Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria | World Defense

Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria

Scorpion

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Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria

Last week, the spokesman for the Saudi military, General Ahmed Asseri, announced that Saudi Arabia is “is ready to participate in any ground operations that the coalition (against Islamic State) may agree to carry out in Syria” and that its decision to move into the war-torn country is “irreversible." However, given that the Saudis and their allies in the newly formed Islamic Coalition are conducting massive joint operational military exercises—codenamed Northern Thunder—in preparation for very possible military interventions in the near future, it’s clear that the Kingdom-led multinational coalition will not stop at ISIS. Rather, its ultimate objective in Syria is to take on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iran-created Shia militias, which are the source of as much, if not more, regional terror than ISIS and Al Qaeda. Should this Islamic coalition move into Syria and become the nucleus of a regional coordinated military approach toward ISIS, Assad and the Shia militias, the Obama administration will be called out on its narrow Syrian objectives and be forced to support the coalition or further degrade an already tenuous relationship with numerous core allies, foremost among them Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The tactical blueprint for the coalition’s move into Syria while also remaining in Yemen is based on the Schlieffen Plan, Imperial Germany’s pre-World War I strategy for conducting war on two fronts. However, the Saudis have learned not to repeat the plan’s mistakes, in particular the misled assessments of the time about what it would take to defeat the enemy. In Yemen, the war is progressing soundly, with the Houthi rebels suffering major losses and the Saudi coalition armies within 20 miles of the capital of Sana. But Yemen will need to be tended to militarily for a long time to come if that country is to be fully secured, which is why the Kingdom is taking a long-term approach and is in the process of putting together the personnel, material and joint command structure to carry out simultaneous protracted battles against multiple enemies.


The joint training exercises being carried out by the Saudis and their allies involves as many as 150,000 deployed troops from 20 countries based at the sprawling Hafr Al Batin Military City in the north of the Kingdom on its border with Iraq. Most of the ground troops are from Saudi Arabia’s armed forces, with the majority having been deployed from the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) and Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). These troops are joined by specialized forces from the armies of Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Morocco, UAE, Sudan and Jordan. In addition, troops from Senegal, Tunisia, Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Chad and Oman committed personnel to the joint exercises. From the East, Indonesia, and Brunei (alongside Malaysia) have formed a joint coordinating committee with the Saudis. Finally, the Saudis and Turks recently set up a coordination committee for military affairs to plan future large-scale operations into Syria via the Turkish border, and in laying the groundwork for such an eventuality, the first batch of a squadron of Saudi F-15s will soon arrive at the Turkish Incerlik airbase.

This increasing emphasis on training for a ground invasion signals that the Saudis believe that air strikes alone will not defeat ISIS. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Defence Minister, made clear at the NATO Defence Ministers summit in Brussels last week that although the Kingdom fully supports the air campaign against ISIS as part of the U.S.-led coalition, it has deep reservations about its possible success. Moreover, contrary to what is being claimed by some Obama administration officials, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has too rarely been called upon to join in the strikes. Since the U.S.-led coalition bombings began on September 23, 2014, RSAF has only flown 119 sorties (compared to RSAF's ability to fly over 100 sorties a day in Yemen), with the most recent request having been made on January 1, 2016. This reality has led the Saudis to believe that the air strikes are not being carried out to their fullest possible intensity and have thus been less effective than they should have been.

The Obama Administration’s Syrian policy is shameful and strategically a disaster. The Russian agenda of preventing the fall of Assad is now, in effect, America’s policy, primarily, it seems, because Obama in his last few months in office lacks the political courage to get involved while also hoping that perhaps Russia will deal with ISIS. But the Saudi-led coalition has the opposite view. Assad created ISIS, and as long as he is in power, the Middle East will continue to be drenched with terrorists. Thus, once the Saudis and their allies get going against ISIS and then move onto Assad and his Iran-supported Shia militias, the policy of the Obama Administration will be completely contravened.

Northern Thunder thus represents not only the emergence of a major military alliance in the Middle East, but also a major political quandary for Washington. As mentioned, the air strikes being carried out by the U.S.-led coalition have been ineffective in tackling the human catastrophe that has been unfolding for far too long in Syria. While the world might be fixated on ISIS, the Saudis and their allies know that much of the violence plaguing the Middle East is rooted in Assad and the Iranian-created Shia militias. If they decide to go after these terror nurseries, it will be time for the White House to finally decide exactly whose side it is on.

Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria | The National Interest
 

Falcon29

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I'm sorry man but your credibility is shot, long gone. Saudi Arabia has said once again if US doesn't lead it won't act. It's not going to intervene. Even Turkey's red lines are being crossed now. The people in Syria should've never revolted in the first place. They should've learned from the Palestinians that they will get abandoned. And please don't cite me religion or faith. I'm no longer Muslim and I hate to see people lose their lives. We need to take a break for 20 years, develop our capabilities then act in the region. But Iran and their allies recognize this weakness and lag, therefore they're acting now. And it's too late.

The question is can Arabs bounce back from what's about to happen and if so, in what way? A religious call or something else? Because it could go very wrong.
 

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I'm sorry man but your credibility is shot, long gone. Saudi Arabia has said once again if US doesn't lead it won't act. It's not going to intervene. Even Turkey's red lines are being crossed now. The people in Syria should've never revolted in the first place. They should've learned from the Palestinians that they will get abandoned. And please don't cite me religion or faith. I'm no longer Muslim and I hate to see people lose their lives. We need to take a break for 20 years, develop our capabilities then act in the region. But Iran and their allies recognize this weakness and lag, therefore they're acting now. And it's too late.

The question is can Arabs bounce back from what's about to happen and if so, in what way? A religious call or something else? Because it could go very wrong.
I hope so. Islamaphobia doesn't exist because people are huge bigot neo-nazis, it exists because Muslim extremism is very prevalent. I don't personally hate Islam, but judging by the concepts it teaches, and the extremism that has resulted from some of it's teachings, I'm inclined to reason that being an Islamaphobe is understandable.
 

Falcon29

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I hope so. Islamaphobia doesn't exist because people are huge bigot neo-nazis, it exists because Muslim extremism is very prevalent. I don't personally hate Islam, but judging by the concepts it teaches, and the extremism that has resulted from some of it's teachings, I'm inclined to reason that being an Islamaphobe is understandable.

Extremism isn't the problem here. I was referring to the US/Arab allies/Turkey vs Iran/Russia/Assad/China feud in the Middle East. These alliances are very slightly shifting currently. But the point was, if Arabs sought to act in Syria, I don't want them to believe a God is behind them or to accept many casualties. They need to look at everything from realistic perspective in order to be more effective.

Islam, like Christianity and Judaism is a man made religion. I believe world should do away with all religions but that's not easy to achieve. Education is the way to go for now.
 

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I'm sorry man but your credibility is shot, long gone. Saudi Arabia has said once again if US doesn't lead it won't act. It's not going to intervene. Even Turkey's red lines are being crossed now. The people in Syria should've never revolted in the first place. They should've learned from the Palestinians that they will get abandoned. And please don't cite me religion or faith. I'm no longer Muslim and I hate to see people lose their lives. We need to take a break for 20 years, develop our capabilities then act in the region. But Iran and their allies recognize this weakness and lag, therefore they're acting now. And it's too late.

The question is can Arabs bounce back from what's about to happen and if so, in what way? A religious call or something else? Because it could go very wrong.

Saudi Arabia has its own plan away from the U.S. Being a muslim, jew or a cross kisser doesn't matter here. What matters is there will be a saudi led collation against all those trouble makers in the ME and the U.S will be left behind to no choice but to support. In another word, forced to support. Just like the Saudi led collation in Yemen Saudi Arabia have proved itself to be a regional power. You are underestimating Saudi capability and Im sure you would be the cheerleader once the operation in Syria and Iraq takes place. My friend, actions speak louder than words....mark it down.
 

Scorpion

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I hope so. Islamaphobia doesn't exist because people are huge bigot neo-nazis, it exists because Muslim extremism is very prevalent. I don't personally hate Islam, but judging by the concepts it teaches, and the extremism that has resulted from some of it's teachings, I'm inclined to reason that being an Islamaphobe is understandable.

