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Realignment in the Middle East

Abdur Rahman Chowdhury | Published: June 24, 2017 21:04:34 | Updated: October 24, 2017 20:17:46

Realignment in the Middle East

The recent diplomatic offensive led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt against Qatar might appear to be outlandish but was not surprising. The Gulf States joined the Saudi-led offensive and broke diplomatic relation with Qatar. The government of Qatar has been accused of patronising extremism in the region, a charge Qatar vehemently denies. 
This development took place soon after the grand Muslim-American summit in Riyadh raised speculation whether the summit had anything to do with it. It may be recalled that President Trump in his speech at the summit asked the Muslim countries to reject the radical elements fighting along with the ISIS and called for their defunding. In the same breath he pledged not to lecture about the human rights and civil liberties practised or lack of it in the countries of the region.  
The summit was attended by 55 Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Iran, Yemen and Syria were not invited. Iraq, though invited, did not attend alleging that the summit was aimed at isolating Iran and promoting the Saudi leadership in the region. 
In the sidelines of the summit, the United States signed a $110 billion defence deal with Saudi Arabia to sell fighter jets and other military hardwires to the Kingdom. This has been the largest defence sale agreement concluded in recent times. The United States signed a similar defence deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but of a smaller amount. Israel protested that the sale of military hardwires to the Saudi Arabia would tilt the defence capability in favour of the Arabs. Iran characterised the defence deals as a threat to its national security.
During the cold war era (1946 - 1990), countries in the Middle East were polarised but not as sharply as of today. Syria and Egypt were aligned towards Moscow. Their trade, economic and military cooperation were tied with Moscow. Syria had the largest Soviet military base in the Mediterranean Sea. Thousands of Syrians married Russian men and women and served as a social bond between the two countries. Egypt also received economic and military assistance from Moscow. The Aswan dam, on the Nile, was built with Russian economic and technical assistance. During the 1967 war with Israel, Moscow extended moral and diplomatic support to the Arabs. After a humiliating defeat was inflicted on the Arabs, Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin attended the meeting of the United Nations Security Council, denounced Israel's military adventure and demanded its unconditional withdrawal from the occupied territory.
On the other hand, the United States became the staunchest ally of Israel since its founding and extended to it unqualified political and diplomatic support in the international forums.
The Iran-Iraq war (1979-1988) restored a semblance of unity in the Arab world. Despite reservations held by some Arabs, the Arab countries extended economic and political support to Iraq. The United States was the principal supplier of arms to Iraq but discreetly channeled weapons to Iran as well in order to prevent victory of one against the other. 
However, Iraq's Kuwait invasion in 1989 altered the regional partnership again. Arab countries, except Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, joined the United States and called for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. In 1991, the US-led coalition liberated Kuwait, levied comprehensive economic sanctions against Baghdad and facilitated resurgence of forces striving for dominance in the region. 
The Iraq invasion in 2003, led by the US and the UK, created a division among the major powers as well as in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States welcomed the invasion but many Arab countries voiced strong opposition to foreign intervention in Iraq. The extermination of Saddam regime and the installation of an oxymoronic democratic administration in Baghdad heralded Iran's resurgence as regional power. 
While the region is now being torn apart by civil war in Iraq and Syria, the Saudi government found itself isolated. Its total dependence on oil and decline of oil revenue caused further consternation in the royal family. Its unwillingness to help the less well-off Muslim countries and extravagance of the royal family members has transformed it into an obsolete oligarchy.
Qatar, on the other hand, plays a role in the regional arena. It deployed a brigade of 450 soldiers in the disputed border between Djibouti and Eritrea. It allowed Taliban to have an office in Doha enabling the international community to have access to the outfit as and when needed. Qatar maintains an open door policy with the Hezbollah and Hamas. Following Israel's indiscriminate bombings in the Gaza in 2014 killing and injuring over 2000 unarmed men, women and children, Qatar was one of the few countries whose Foreign Minister visited the besieged and destroyed Palestinian homes. It allows the Hamas Representative to carry out its function from Doha. Al-Jazeera, the broadcasting outlet, is headquartered in Doha. Qatar has also provided a military base to the United States where about 11,000 American troops are stationed. Cognizant of its shia population, Qatar maintains a balanced relation with Iran. All this irritated the Saudi government who feels threatened with growing recognition of Qatar as a nation to be taken seriously in the Muslim world.
Saudi Arabia and its partners have reportedly submitted a list of demands to Qatar. These include repudiation of support to opposition groups in neighbouring countries. 
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has encouraged dialogue to diffuse tension and said, "We would encourage parties to sit down together and address their differences." He has rightly encouraged dialogue but he should move one step further and advise the parties to respect human rights and rights of the population to choose their representatives and their rulers by themselves. These are the essential requirements of a free society and pre-requisite to establishment of peace in the region. The increasing repression of dissidents in Egypt and Bahrain and growing American arms sales to these countries signals that the United States is impervious to human rights violation in the region. 
The rulers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain should seriously consider how "good governance" could be adopted by their governments. They should not lose sight that there are dividends in good governance and trying to isolate a neighbour, which has a good track record in helping the countries in the region, will bring no comfort for them.
The writer is a former official of the United Nations.
darahman.chowdhury@hotmail.com

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