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Shifting Sands

JL;DR SUMMARY Saudi Arabia's geopolitical realignment, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, suggests a retreat from potential normalization with Israel and closer ties with nations like Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan, noted for their complex relationships with the West. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Mohammed Bin SalmanAbraham AccordsSaudi ArabiaMiddle EastIranTurkeyDiplomacyQatarUs Saudi Relations

Places mentioned

Saudi Arabia
"Saudi Arabia is a large geopolitical puzzle piece in the center of the Middle East."
Iran
"and its role as a bulwark against Iran have kept it a valued American ally"
Turkey
"with Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan nations whose relationships with the West are more complicated."
Qatar
"with Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan nations whose relationships with the West are more complicated."
Pakistan
"with Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan nations whose relationships with the West are more complicated."
Yemen
"The Saudis even came to blows in Yemen with the UAE, a US alley."
United Arab Emirates
"The Saudis even came to blows in Yemen with the UAE, a US alley."
Israel
"possibly including normalization with the State of Israel."
United States
"MBS was eager to diversify his countrys economy and curry favor in Washington"
Sudan
"The Saudis took a similar tack in Sudan and Somalia, backing forces with recognized Islamist ties"
Somalia
"The Saudis took a similar tack in Sudan and Somalia, backing forces with recognized Islamist ties"
India
"The Saudis aren't ready to help Pakistan fight India, any more than Pakistan would offer them its nuclear umbrella to fend off Iran."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 74492
Cairo Source ID 8
Retrieved 2026-02-04 05:30:44 UTC
Curated 2026-02-04 08:31:02 UTC