al-Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh during a press conference alongside Antonio Guterres, the UN chief.
“We made a proposal to the [previous] Obama administration that if the US were to send forces … then Saudi Arabia would consider along with other countries sending forces as part of this contingent.”
The kingdom announced its readiness to deploy ground troops in 2016 to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in Syria.
While Saudi’s air force partook in the aerial campaign aimed at defeating ISIL from the very beginning in 2014, the Gulf kingdom stopped short of a full ground troop deployment.
“There’s great concern among leadership inside the [US] military about the ability of Saudi forces – just look at the war in Yemen that the US has been helping them fight with intelligence and refuelling,” said Culhane.
“There have been humanitarian catastrophes, numbers of schools and hospitals that have been hit, raising big concerns among human rights activists.”

The final question about this planned Arab coalition is whether the troops of the United States will remain in Syria. President Trump has made it clear that he wants to remove the 2000 U.S. troops and keeping them there would probably not be approved by the White House.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo courtesy Video Screenshot

Bolton Wants to Build Arab Force in Syria to Replace the US

President Trump’s new national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo are among those pushing to build a coalition of Arab military forces that could replace US troops in Syria and serve as a stabilizing force in the region once ISIS is defeated, according to official sources.

While convincing nations like Saudi Arabia to join the cause is sure to come at a price, the Trump administration is considering an offer that includes putting a compelling reward on the table, a source close to the White House told CNN.
A similar concept was initially floated in 2013 as part of the Obama administration’s anti-ISIS strategy, but the idea of establishing an Arab force aligned with US interests recently picked up new momentum after President Donald Trump declared that he wants to withdraw US troops from Syria and have other countries “take care of it.”
Specifically, the US is pursuing contributions from Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help counter Iran in Syria by filling the void should the US significantly reduce its footprint in the country.
A source close to the White House told CNN on Tuesday that despite initial concerns that Trump would withdraw from Syria in the very near term, discussions have shifted toward developing a transition plan and that the administration is continuing its push to enlist the help of several Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.
This source also confirmed that Bolton recently called Egypt’s acting intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, to gauge whether his country would be willing to contribute to the effort, a detail previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Designating Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally would formally acknowledge their standing as a strategic military partner with the US on the level of key allies like Israel, South Korea and Jordan.
“Major non-NATO status is a real feather in the cap of many nations … in a sense it would essentially cement the US as the guarantor of Saudi security for the foreseeable future,” said Nicholas Heras, a Middle East Security Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

If the Arab nations did agree to this proposal, they’d still probably require logistical support and targeting data from U.S. satellites. So while U.S. boots wouldn’t necessarily be on the ground, the financial responsibility would still be a cross to bear for Washington.

To read the entire article from CNN, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia