Saudi Arabia and Iran Relationship

Saudi Arabia and Iran Relationship Syria and Lebanon: the main scene for Saudi-Iranian rivalry Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are characterized by religious-ideological antagonism and competition for regional influence. The current turmoil in the Middle East is often reflected in the hostility between the two states as their struggle over the character of the region has escalated and intensified.[1] The potential negative implications of the Arab spring, along with the initial Iranian attempt to consolidate regional achievements, have largely roused Saudi Arabia out of its relative passivity in foreign policy and led it to attempt to promote a new inter-Arab alignment as a potential counterweight to Iran. Saudi Arabia perceives Iran as a main threat for several reasons. The first relates to Iran’s desire to promote a security system in the Gulf free of foreign involvement—particularly that of America—in which Iran will assume a greater leadership role. The second refers to Iran’s view of itself as the more genuine representative of the Muslim world and as the state that is challenging Saudi Arabia’s role of dominance (alongside its Wahabi religious establishment) within the Muslim world, as a depiction of the Sunni–Shia rift. Iran’s pursuit of military nuclear capability and the potential impact this capability would have on shaping the regional agenda also threatens Saudi Arabia. Iran’s ambition and its military capabilities might be used, in a Saudi perspective, to further Iranian influence over OPEC and over the Shiites minority population in the Saudi kingdom.[2] The Sunni-Shiite conflict plays a critical role in relations between the two opposing sides of the Gulf in general and between Saudi Arabia and Iran in particular. Saudi Arabia has committed intense efforts to draw pro-Iranian Middle East players into the Saudi-Sunni camp and to establish a multi-national front, based upon sectarian divisions, against Iran’s regional ambitions. Saudi Arabia’s relations with Syria, Iran’s main ally have deteriorated due to the violent suppression of the protests in Syria, which began in March 2011. Even prior to this, Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to rescue Syria from the clutches of Iranian influence and create a united anti-Iranian bloc composed of Sunni states. The protests in Syria gave the kingdom a new opportunity to promote its agenda. By weakening the Assad regime, the Saudis hope they will help reduce the power of the â€Å"Shiite axis†.[3] In this vein, the Saudi media has regularly criticized Iran’s less-than covert attempts at supporting the Syrian regime. Saudi Arabia’s current policy constitutes a change in its attitude toward the Assad regime. After the rift between the two states in the wake of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Al-Hariri in 2005, King Abdullah led a policy of relative openness toward Syria in an attempt to drive a wedge between it and Iran. As unrest in Syria grew, however, he recalled his ambassador back to Riyadh in August 2011. This, along with its support to quell Shiite insurgency in Bahrain, is evidence that Saudi Arabia intends to stand up to the radical front headed by Iran.[4] Saudi Arabia, together with Qatar, has also taken action in order to further weaken the Iranian-Syrian axis. The two nations, for example, worked together to suspend Syria’s membership in the Arab League and continue to provide financial and military support to different elements within the Syrian opposition.[5] These measures fit with the approach Saudi Arabia has adopted since the beginning of the Ar ab spring, which is both more assertive than in the past, and expresses its attempt to reshape the map of alliances in the region in accordance with its interests. Over the years, Saudi Arabia have preferred to avoid confrontation, focusing on attempts at mediation in the Arab world for the purpose of eliminating dangers while attempting to avoid being aligned with any side.[6] In the case of Syria, the kingdom has preferred American leadership. When this did not materialize, however, Saudi Arabia, with its large coffers and affluent Sunni Islamic influence, entered the resulting vacuum. As noted its previous attempts at distancing Assad from the Iranian axis were unsuccessful, but the rebellion against Assad gave the Saudis an unusual opportunity to weaken Iranian influence in the area. The Arab world began to adopt a tougher stance vis-à  -vis Assad in the summer of 2011, when the Gulf Cooperation Council called on Syria to stop its â€Å"deadly suppression of citizens, followed by an unusually sharp statement by Saudi King Abdullah, who demanded that Syria â€Å"stop the killing machine†.[7] This new tone resulted from the King’s frustration with the Alawite minority regime (which he considers heretical) regarding Saudi attempts at mediation, combined with the realization that Syrian opposition achievements are likely to tip the balance against Iran. The King’s anger increased following the killing of members of cross-border tribes that were the tribal lineage of his mother and two of his sisters, and the widespread killing of Sunnis during the holy month of Ramadan. Since then, Saudi Arabia, with some coordination with Qatar (which has since cut back on its involvement) and the United Arab Emirates, has been aiding rebel forces that it regards as suitable for the Anti-Iranian cause in Lebanon and the Syrian opposition sometimes without taking into account American restrictions on armaments.[8] The strategic goal of overthrowing Assad (and weakening Iran and Hizbollah) currently spearheads Saudi Arabias foreign policy. Its aim is to strengthen elements among the rebels, so that if and when Assad falls, those elements will gain control over what remains of the Syrian state. The Arab Gulf countries tried to persuade the United States that the Assad regime had crossed the red line announced by President Obama in August 2012 and again in March 2013 concerning the use of chemical weapons. According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabian intelligence found proof that this weapon was used already in February 2013, and presented this evidence to the United States.[9] However, American disinclination to get involved in Syria has caused the Gulf States to doubt the credibility of the US, their main â€Å"defense provider, to deliver. A manifestation, in their eyes, of Americas diminishing regional influence. It was reported that the Saudi king, frustrated with American policy in the region, sent Obama a message saying â€Å"Americas credibility was on the line if it let Assad prevail†.[10] Elements within the Gulf States, notably in Kuwait and the UAE, started privately financing different Sunni rebel groups – causing further radicalization and fragmentation within the rebel ranks in a rampant competition for funds and influence. The Saudis are reportedly providing 3 billion dollars as an aid package to the Lebanese armed forces, as a part of their effort to support Pro–Sunni factions in Lebanon.[11] These efforts are backed, according to Hizbollah members, by an unprecedented intelligence campaign, led by the Saudi prince Bandar bin Sultan to cripple the Shia organization’s infrastructure, target its assets and weaken Hizbollah’s political position within the Lebanese political arena.[12] This may very well be a Saudi attempt to force Hizbollah to allocate more forces back to Lebanon and away from Syria, while delegitimizing it on the home front as a destabilizing and a sectarian force. There are no Saudi illusions about a sweeping victory in Syria and Lebanon. They too are aware of advantage in weaponry, organization, and external support enjoyed by Assad and his allies. They hope, however, that the support they provide will tip the scales in their favor, bleeding their adversaries financially and militarily,[13] as an historical payback for supporting Shiite subversion over the years in Iraq, the gulf and in the Saudi kingdom. Their enemies – the Assad regime, Iran, and Hizbollah – have been weakened on a daily basis, and are suffering economically, with thus far at little to no significant cost to the kingdom. Concern based on past experience, however, indicates that ramifications of radical elements operating in Syria and Lebanon are liable to boomerang back to the Gulf and upset stability between Shia and Sunni communities in Iraq, Kuwait and the Saudi Kingdom itself.