Freelance

Presently, Barack Obama faces trouble everywhere. Having denied (one of these “plausible denials”) having had known that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone (and that of other European leaders) had been tapped (actually for more than ten years) by NSA has only deepened the crisis with America’s European allies. His unclear policy in the Middle East as regards the Israel/Palestinian conflict, Syria, and Iran has angered the Saudi Arabian Kingdom which has recently rejected an offered non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

The editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti tabloid Arab Times, Ahmed Al-Jarallah, has written today a vitriolic revile on recent U.S. American foreign politics. Although correctly pointing to confusing U.S. American Middle Eastern politics, the piece is full of dire misconceptions and even expressing threats.

“[T]he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not a banana republic or America’s backyard [sic!]. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a distinguished position in world politics and plays an equally important role in world affairs. It is unwise to play lighthearted politics with Riyadh. The Saudi leadership is aware of the size of the role it plays and toes the path accordingly. This is what your administration has failed to realize during your recent opportunistic policy in the region. Nonetheless, your country alone will be the loser when the US public debt has reached unprecedented levels.

[…] Riyadh has never succumbed to instructions and has never adopted the ‘every action has a reaction’ policy. This is the Gulf, the Arab and the Islamic reference. Don’t play ‘bargain’ politics at the expense of this policy and then give instructions to move forward. However, the one who looks at the situation from this angle is a shortsighted person and does not know the size of the Kingdom. The White House has to look back at the crystal clear stances and independent decisions adopted by the Kingdom throughout the past seven decades of the Saudi-American alliance.”

Well, no doubt, Saudi Arabia is the cradle of the late 20th and 21st century terrorism. It has one of the worst records of human rights. That realpolitik had made it a strong ally of the West doesn’t make it better. It is furthermore deeply hypocritical when Al-Jarallah correctly states,

“The policy […] which Washington practices with several Arab countries is the reason for bloodshed in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. America has offered these countries to Iran on a silver platter and turned a blind eye to sectarian massacres. America’s behavior in Egypt has removed the mask of democracy and human rights which the US so proudly boasts about. Its ambassador in Cairo played the role of musician in the orchestra of Brotherhood. It stood against the will of over 40 million Egyptians who poured onto the streets to topple Mors[i] — the supreme leader of Brotherhood — who gets guidance from Washington.

“Speaking of Bahrain, we need not remind the readers of the role played by the US Ambassador to Manama — drummer in the band of the so-called opposition — originally the fifth line used by Iran to enter Bahrain just like the other GCC states to realize the Persian expansionist dream which has not changed with the demise of the Shah.”

After all, Kuwait had been freed from Saddam’s troops in 1991 by the Americans. It is said, the common Kuwaiti will never forget that. After more than 20 years this war is not over, though. Then, Bahrain’s Shi’ite majority is ruled, or rather suppressed, by a Sunni ruler. Their democratic uprising in 2011, a spin-off of the Arab Spring, has been brutally cracked down by invading tanks from Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. What “role” has been played by the US Ambassador to Manama then? Does anybody believe that the Americans were planning a coup in Bahrain?

It is a blessing that Saudi Arabia has rejected the non-permanent seat in the Security Council. Its human rights records and sponsorship of terrorism indicate that is a rogue state. It is another misconception by Al-Jarallah when he concludes,

“The Kingdom and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz by taking this historical decision [sic!] has sounded warning bells that the world is ready to confront the double-standard policies. It is a strong warning to the United States of America which wrongfully believes that it can lead the world with its cowboy policy.”

We all should be relieved upon Abdullah’s decision.

29 October 2013 @ 8:22 am.

Last modified October 29, 2013.