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BRITAIN’S FOREIGN MINISTER Boris Johnson has accused Saudi Arabia and Iran of “puppeteering” and engaging in “proxy wars” in the Middle East, a video shows.
In the clip, Johnson tells a conference in Rome last week it was a “tragedy” that politicians in the region were “twisting and abusing religion” to advance their political objectives.
Such public criticism of British ally Saudi Arabia was seen by some commentators as a diplomatic blunder by Johnson, who has been in the job less than six months.
His comments, filmed and posted on the Guardian’s website, came as British prime minister Theresa May returned from a summit in Bahrain where she pledged to strengthen ties with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia.
“There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives,” Johnson told the Med 2 conference.
That’s one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy for me – and that’s why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area – is that there’s not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves.
Johnson said there were “not enough big characters” willing to “reach out beyond their Sunni or Shia” group, adding:
That’s why you’ve got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars.
Allies
Britain’s foreign ministry stressed that Johnson had voiced support for Saudi Arabia on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.
“As the Foreign Secretary made very clear on Sunday, we are allies with Saudi Arabia and support them in their efforts to secure their borders and protect their people,” a spokesman said.
Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong and misinterpreting the facts.
Addressing a summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain on Wednesday, May reaffirmed British support for traditional allies in the region and said Britain would help “push back against Iran’s aggressive regional actions.”
In a joint statement, GCC states and Britain agreed to a “strategic partnership” and said they “oppose and will work together to counter Iran’s destabilising activities”.
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But he is right. I’m not his biggest fan and he will admit himself he is clueless on many matters but this is as clear as day. In the current political climate it pays to speak up and rattle a few cages
Are they really twisting Islam it has always been a military religion Its initial spread was due to military conquest
Great picture also :)
@Chuck Eastwood:
The first sensible statement I have heard from Boris’s mouth. Saudi should be considered a rouge state. It has promoted terrorism all over the world.
Completely agree. The only reason they get away with it is oil and the amount of control they have over other middle East countries. If their influence was taken away we would be looking at extended civil wars far worse than what we have already seen in most countries. Plus the arms deals in place means no European country will even try to make a real difference
Saudi Arabia, ISIS that made it.
@Chuck Eastwood: Its a pity the Journal hasn’t reported on the whole story where Theresa May has said that Boris Johnson’s views do not represent the views of the British government.
An extraordinary situation considering Boris holds a senior position in May’s government. Evenmore interesting is that Boris will be in Saudi Arabia next weekend for meetings and will probably be asked to explain his comments.
For a change he is telling the truth
@Finn Bowe: __ It had to happen eventually, like the 500 monkeys using typewriters, that eventually type out the complete works of Shakespeare.
Very true
@Ted Murray:
I think you may find your monkey analogy is not quite correct
That may be true Nick but it’s closer to the truth than most of the stuff on the Internet.
@Nick Allen: __ I’m afraid the monkeys that I’ve got typing my comments haven’t quite got there yet, but they’ll get there eventually.
He’s not wrong, fair play to him but is his department going to oversee the end of selling arms to countries like Saudi by the British companies? Probably not.
Oh he’s in trouble now…can be telling the truth about their allies & main arms customer the Saudis…
He should get a prize for stating the obvious. The western alliance with Saudi is almost the definition of sleeping with the enemy. Boycott the Gulf states.
Johnson in making sense shocker!
Don’t like Johnson at all but it’s good to see a politician say something about the head-hacking Saudis for once
Big statement by the Journal via the title photo they selected.
What’s with that picture Journal? Stupid choice, given context of the article.
It’s not just physical war in their own region but economic war the world over they’ve had their hand in, The EU certainly aren’t winning.
He’s not wrong.
He’s right. He’s a muppet, but in this instance, he’s spot on about the Saudis.
And Britain has nothing to do with anything. All those British officers in the Saudi war command bombing the sh#t out of Yemen are just there doing the odd sudoku, playing soda crush, checking out the local talent on tinder, you know, just usual office stuff….
The truth hurts. but they are not the only ones in that part of the world.
Mind you, the ones selling them weapons are not much better.
Hmmm. First time for everything. I’ve a bit of respect for him now that he’s complained against the most unnatural, murderous, bestial, cowardly, heinous, disgusting, vile, little theocracy on the planet. Especially when you consider that they own the City he was lately mayor of not to mention the country its in and what remains of its manufacturing industry too as in they’re the largest customers of the UK’s rather mediocre armaments output. Mind, he kept his trap shut when he was said Mayor of said country and when he was of any political relevance at all. Easy to roar and shout when you’ve no skin in the game.
Hello Pot this is Kettle you is black
The only bit he’s wrong about is this:
“There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives…”
This is the standard western misunderstanding of religion and politics. Most mainstream interpretations of Islam recognize nothing like the distinction between the political and religious spheres that modern western civilization has created so this concept of abusing religion for political ends makes absolutely no sense within that worldview. It’s cultural imperialism to impose that distinction as ‘A Good Thing’ on other cultures.
If they want it, they can choose it for themselves. If they reject it, they’re rejecting it, not ‘twisting and abusing’ their religion out of some imaginary universal natural form which just happens to be based on a western Judaeo-Christian model.
@Marlowemallow: What on earth does any of that mean?
A stopped clock is right at least twice a day
At least????? If it’s right anymore than twice then we have a serious rupture in the space time continuem.
Are they just getting it now???
Ah, bonking Boris Johnston. The popular Brexit buffoon who now finds himself as foreign minister of the disunited kingdom. Just goes to show how far an English public school education will achieve with the right connections, I think?
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