[14]Tensions between Shiites and Sunnis are joined by tensions between parties favoring stability and anti–Iranian hardliners within different regimes in the gulf. Along, with many in the Arab countries, the hardliners believe that the overthrow of the Assad regime could restrain Iran and restore Iran to its natural size, hopefully without leading to a frontal confrontation between Iran and the Saudis. This confrontation has been avoided until now. Those in the Sunni side vying for stability in contrast are alarmed at the possibility that by funding fighters abroad, they might be fueling extremists and Sunni radicals, such as Al Qaeda.[15] With these seasoned veterans bound to return to their Sunni homelands eventually, those concerns might be realized in the form of subsequent radicalization and implementation of terrorist tactics from abroad in the Saudi kingdom and across the gulf. The Saudis have at times acted as a revolutionary force and at times as a counter-revolutionary force, depending on their interests. They engineered the deal on the removal of Yemens President Saleh from office, were involved in consolidating the new regime in Tunisia, and helped to overthrow the Qaddafi regime. On the other hand, they used force to maintain the al-Khalifa regime in Bahrain and sought to keep Mubarak’s regime in power in Egypt. When this effort was unsuccessful, they gave billions in aid to the military regime in Egypt, which recently regained power. Saudi efforts in Lebanon and Syria to assist Anti–Iranian parties[16] are consistent with these trends. With the Saudis testing Iranian resolve to the limit, despite the kingdom’s inferior demographic and geopolitical position and Iran and its allies, cornered by a vast Sunni majority yet more than eager to fight,[17] it is unclear how and when this bloody deadlock will be resolved. 1 [1] Paul Aarts, and Joris Van Duijne, Saudi Arabia after US-Iranian dà ©tente: left in the lurch.Middle East Policy16.3 (2009), p. 70. [2]Vali Nasr When the Shiites rise.Foreign Affairs85 no. 4(2006): p. 59. [3]AdamEntousandSioban Gorman, Behind Assads Comeback, a Mismatch in Commitments.Wall Street Journal, 31Dec.2013 [4]MehranKamrava, â€Å"The Arab Spring and the Saudi-led counterrevolution†.Orbis, 56, no.1,(2012):101 – 103 [5] Assad: Our Battle With Saudi Is Open-Ended. Al Akhbar, 30 Nov. 2013 [6]HermanF. Elits.Saudi Arabias foreign policy.Diplomacy in: L C Brown (ed.)the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and Outside Powers (London: I.B. Tauris,2004), pp. 238 – 240. [7]AdrianBlomfield, Syria unrest: Saudi Arabia calls on killing machine to stop.,The Telegraph, 8 August, 2011 [8]Kim Ghattas, Saudi Arabia to give Lebanon army $3bn grant,BBC,29Dec.2013. [9]Adam Entous, NourMallas, and Margaret Coker. A Veteran Saudi Power Player Works To Build Support to Topple Assad, Wall Street Journal, 25 Aug. 2013. [10] Ibid. [11]Anna Barnard, â€Å"Saudis’ Grant to Lebanon Is Seen as Message to U.S†, The New York Times, 6 Jan 2014. [12]Nasser Chararah, Hezbollah escalates rhetoric against Riyadh.,Al Monitor 10 Dec. 2013. [13]JobyWarrick. Syrian conflict said to fuel sectarian tensions in Persian Gulf,Washington Post, 19Dec.2013. [14]Elizabeth Dickenson,.Playing with Fire: Why Private Gulf Financing for Syria’s Extremist Rebels Risks Igniting Sectarian Conflict at Home. The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings (6 Dec. 2013), p. 6. [15]Ibid: 18 20 [16]Nasser Chararah, Hezbollah escalates rhetoric against Riyadh., Al Monitor 10 Dec. 2013. [17]Doyle McManus, â€Å"Syria and the perils of proxy war†, LA Times, 12 Jan 2014.

