Excerpts: US strategy re Yemen collapse. Turkey to become energy hub.
Saudi's intelligence prisons. Israel does not spy on U.S. Military training
for Syrian people and tribes. Gulf Arab military intervention in Yemen March
24, 2015


+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 24 March ’15:”U.S. counterterrorism strategy in
Yemen collapses amid terror”,Associated Press

SUBJECT:US strategy re Yemen collapse

FULL TEXT:U.S. and Yemeni officials say the U.S. counterterrorism strategy
in Yemen has all but collapsed as the country descends into chaos.

Operations against militants have been scaled back dramatically amid the
fall of the government and evacuation of U.S. personnel. What had been
consistent pressure on Yemen’s al-Qaeda affiliate has been relieved, the
officials say, and a safe haven exists for the development of an Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) offshoot.

It's a swift transformation for an anti-terror campaign President Barack
Obama heralded just six months ago as the template for efforts to fight the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift has left Obama open to criticism
that he failed to anticipate the risks of a strategy that aims to put
fragile governments and beleaguered local security forces at the forefront.



+++SOURCE:Saudi Gazette 24 March ’16:Pipe dreams? Turkey plans to be gas
transit hub”,Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:Turkey to become energy hub

FULL TEXT:ISTANBUL — Turkey has staked a claim to become a major transit hub
with two new pipelines to pump gas from Azerbaijan and Russia to Europe, but
boasting may prove easier than fulfilling the ambitious projects.

Turkey and Azerbaijan last week started work on the new 1,850 kilometre
(1,150 mile) overland Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) which by
2018 aims to provide 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year (bcma) to
European consumers and 6 bcma to Turkish customers.

At the same time Turkish and Russian officials are in intense negotiations
to agree terms for a brand new Turkish Stream pipeline under the Black Sea.

With the EU backing TANAP and Russia behind Turkish Stream, Turkey is now
placed in a hugely strategic position in the intensifying rivalry between
Brussels and Moscow over gas supply.

Turkey’s dream is to turn the region on the western side of the country
bordering Greece and Bulgaria into a gas hub, where multiple pipelines will
meet to pump gas to EU consumers.

The EU-backed TANAP appears sure to be built, as finding returns on the
$40-$45 billion investment in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 gas field depends on
the pipeline.

Turkish Stream however is a far less stable proposition. Questions remain
over whether Turkey has sufficient capacity to become a genuine gas hub,
which requires far more than the building of pipeline infrastructure.

“To be an energy hub there are a number of ingredients that are necessary,
none of which exist as yet in Turkey,” said Edward Chow, senior fellow at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He pointed to the lack of a strong international banking system, a solid
legal system to resolve normal commercial disputes and sufficient storage
facilities.

“Turkey has the advantage of location, it’s near a lot of oil and gas
producing countries. Being a hub takes time,” he said.

The $10 billion TANAP project — whose construction was launched by President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev — is
firmly backed by the European Union which hopes it will help Europe reduce
its dependence on Russian gas.

But analysts say Turkey will need to ramp up its total capacity from the
initial plan of 16 bcma for it to make any major impact on the EU’s goal of
diversifying supplies away from the Russia of President Vladimir Putin.

“In the longer term if TANAP carries much more that will start to give it
greater significance. That is something that will probably happen but will
not be imminent,” said Laurent Ruseckas, senior advisor in global gas at IHS
Energy.

The plan to build Turkish Stream was dramatically announced by Putin in
December in Ankara, as a replacement for the South Stream pipeline and to
bypass Ukraine.

Putin blamed the EU for the collapse of the South Stream project, which was
to have come ashore in Bulgaria.

But Russia and Turkey, who already operate the undersea Blue Stream
pipeline, have yet to agree a final accord on Turkish Stream.

In exchange for agreeing to host the pipeline, Turkey secured from Russia a
reduction on its own gas imports of 10.25 percent, a welcome concession for
a country with slowing growth and pressured currency.

Yet Russian daily Kommersant reported last week that the final negotiations
had reached a “dead end’ over the pricing terms.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz insisted however that the two sides
were in agreement. “I suspect this will happen but it is not ready to go
yet, final agreements must be negotiated and signed between Gazprom and
(Turkey’s state energy firm) BOTAS,” said Ruseckas.

Even once the agreements are signed, political will and financial backing
will be needed to build the four pipelines required to create the envisaged
capacity, which like South Stream is 63 bcma.

“A one or two strand Turkish Stream is conceivable in my mind,” said Chow.
“A 63 bcma system is hard for me to fathom any time soon,” especially given
the financial strains of Russian gas giant Gazprom and the pressure from
Western sanctions over Ukraine, he said.