Islamophobia does exist because of the bigots out there not because its ''concepts''. Islam is the fastest growing religion with many many westerns accepting Islam everyday. If it wasn't for Islam you wouldn't have known how to take a bath. When Islam was in its golden era you so called westerns were living in caves. So Islam has civilized you and you should give the credit when its due mate.*-^
 

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Saudi Arabia has its own plan away from the U.S. Being a muslim, jew or a cross kisser doesn't matter here. What matters is there will be a saudi led collation against all those trouble makers in the ME and the U.S will be left behind to no choice but to support. In another word, forced to support. Just like the Saudi led collation in Yemen Saudi Arabia have proved itself to be a regional power. You are underestimating Saudi capability and Im sure you would be the cheerleader once the operation in Syria and Iraq takes place. My friend, actions speak louder than words....mark it down.

There is no operation taking place in Syria nor Iraq. Saudi Arabia didn't say anything about Iraq but rather Syria.

I was surprised that Oman took part in these military exercises.
 

Scorpion

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There is no operation taking place in Syria nor Iraq. Saudi Arabia didn't say anything about Iraq but rather Syria.

I was surprised that Oman took part in these military exercises.

If you take a closer look at the troops participating in the exercise you will find out that they are all geared up and the military hardwares deployed are not for a regular exercise rather for a full scale military ambush or standby type of thing incase the operation launched through Turkey which I highly believe.

Oman is part of the peninsula shield forces that is taking part in the exercise. Also Oman is part of the GCC so there is no surprise here that they are participating.
 

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If you take a closer look at the troops participating in the exercise you will find out that they are all geared up and the military hardwares deployed are not for a regular exercise rather for a full scale military ambush or standby type of thing incase the operation launched through Turkey which I highly believe.

Oman is part of the peninsula shield forces that is taking part in the exercise. Also Oman is part of the GCC so there is no surprise here that they are participating.

They'll send warplanes to Libya to bomb the Muslim Brotherhood there. Other than that, nothing will happen in Syria or Iraq.
 

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What are the Saudis planning to do, start World War 111? They talk about going after the Assad Regime which they know would get Russia involved and they the Saudis would seek to get the United States and allies involved. Isis may be a threat to Saudia Arabia, but I don't believe that Syria is a similar concern.
 

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ISIS is a threat to the whole world. I think its great what SA is doing in the region. Hope stability reigns in the region soon.
 

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What are the Saudis planning to do, start World War 111? They talk about going after the Assad Regime which they know would get Russia involved and they the Saudis would seek to get the United States and allies involved. Isis may be a threat to Saudia Arabia, but I don't believe that Syria is a similar concern.

Maybe it's world war 3 but I reckon that countries allied to the Assad government will not hastily join the fun. There will be an observation period to see how far the Saudi forces attack can go. It should be a 3-pronged attack with 3 targets in ISIS, Iran and the Syrian military. My question is how deep will the involvement of US be as regards the ground forces. There was a military exercise of the US and Phil military forces last summer (I believe it is still ongoing).
 

ipm_zipedia

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Islamophobia does exist because of the bigots out there not because its ''concepts''. Islam is the fastest growing religion with many many westerns accepting Islam everyday. If it wasn't for Islam you wouldn't have known how to take a bath. When Islam was in its golden era you so called westerns were living in caves. So Islam has civilized you and you should give the credit when its due mate.*-^
I'm sure I should also give credit to Sharia Law too and all the other extremists strapping bombs to themselves and flying planes into buildings too.
 

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I'm sure I should also give credit to Sharia Law too and all the other extremists strapping bombs to themselves and flying planes into buildings too.

Every religion has its own psychopaths but to blame the religion and not the psychopaths is absurd. You should also give credit to George W Bush, KKK, Spanish inquisition, crusades, The lord's resistance army in Uganda...etc.
 

ipm_zipedia

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Every religion has its own psychopaths but to blame the religion and not the psychopaths is absurd. You should also give credit to George W Bush, KKK, Spanish inquisition, crusades, The lord's resistance army in Uganda...etc.
You can't deny that some anti-Western aspects in Muslim culture is deeply rooted and institutionalized. If anything, "moderate" Muslims need to take a stand to reform the very nature of their religion and cultures versus how they interact with the West in unfavorable ways.
 
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