The Middle East is Burning: Why Did Arab Monarchs Remain Close Allies of America’s Failed Middle East Policy?
Mujeeb Khan
We may be mistaken, but it appears that Saudi Arabia and
Gulf rulers, under pressure from the US, view the normalization of relations
with Israel as essential for their own survival and security. The narrative
regarding the Houthis being backed by Iran is merely Israeli American
propaganda; in fact, during the conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis in
2013, both the US and Israel supplied weapons to both sides. Massive capital
has been invested in the region’s wars, and Arab petrodollars have been drained
to fund them. Populations were prosperous under the regimes of Gaddafi and
Saddam Hussein, and Syria once boasted a substantial middle class; however, US
and Israeli wars destroyed all of this. Yet the Saudi Arabia and Gulf monarchs have
failed to learn any lessons. Now, shelving their own development plans, they
are moving to establish an “Islamic NATO”. Those who told the US Secretary of
State, “You are sinking, and you will drag us down with you,” were truly wise.
The US is burdened with $4 trillion in debt, while Saudi Arabia is borrowing
$73 billion from the World Bank—a situation reached after 26 years of
developments, including post 9/11 efforts to place Saudi petro-wealth under US
control.
Iran had made significant attempts to unite Islamic nations
for economic progress and development, yet Saudi Arabia is instead pursuing an “Islamic
NATO” alliance. Historically, monarchies in Europe also contributed to the
collapse of nation-states; subsequently, they were brought under constitutional
rule, leading to political stability and democratic unions among the kingdoms.
As a result, interference in each other’s countries ceased; European nations began
resolving their issues amongst themselves and freed themselves from the scourge
of interstate wars. While disagreement may exist among Middle Eastern nations
where monarchies have ended, these disputes do not escalate into war. Although
these monarchs lack consensus on addressing regional situations and problems,
they united under the leadership of U.S. President Obama to pursue regime change
in Syria and Libya—sacrificing regional peace and stability for the sake of the
American agenda. Yet, they never united among themselves to prioritize the
peace and stability of their own region. Iran was a neighbor to the Arab monarchies;
Israel’s hostility toward Iran was part of Israel’s own agenda, which the Arab
monarchs should have countered. Following the Iraq blunder, they should have
shielded their region from yet another U.S.-Israel blunder involving Iran. The
fact that Iran did not develop nuclear weapons – despite witnessing the fates
of Iraq and Libya—demonstrates that the narrative of an Iranian threat was
merely fabricated media propaganda by Israel. Israel—a small nation with a
population of five million—exercised dominance over the twenty-two Arab
countries of the Middle East. Arab monarchs heavily invested their petrodollars
in the United States, yet America consistently made decisions in the Middle East
that favored Israel at the expense of Arab interests.
The United States devastated Iraq through an illegal invasion.
One million Iraqis were displaced, and one hundred thousand lost their lives in
the conflict. Did the objectives and benefits regarding Saddam Hussein’s ouster—as
outlined by President George Bush to Arab monarchs—materialize? Did this transformation
bring peace and stability to the Middle East? This was the Arab monarch’s
region; their own security and survival depended on the security and survival
of this region. The United States had no vital stake in the region’s security. Gaddafi
was killed, Libya was fragmented, Syria was reduced to ruins, and Lebanon was
devastated. Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza were slaughtered. What did
the Arab monarchs and their region gain? What did they lose by becoming close
allies of the United States? This Middle East alignment was undoubtedly not in
their interest; it weakened the Arab monarchs and destabilized the region. Had
the Arab monarchs forcefully put the brakes on US policy in the Middle East—and
compelled the US to resolve the Palestinian conflict—after witnessing the
debacle in Iraq, the region would not have seen so many wars, six million Arabs
would not have perished, and peace would have paved the way for peaceful
transformations within the region itself. Arab monarchs spent trillions of
petrodollars on weaponry to ensure the success of U.S. policies in the Middle
East. With those trillions, they could have transformed the region into a
Europe–like entity. Now, however, Arab monarchs stand at a crossroads in the Middle
East, surrounded—front, back, left, and right – by billowing black smoke and
towering flames. The Middle East Burning.
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