Gulf Arabs respond with alarm to Kerry comment on Assad talks

A remark by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that President Bashar al-Assad should be included in negotiations on a Syrian political transition provoked alarm and dismay on Monday among commentators close to Gulf Arab governments opposed to his rule.  Saudi Arabia, the top oil exporter and main Arab ally of the United States, has long feared that the administration of President Barack Obama lacks the resolve to tackle Assad and that it is instead focusing on a nuclear deal with the Syrian leader's main supporter Iran.

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The demise of the dollar

THE INDEPENDENT (UK), 10/6/2009 by Robert Fisk *Hat tip: Glenn Beck) - In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading. ∴ In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar. ∴ Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars. ∴ The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years. Read more at The Independent... Read More......