Following the GCC-US Camp David summit, US President Barack Obama announced his administration’s commitment to the security of the Gulf states in an attempt to allay fears of these countries over the likely agreement between the US and Iran over its nuclear program. But it seems that the Gulf leaders do not have much confidence in the Obama administration which is clearly appeasing Tehran rather than containing it.
The US has apparently ruled out any measures that can rein in Iran and also announced its reluctance to get involved in the conflict in Syria. The US’ stand on the two key issues — Iran and Syria — does not match with the stance of the Gulf countries, hence the two sides are not in agreement in a broad sense.
In fact, seen objectively the American position will encourage Iran to continue its interference in the affairs of other countries in the region and allow it to project itself as the protector and defender of the Shiite Arabs, similar to Israel claiming to represent the world Jewry.
As for the situation in Syria, the US administration has all along been saying that Assad’s sectarian regime has lost its legitimacy, but they have not spelled out any solution to deal with the problem. This is besides the eerie silence maintained by the US over crimes committed by the Syrian regime against its own people.
What Obama has said confirms that there are no permanent alliances, but there are permanent interests. What makes us optimistic is that the GCC leaders have realized this fact and told the US president this time, “If you have interests, we have our interests as well.”
The United States betrayed those who had supported its invasion of Iraq in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein for his alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, which turned out to be a big hoax. Washington then handed over the Arab country to a bunch of sectarian politicians who turned out to be more loyal to Iran than their own homeland and the Arab nation. There is a Hadith that says: “A believer does not allow himself to be stung twice from the same hole.” And the Arab leaders seem to have learned this lesson the hard way.
Prior to the Camp David summit, the US and international media were busy discussing the reasons why Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman did not attend the meeting. In fact, King Salman had delegated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend the summit. That was a very wise move and hopefully the American people would get acquainted with the young generation of Saudi leaders with whom they have to deal with in future. And the absence of King Salman from the summit should be seen in this context. The Internet is abuzz with all sorts of theories suggesting different reasons for the absence. This writer believes that we should focus on the core issues. The region is going through a rough patch. Iran is creating trouble in its predominantly Arab neighborhood and the Camp David summit was held in the backdrop of an imminent US-Iran nuclear deal. That’s it.
In a lengthy report about the Kingdom, reporter of the Christian Science Monitor Taylor Luck wrote about the growing role of the Kingdom and its preparedness to break the backbones of anyone who tries to tamper with its security and territorial integrity. He also said that the nationalist pride expressed by Saudi citizens and their support to their country’s air raids against the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen is an indication of a bolder, more assertive Saudi role that could have a dramatic impact on the balance of power in the region.
For all of this, we just want to say one thing to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman: We are proud of you!