One pipeline has a capacity of around 16 bcma. Still the plan to build
Turkish Stream is a sign of the strengthening relations between Russia and
Turkey.

The two have managed to prevent disputes over the Syria and Ukraine
conflicts from damaging their emerging alliance.

While TANAP could be seen as a competing project to Turkish Stream, Erdogan
with conspicuous timing telephoned Putin on the evening of the TANAP
ceremony to discuss the Russian-Turkish pipeline plan, the Kremlin said. —
AFP


+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 24 March ’15:”Over 3,500 inmates in intelligence
jails:MOI, Saudi Gazette Report

SUBJECT: Saudi’s intelligence prisons

FULL TEXT:DAMMAM — A total of 3,584 inmates and detainees, consisting of
3,052 Saudis and 532 foreigners, are currently being detained in
intelligence prisons, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported on Monday[23 Mar.]
quoting figures provided by the Ministry of Interior.



Some of the incarcerated people have already been sentenced to death, while
others have either been given varying jail sentences or their cases are
still pending before the Kingdom’s courts or they remain under
interrogation. A fourth group of the detainees is being investigated by the
Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) after which their cases will
be sent to relevant courts.

The detainees include 12 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens who
represent about two percent of non-Saudi inmates and three Americans of whom
one was arrested last week and is still under investigation. One of the
three Americans was arrested about a month ago and the other has already
been sentenced but has appealed and is waiting for the Court of Appeals'
decision.



Of the 12 GCC detainees, seven are from Bahrain, two from Qatar and one each
from Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Four of the seven Bahraini
detainees are still under investigation. One was arrested a few weeks ago
while the three others were caught in August 2014.

The case against the fifth Bahraini is currently being considered by the
Summary Court while the sixth is under interrogation by the BIP and the
seventh is waiting for a final ruling on his appeal from the Court of
Appeals.

One of the two Qatari detainees was caught mid last year while the second,
who was arrested recently, is still on trial before the court. The Omani
national has been kept under detention for about six years.



The list of the 19 most wanted criminals issued by the Interior Ministry a
few years ago included two Kuwaitis. One of them was Abdul Rahman Al-Abousi,
No. 11 on the list, who was killed in a confrontation with Saudi security
forces and the other, Mohsen Al-Fidaili, was killed in Syria in a coalition
air strike.



The ministry has established the online Nafithat Tawasul (communication
window) electronic portal so the families and friends of detainees can stay
in contact with them.


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 24 March ’15:”Report:Israel Spied on Iran
Talks”, Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Israel does not spy on U.S.

QUOTE: “Israel quickly dismissed the report as’not true’ “; “ ‘We get our
intelligence from other sources, not from the United States’”

FULL TEXT:Israel has spied on Iran's nuclear talks with the United States
and other major powers, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday[24 Mar.].

Israel quickly dismissed the report as "not true", and denied spying on the
United States.

The Journal report, quoting current and former U.S. officials, said the
operation was designed to infiltrate the talks and help build a case against
the emerging terms of a deal.

Besides eavesdropping, Israel obtained information from confidential U.S.
briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials told
the Journal.

It added that more than the espionage, what irked the White House was the
fact that Israel shared inside information with American legislators in a
bid to sap support for a deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program.

Many Republicans are opposed to such an accord.

"It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another
thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S.
legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy," the Journal quoted a senior U.S.
official briefed on the matter as saying.

U.S. intelligence agencies spying on Israel discovered the operation when
they intercepted communications among Israeli officials. These
communications carried details the Americans believed could only have come
from access to the confidential talks, officials said, according to the
Journal.

Outgoing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed the report.

"This report is not true. Obviously Israel has security interests to defend
and we have our own intelligence. But we do not spy on the United States.
There are enough participants in these negotiations, including Iranians," he
said in Israel.

"We got our intelligence from other sources, not from the United States. The
instruction has been clear for decades now: you don’t spy on the United
States, directly or indirectly




SOURCE:Coalition mulling ‘training Syrian tribes’ –official” by Khetam
Malkawi

+++SUBJECT:Military training for Syrian’people and tribes’

QUOTE:” ‘Jordan is part of …a continuous effort to help Syrian people and
tribes fight terrorism’ ”

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Jordan along with other countries in the region are in the
process of providing training for Syrian “people and tribes” in the areas
dominated by terrorist groups, including Daesh, a senior government official
said on Monday[23 Mar.].

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani, who
is also government spokesperson, said members of the coalition to fight
terrorism continue to discuss how to help the Syrian people and tribes in
the areas controlled by Daesh or other terrorist organisations, including
through training them to defend themselves and to defeat terrorists “who
have been killing their sons and daughters and occupying their land”.

“Jordan is part of that and it is a continuous effort to help Syrian people
and tribes fight terrorism,” Momani said at a press conference on Monday.