Why same-sex marriage should be legal

Why same-sex marriage should be legal. BY aurore1997 Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Here we are today about to debate whether or not individuals in love with each other should be able to get married or not. Yet twelve years and 3 months is the time that has passed since the first homosexual marriage was made official in a Canadian province. Since 1996,because of the Defense of Marriage Act which prevented-and still does- homosexual couples from receiving benefits traditionally conferred by marriage ; states have scrambled to efine their own stance on the issue.The restriction of marriage to heterosexual couples should be abolished because it is discriminatory to homosexual couples. Most conservatives use Christianity as a backup for their argument. But unlike what they may all think, homosexuality is not a sin. It is a strong tendency ordered towards a moral evil, you may want to discuss this point but it was said in a Vatican letter in the year 1986. Under the papacy of his hol iness John Paul II. There's absolutely no eason of principle that emotional union should be restricted to heterosexual couples.Nor are there any constitutional reason,in fact the act that ‘defines' marriage to be the union of a man and a woman was proven unconstitutional. As it goes against the tenth amendment of the United States constitution. We believe that our society is open-minded but the issue of gay marriages proves us wrong. Homosexuals are called perverts by the majority of the world population. People that are supposed to set examples do not, in February 2004, a Belgian cardinal publicly aid that he would not open his door for any homosexuals because they are sexual perverts.They are not perverts, they are sensitive humans like you and me , they just have a different sexual orientation, in fact a recent study proved that homosexuals rate their relationship more favorably than heterosexuals do and the average homosexual relationship lasts longer than the average hete rosexual relationship. According to this study they ‘know how to love' better than heterosexuals do. Despite all these factors, people still dare to call homosexuals perverts Just because they are the minority.Is this not similar to racism ? In my opinion it sure is. Regarding the Belgian cardinal harsh words,a Vatican spokesperson said, â€Å"People with a homosexual inclination must be accepted with respect,compassion and sensitivity†. Homosexuals feel more accepted after the marriage according to a survey. They also observed that people give more credibility and less perversity to their relationship when they are officially and legally arried.We observed through bullying that what society feels about you can make you feel confident but it might as well push you to suicide. Refusing to legalize homosexual marriage gives the right to society to mock homosexuals and to exclude them because they are different. Exile leads to depression and to suicide in most cases. Do we want more unnatural deaths in this country ? I am sure we do not. The restriction of marriage to heterosexual couples should be abolished because it is discriminatory to homosexual couples.

Beowulf Perseverance Essay

In the poem, Beowulf, perseverance can be perceived as one of the most important factors for the success of the main character. Perseverance can be described in many ways, but the true meaning of the term is commitment. How someone stays committed with a goal or task until glory is reached, all the effort and hard work placed into the action being realized, personal reasons, and the patience had while realizing it, are the main points of perseverance. The motivation to not give up is also a very important factor of perseverance; the reward someone gets when completing a task is part of motivation. The people who are successful in this world like pro athletes, businessmen, politicians, and individuals who accomplish their personal goals, are probably successful because they persevered in whatever task they had. This means they stayed committed and motivated throughout their tasks and never gave up even if the situations were tough. Perseverance is a great factor in the heroic poem, Be owulf. In the poem the main character is named Beowulf, he is characterized for his great fighting skills and abilities. Look more:  beowulf essay He uses perseverance as his main tool for success in the story; he uses it to defeat sea monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, a dragon, and ruling as a good king. Staying committed until glory is reached is very important for success, because if the people do not stay committed during their tasks or goals they will not be successful. Some people stay committed at the beginning of their tasks, but all of the sudden they start to slack off because they probably want to see results immediately, or they feel like they cannot resist any longer because things are not going how they are suppose to be. This term is one of the most important points of perseverance because the main key of the term is to stay committed until glory or success is reached, it could take months or years, it does not matter. What matters is to get the job done and be glorious. In the heroic poem, Beowulf is illustrated as a character that stays committed until glory is reached. When he fought Grendel’s mother he struggled a little bit because when he attacked her with a sword that was supposed to be unstoppable, he did not do any damage. After he saw that his attack was worthless he did not give up or ran away, in fact he looked for ways to defeat her and he finally found a sword made by giants and swung it through her neck. Beowulf clearly demonstrates that he was committed to finish Grendel’s mother because he did not give up and he finally found a solution that led him to glory. Another important factor of perseverance