by Dr. Reuven Berko
Arab stagnation combined with the West turning a blind eye to this Iranian aggression, alongside the willingness of Western powers to sign a deal allowing Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb, is causing sleepless nights among those Arab leaders who are again pushing the need to upgrade the capabilities of the "Al Jazeera defense force."
Shiite Iran's
increasing involvement in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, while exploiting the
Shiite elements of the population in those target countries, is causing a
great deal of concern among leaders of Arab Gulf states. The trauma of
Iran's attempt to topple the regime in Bahrain, where most of the
population is Shiite, under the claim that Bahrain is Iran's 14th
province, is still fresh in their minds. The Iranian goal of using
Bahrain as a bridgehead from which to spread across the Arabian
Peninsula is still in play, despite Iran's first effort being blocked in
March 2011, when some 1,000 Saudi troops and 500 policemen from the
United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain to save its regime.
Ever since Saddam
Hussein's sudden invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf states -- Saudi Arabia,
Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE -- realized the need for a type
of "Al Jazeera defense force" to pose a strategic deterrent against
Iranian machinations on the peninsula. Their effort has not been a
success. Through its latest intervention, via the mobilization of Shiite
Houthi tribesmen to capture key targets in Yemen, including the primary
port cities and airports in the south of the country leading to control
of the Gulf of Aden, Iran is clearly reiterating its ambition of
acquiring the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, which will allow Iran
to paralyze the Red Sea and Persian Gulf waterways.
Arab stagnation
combined with the West turning a blind eye to this Iranian aggression,
alongside the willingness of Western powers to sign a deal allowing Iran
to acquire a nuclear bomb, is causing sleepless nights among those Arab
leaders who are again pushing the need to upgrade the capabilities of
the "Al Jazeera defense force."
Considering the lack of
trust in the West and Yemen's expected fall to the Houthis, the leaders
of the Arab Gulf states are again working, feverishly, to build the
military capability to curb Iran. As early as December 2009, with the
goal of protecting the integrity of Arab territories situated in the
Arabian Peninsula, the Arab League decided to establish a massive,
unified, heavily funded, rapid-reaction military force comprising
hundreds of thousands of troops and naval capabilities, capable of
posing a deterrent and striking a decisive blow on the battlefield.
Morocco and Jordan were also added to this coalition, as strategic
depth, but the initiative ultimately failed to gain traction.
The recent gathering of
these partner states in Riyadh gave birth to a multitude of agreements,
including support and aid to Egypt, which is considered the strongest
true military force in the Sunni Arab Middle East. Additionally, Saudi
Arabia has lobbied for Pakistani support in the aftermath of Yemen's
inevitable fall, or worse, when Iran completes its nuclearization with
American consent.
As the West falls
victim to the fraud peddled by Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign
minister, the Arabs (and Israel) have no illusions about Iran's true
intentions. Even as the Bahrain crisis was unfolding, the threats issued
by many of Iran's highest-ranking defense establishment officials --
whether in the regime, the military or the Shura (parliament) --
reflected the hostile nature of Iran's foreign policy, and removed any
doubt in the minds of neighboring Arab leaders.
Many of the Gulf states
with signed security and defense pacts with the West, namely the United
States, are currently feeling abandoned. Ever since the events in
Bahrain, and to a greater degree following the recent developments in
Yemen, the realization is growing in the Gulf that Iran's aggressive
goals and ambitions regarding the Arabian Peninsula have not changed and
that they must take care of themselves.
The Arabs have recently
come to the realization that not only will they not receive aid from
the West in their hour of need, but that the West is forging a deal with
Iran at their expense -- a deal that will pose the greatest threat to
their security. The situation that has been created provides an
opportunity for Israel, even if clandestinely, to play a part in the
geostrategic plans being formulated by states in the region, and which
could help lead to an agreeable deal on the Palestinian issue -- which
is rather secondary in the current pan-Arab context.
The West's weakness and apathy
toward Iran and the perilous predicament it has created in Yemen again
prove the flimsy nature of those security and defense treaties. This
lesson justifies Israel's approach, which is based on the ability to
defend itself on its own. In the meantime, following the Houthi
takeover, Saudi Arabia has decided to deploy a massive military force
along the border with Yemen. The first shot is in the chamber and the
finger is already on the trigger.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12097
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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