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UP FRONTSaturday 12 March 2016
Kerry arrives in Saudi for talks on Syria, Yemen wars
HAFR AL-BATIN, Saudi Ara- beir. Saudi King Salman, middle, watches military exercises code named North Thunder with Egyptian
bia (AP) — U.S. Secretary His visit came as the kings of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, right, and the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
of State John Kerry landed Bahrain and Jordan joined Sabah, left, in Hafr Al-Baten, Saudi Arabia. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed Friday at a
Friday at a sprawling mili- Pakistan’s prime minister, sprawling military facility in northeastern Saudi Arabia following the exercises.
tary facility in northeast- Abu Dhabi’s crown prince,
ern Saudi Arabia where Qatar’s emir and the Sau- (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
the kingdom just finished a di king for a parade and
three-week-long counter- airshow marking the end
terrorism drill that included of the military exercise,
20 nations and which ob- dubbed “Northern Thun-
servers say was a show of der.” It also comes amid
force against its foes. heightened tensions be-
Kerry touched down at tween Saudi Arabia and its
the King Khalid Military City regional Shiite rival Iran as
near the town of Hafr al- they back opposite sides
Batin in the desert, south of the wars in Syria and Ye-
of the Iraqi and Kuwaiti men. On Thursday, state
border. He was later in media reported that Saudi
the evening received by Arabia was building a new
King Salman and other top air base to protect the
Saudi officals, which was to kingdom’s airspace in Hafr
be followed by a working al-Batin.
dinner with Crown Prince The drills included troops
Mohammed Bin Nayef and from Egypt, Pakistan, Tur-
Foreign Minister Adel al-Ju- key, Malaysia, Jordan,
Sudan and the six-nation targeting the country’s
Gulf Cooperation Council. Iran-backed Shiite rebels.
Other countries that con- A senior State Department
tributed include Chad, Co- official, speaking on condi-
moros, Djibouti, Maldives, tion of anonymity because
Mauritania, Morocco, Sen- the official wasn’t autho-
egal, and Tunisia. rized to speak publicly, said
Kerry’s talks focused on Kerry emphasized that now
the civil wars in Syria and is the time to keep moving
Yemen, where a Saudi- forward on ending the con-
led campaign has been flicts in Syria and Yemen.q
Dubai official warns of ‘clash
of civilizations’ over Trump
JON GAMBRELL curity in Dubai, took to Twit-
Associated Press ter to respond. Referencing
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- political scientist Samuel P.
ates (AP) — A top security Huntington’s theory that fu-
official in Dubai warned Fri- ture wars would be fought
day of a “clash of civiliza- between cultures, Tamim
tions” if U.S. Republican warned that a Trump win
candidate Donald Trump could see him face Islamic
becomes president, the State group leader Abu
latest sign of disquiet across Bakr al-Baghdadi.
the Middle East over the “If Trump beats Hillary (Clin-
businessman’s comments ton), that means that the
about Muslims. scenario of the clash of civ-
Trump refused to back ilizations created by Samu-
away from his recent state- el will come to light at the
ment that “Islam hates the hands of the candidate
West” during a Republican and al-Baghdadi,” Tamim
debate Thursday night in wrote.
Miami, which came after Trump has for years looked
he called in December for to do business in the Middle
a ban on Muslims entering East, particularly in the Gulf
the United States. and the emirate of Dubai.
Trump said he wouldn’t Trump has lent his name to
stoop to being “politically two high-profile Dubai golf
correct” by avoiding such course projects and an on-
statements. going real estate develop-
Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Ta- ment, and sought for years
mim, the deputy chairman to expand his hotel chain
of police and general se- into the region.q