is motivation. How someone stays motivated is very important because motivation is what will lead the to keep going in their tasks and not give up. Beowulf completed all of his battles and tasks because he had a reason behind everything he did, that reason was his personal motivation. A factor that motivated him was to impress the Hrothgar the king. When the king asked him if he could kill Grendel’s mom, he immediately said yes. He wanted let the king see that he could defeat any monster. When he killed her, the king was very impressed because she was a very hard monster to defeat. Lastly, the most important motivation anyone can have is to beat your personal goals, to prove to your own self that you can do what you want to do. Another important motivational factor is the reward awarded after completing a task. When he killed Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, he received gold, horses, necklaces, and even the Hrothgar considered him a son. These possessions motivated Beowulf to never quit and always finish what he started. Proving to your own self can be another key for success that involves perseverance. When someone tries to prove something to their selves, they try really hard to defeat their personal ego and bad mentality. Beowulf tried to prove himself that he was unstoppable and that he was a great warrior. Every time he fought he wanted to prove to himself how great he was, and that is why he was successful. His personal reasons were also important in getting glory. When he was about to fight the dragon he said, â€Å" I risked my life often when was young. Now I am old. but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open† (Beowulf 2511-2515.When the dragon attacked Beowulf’s mead-hall he got mad and sought revenge. Revenge is when someone does something to you and you want to answer back. So the dragon attacked his property now he was going to answer back with an epic battle against him, because he was seeking revenge and wanted to prove to himself that he could be glorious, he fought really hard and killed the dragon. He also died but he proved himself that he could defeat anyone and he got revenge. Beowulf was a great warrior all of his life; he used commitment, motivation, hard work, and proving himself to succeed. All of these terms are the puzzle pieces that form up perseverance. So if one word can describe Beowulf’s success it would be perseverance. In all of the battles he set his goals, personal reasons, and committed through them. If he did not persevered he would have failed every battle. At the end, all his hard work paid off because he was in charge of a kingdom and once again this gave him motivation, greatness, and he proved himself he was on top of everyone. When Beowulf died he was happy because he accomplished everything he wanted in his life. He is going to be remembered for the great warrior that used â€Å"perseverance† as his main tool for success.

Literary Analysis Of The Outsiders - 1429 Words

A young adult novel’s audience often desires relatable characters and a meaningful plot that helps them to find resolutions to their own uncertainties concerning life. Many authors employ the literary technique realism to satiate these cravings. Today, there are some popular novels that attempt to imitate this, such as the coveted The Fault in Our Stars or Divergent. These selections, while widespread in the hands of young adult readers today, will not stand the test of time in the way that The Outsiders has, written by S. E. Hinton in 1967, has. This novel, both produced by and intended for teenagers, instead is a better candidate of realistic young adult fiction. Other selections, from Hinton’s era and from today, do not radiate the same†¦show more content†¦In addition, Hinton’s allocation of Ponyboy as the narrator aids the novel in being well-read through several eras. Readers observe his bildungsroman, much like teenagers from any generation will h ave to do in their own lives. Near the end of the novel he expresses his feelings about the Socs, saying, â€Å"Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too† (Hinton 118). Because it does not matter whether the adolescent reader comes from the same time period of the novel or from today’s society, this fictional journey is especially significant. Without the point of view of Ponyboy, The Outsiders would be a novel that may not shape an adolescent’s reading experience as significantly as it does; furthermore, another relevant literary device in use is symbolism. Hinton utilizes symbolism throughout the novel to mold the reader’s response to her story. The eye color of the characters, a recurring symbol, is influenced again by Ponyboy’s perspective, and reveals the way in which he perceives the world surrounding him. When describing another person, Ponyboy a lmost always gives a detailed description of their eyes. For example, while introducing the members of the Greasers, he describes Darry’s eyes as â€Å"pale blue-green ice†, which corresponds to his interpretation of himShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis Of The Outsiders1661 Words   |  7 PagesThe Outsiders Literary Analysis Is the American Dream fact ? Or Fiction ? In the novel The Outsiders, the author S.E Hinton explains the story of a young boy named Ponyboy and the struggle to survive, to find out the rights and wrongs in society, taking on difficult challenges like social class, loved ones, loyalty and rivalry between two different social classes . The question is brought up, is the American Dream fact ? Or fiction ? According to the knowledge that has been given, Through documentariesRead MoreLiterary Analysis : The Outsiders 2595 Words   |  11 PagesGina Cabano Eng-150 Whetstine Literary Analysis 05/04/15 Inside The Outsiders The Outsiders, a coming-of-age novel, written by S.E. 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