Elena Holodny – This is Saudi Arabia’s ‘Achilles’ heel’

In the aftermath of the 2003 terrorist attacks carried out by nationals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then Crown Prince Abdullah argued that youth unemployment was the kingdom’s biggest challenge. Fast-forward 13 years, and the problem remains a pressing issue for the Arab state. “Abdullah singled out youth unemployment as Saudi Arabia’s No. 1 security challenge — and it is,” Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy …

F William Engdahl – US’s Saudi Oil Deal from Win-Win to Mega-Loose

Who would’ve thought it would come to this? Certainly not the Obama Administration, and their brilliant geo-political think-tank neo-conservative strategists. John Kerry’s brilliant “win-win” proposal of last September during his September 11 Jeddah meeting with ailing Saudi King Abdullah was simple: Do a rerun of the highly successful State Department-Saudi deal in 1986 when Washington persuaded the Saudis to flood …

Major shake-up in Saudi monarchy – Patrick Martin

In the biggest shake-up in Saudi Arabia in many decades, King Salman, who assumed power only three months ago on the death of King Abdullah, has fired the crown prince and the foreign minister, moving figures more closely tied to Washington into top positions. The crisis atmosphere in ruling circles was expressed in the timing of the changes, announced in …