Arab News
Linda S. Heard
Not so long ago, the idea of predominately Sunni Arab states unifying was greeted with unflattering jokes. The Arab League was written off as nothing more than a debating society. The Gulf countries looked to the United States as their staunchest western ally that would come to their defense in the event they were aggressed. Still reeling from the Bush administration’s wars, President Obama was initially seen as a breath of fresh air.
Here was a thinker, an internationalist, a man who reached out to the Muslim world with apologies for his predecessor’s blunders during his landmark speech delivered at Cairo University. This was the man who was committed to closing Guantanamo, working toward a Palestinian State and treating America’s Arab allies with respect as valued partners.
Unfortunately, this region was soon to learn not to judge a book by its cover. His premature withdrawal of US troops from Iraq left a vacuum. His neglect of the Daesh in Iraq, which he dismissed as a JV (Junior Varsity) team before its fighters took over Fallujah, was a gross error of judgment as was his support of Shiite militias who’ve slaughtered Sunnis or torched their homes.
Sadly, America’s commander-in-chief, widely accused of leading from behind, did little to aid the Syrian people but, instead, legitimized the regime when he reneged on his own “red line” and negotiated the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons sites.
Ultimately, he showed the world that the mighty United States was helpless against a mass butcher as well as a terrorist organization that has set its sights on European cities.
The aspirations of over 30 million Egyptians who went to the streets calling for the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood president were also thrown under a bus by the United States, which punished the country with the withholding of paid-for F16s and Apache helicopters, also part of the aid mandated by Camp David. And even after the Brotherhood was branded “terrorist” by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he continued to receive its leaders at the White House and the State Department where they proudly took selfies just days before they called for jihad against Egypt on social media.
Worse, he has singlehandedly rearranged the regional deckchairs in terms of balance of power by courting a country that still refers to his own as “The Great Satan” and boasts about dominating Arab capitals. Vastly enriched, empowered and legitimized thanks to the US-initiated nuclear agreement, the Iranian president flush with cash to spend on weapons, receives the red carpet treatment in European capitals.
As to the question of respect, the article by Jeffrey Goldberg compiling his interviews with Obama over years that was published in The Atlantic provided a shocking glimpse into his true feelings. Saudi Arabia must learn to share the region with Iran, he said, and when asked whether Saudi Arabia was America’s friend, he answered, “It’s complicated.”
Furthermore he hinted that Saudi among other Arab states were “free riders,” an accusation vehemently refuted by Prince Turki Al-Faisal in an opinion piece headed “Mr. Obama, we are not ‘free riders'” published in this paper.
I believe the Kingdom and its allies have reached the conclusion that they need to take responsibility for their own security on the basis of one for all and all for one. America cannot be relied upon. This American president has knocked that belief on the head with a vengeance. As for the next, there is a risk that either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz keen to see American-Muslims put under surveillance or Muslim visitors barred from entering the US will prevail.
Saudi Arabia has emerged from the shadows as a regional giant unafraid to shape events as we’ve witnessed in Yemen where the legitimate internationally recognized government requested its intervention. Its unstinting and generous support of Egypt as well as its diplomatic shield over the most populated Arab country has helped to prevent the nation from succumbing to its many enemies and has kept the economy afloat.
A 34-member-country coalition to battle terrorism led by the Kingdom and a Joint Arab Force that’s set to come into being are major strides towards shoring up the area’s defense capabilities.
In a way, President Obama has done the Arab world a favor. His actions and non-actions have galvanized heads of state to link arms and design the future on their own terms. More power to them!
