U.S. prestige and influence in the Middle East has fallen precipitously. From Moon of Alabama at moonofalabama.org:
In March 2023 Iran and Saudi Arabia restored their diplomatic ties with each other. The deal had been mediated by China.
As I remarked at that time:
This is huge!
…
Reviving relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran will make a lot of new things possible.That Iran and Saudi Arabia accepted China’s mediation is a recognition of Beijing’s new standing in world policies. That alone is enough reason for the White House to hate the deal.
I later summarized the diplomatic action in the Middle East:
For the last 30 years the U.S. considered the Middle East as its backyard. Twenty years ago it illegally invaded Iraq and caused 100,000nds of death and decades of chaos. Now China, by peaceful means, changed the balance in the Middle East within just one month.
…
Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless ‘unilateral’ people around him are left aside.
Amwaj.media, which translates everything into Persian, Arabic and English, has published a piece written by two academics from Iran and Saudi Arabia. Such cooperation is still rare. This can then be seen as a semi-official explanation and/or vision of those countries’ global policies.
The piece confirms the loss of U.S. influence and the rise of China’s role in the Middle East:
How Gaza war is pushing the region eastward
The unwavering US support for Israel’s war on Gaza has left a bitter taste in the region. Anger is mounting not only in the Arab world but also across the Global South, over what is seen as western double standards towards Israel’s continued onslaught. There is a unified demand for a ceasefire and sharp criticism of what it viewed as unchecked Israeli aggression.
Natur abhors a [power] vacuum?
I wonder if the premature evacuator move in the Graveyard Of Empires did permanent damage?
Remember Barry on the tarmac with the Post-American world book?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
This just in from Eric B. & Rakim:
No Competition
Watching video on X of Ivan’s new toy, an upgraded T-80 with drone jamming canopy! (h/t-JR)
What a beautiful machine and interview is of shop master who has worked there for 46 years.
He didn’t check any DEI boxes but does have a medal from the state for meritorious service.
Once you figure out that internal quisling traitors are out to burn it all down by any means necessary then it all makes sense.
Losing a major war gets it good and burnt down to the foundations.