He added that providing training for Syrian people does not mean that the
Kingdom is changing its policy towards Syria.

“We still stand by our position that we are supporting a political process
and a political solution to the Syrian crisis based on Geneva I and we still
believe that the solution for this crisis is by bringing all factions
together to discuss the stability of their country and the future of their
country,” said Momani.

However, the minister declined to comment on when or where the training of
Syrians will take place.

“At this point, we are talking about policy, and the details about the
location and actual operation of the training will be announced at the
appropriate time and place,” he noted, adding that if the training becomes
operational, “we will announce it then”.

In response to a question about forming a coalition of Arab forces to fight
Daesh and other terrorist groups, the minister said there have been talks
about this issue by Egyptian officials, and it is also being discussed among
other Arab countries. However, “the issue is to be discussed in the upcoming
Arab Summit [in Sharm El Sheikh in the coming weekend]… We have to wait
until Arab leaders decide in this regard”, and Jordan will be a supporter
for any effort that seeks to achieve the interests of the region.

As for taking part in ground military operations against Daesh, Momani said
the Kingdom’s role is to support the Iraqi army and the peshmerga forces in
Kurdistan in their war against this terrorist group, through providing them
with the training they need.

He added that Jordan has trained more than 60,000 Iraqi policemen and
hundreds of army officers and the Kingdom is still ready to train more Iraqi
soldiers whenever a request is made. In addition, the official noted that
Jordanian military factories supply equipment to Iraq.

As for the Kingdom’s ties with Iran that recently witnessed some openness,
Momani only said that Jordan has always been open to countries of the region
to realise benefits to all concerned parties.

Asked on Jordan’s stance regarding the win of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud
Party in the recent Israeli elections, the minister said Jordan insists on a
peace deal on the basis of the two-state solution and relevant UN Security
Council resolutions, leading to a sovereign and independent Palestinian
state with East Jerusalem as its capital.



SOURCE:Jordan Times 24 March ’15:”Gulf Arab military intervention”, Reuters
SUBJECT:Gulf Arab military intervention in Yemen

QUOTE:” ‘We are requesting an intervention by the Gulf Shield forces to stop
this Iranian-backed Houthi expansion’ “

DUBAI — Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen called on Monday[23 Mar.] for
Gulf Arab military intervention to halt advances by Houthi fighters, a move
that could draw neighbouring states into the country's deepening power
struggle.

The Sunni Muslim monarchies of the Gulf back President Abed Rabbo Mansour
Hadi, whose forces have recently suffered reverses at the hands of
Iranian-backed Houthis approaching his base in the southern port of Aden
from the north.

"We are requesting an intervention by the Gulf Shield forces to stop this
Iranian-backed Houthi expansion," Yaseen told the newspaper Al Sharq Al
Awsat, referring to a military force of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC).

"We have expressed to the GCC, the United Nations as well as the
international community that there should be a no-fly zone, and the use of
military aircraft should be prevented at the airports controlled by the
Houthis."

The Houthis, who share a Shiite Muslim ideology with Iran, seized the
capital Sanaa in September, a blow to the state which widened splits in the
army. The group initially shared power with Hadi but dissolved parliament
last month.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab neighbours view their takeover as a coup and
believe Iran is trying to build up its power in the region by backing armed
proxies.

Speaking in Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal warned that Iran
was trying "to sow sectarian strife" in the region and said Gulf Arab states
would take steps to back Hadi.

"If this issue is not solved peacefully, we will take the necessary measures
to protect the region from their aggression," he told a news conference.

Clashes and protests

Houthi fighters clashed with armed opponents in south and central Yemen on
Monday[23 Mar.], residents and the Houthis said. An array of tribesmen,
militiamen and army units loyal to Hadi are resisting the southward advance
of the Houthis, in skirmishes that have escalated since the weekend.

Houthi guerrillas backed by allied army units fought gun battles against
tribesmen in Taiz province, residents said.

On its official Twitter account, the Houthis said their forces had repelled
an attack by "terrorist partisans and mercenaries".

Militiamen and soldiers loyal to Hadi have built up a security belt on the
approaches to Aden in recent days, placing tanks and artillery on
mountaintops overlooking the frontlines with the Houthis.

Fighting also broke out between Houthi forces and tribal militiamen in the
central provinces of Al Bayda and Mareb, killing at least 15 from both
sides, local officials said.

The Houthi seizure on Sunday[22 Mar.] of Taiz city, Yemen's third largest,
shocked opponents of the group there.

Hundreds of activists have set up a protest camp by a main army base loyal
to Houthis in the city centre, and soldiers there opened fire on
demonstrators and injured several, activists said.
==============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA