Page 2 of 2 The chimera of Arab
solidarity By M K Bhadrakumar
that at their one-on-one, King
Abdullah rebuked Syrian President Bashar Assad.
What emerges is that the "Arab solidarity"
that appears to have formed under Saudi Arabia's
leadership is in actuality a chimera. The members
of the Arab League have not been able to sort out
their internal differences. The legitimacy of the
Arab Quartet to represent the Arab opinion on the
Palestine problem will, therefore, stretch
credulity as time passes. Hamas and Hezbollah
have
acquiesced with the new Saudi role. They see the
Saudi role as in essence an expedient attempt to
create a false hope in the Arab public opinion
that peace with Israel is possible under the Bush
administration.
It suits the Bush
administration if the Saudis lend a hand in
neutralizing the rising anger and dissatisfaction
directed at the US (and the pro-American regimes)
at this juncture when a confrontation with Iran
may become necessary and the need may arise for
the use of the Gulf Arab states as "launching
pads". The carrot of establishing a Palestinian
state was successfully used in the past to temper
the Arab opposition to the US aggression in the
region in the 1990 Gulf War and in the 2003
invasion of Iraq.
To be sure, Iran is
taking the new Saudi role very seriously. On the
one hand, Iran continues to explore the potential
of the Iran-Saudi "dialogue" for keeping the Saudi
antipathy toward Tehran's regional influence
within acceptable limits. On the other hand, Iran
counts on the traditional duality (between
Westernism and Arabism) and caution that
characterize Saudi policies.
Iran is also
mindful of the contradictions that exist in
Saudi-US relations, especially during the period
since September 11, 2001. But it remains alert
that intrinsically the Saudi regime is tightly
tied to Washington on multiple planes that are
virtually impossible for Riyadh to break even if
it wishes to.
Tehran may draw some comfort
that even while promoting the US line in regard of
the regional security and stability, the Saudis do
not buy entirely the US argument that the real
enemy of the Arabs is Iran - and not Israel. It
was apparent that even as key officials of the
Bush administration - Vice President Dick Cheney,
Rice, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - were
descending on Riyadh with the brief to form a
bulwark of anti-Iranian "moderate" Arab states,
King Abdullah was dispatching Prince Bandar to
Tehran for extending an invitation to President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad to visit Riyadh.
Iran
is savvy enough to know that it is not at all in
its interests to make the already insecure
pro-American regimes in the region feel further
rattled. Its rhetoric is, therefore, focused on US
hegemonic designs in the region. On this score,
the religious leadership in Iran has closed ranks
and has been speaking with one voice in the recent
weeks.
(In a telling remark on March 12,
while addressing the newly elected Expediency
Council headed by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei complimented the
leadership of Ahmadinejad, saying, "At this stage,
the country is in a very good condition and is
making extraordinary advances in the scientific,
social and cultural spheres." Khamenei pointedly
called on the Expediency Council to become the
"symbol of the unity of the Iranian ruling
system".)
The religious leadership in
Tehran has figured out that at the end of the day,
Iran has the maximum to lose in any aggravation of
the Sunni-Shiite polarization, since the sectarian
issue tarnishes the legacy of the Islamic
Revolution in Iran, apart from relegating Iran to
a leadership role within a fringe 10-15% of the
Islamic world. Rafsanjani said on March 16, "The
problems in the regional countries, especially in
Iraq, stem from the US plots to create division,
and today we can see the United States behind all
problems in the region."
A week later, in
a major speech in Mashhad, Khamenei said:
"Frightening the southern neighbors of Iran is
another aim of American psychological warfare.
Such efforts have continued since the beginning of
the revolution. Some of our neighbors in the
Persian Gulf have clearly realized this, while
many others fall in its trap ... Since the
revolution, Iran has consistently extended a hand
of friendship to these neighbors. Iran believes
that the Persian Gulf countries themselves should
provide security for this important region through
cooperation."
Last Friday and Sunday,
Khamenei came back to the theme of the importance
of Islamic nations and governments getting closer
to each other and relying on the "strength and
abilities of their own citizens" rather than on
"American politicians".
On Saturday, in an
unusually explicit statement, Rafsanjani exclaimed
that Hezbollah in Lebanon has "brought honor to
the Arabs" by defeating Israel. The veteran
statesman continued, "Some regional states
consider Iran's advancement to be against their
own interests. This is at a time when Iran's
progress and development are to be related to the
world of Islam."
The pro-American regimes
in the region may become further nervous that
Iran's standoff with Britain has only helped to
enhance its standing on the Arab street. The
Iranian president's swagger as he announced the
release of the 15 British sailors has certainly
caught the imagination of the Arab street.
His defiance of the West goes a long way
in assuaging the collecting sense of shame and
humiliation in the Arab collective psyche. The
Financial Times reported from Cairo, "The fact
that Ahmadinejad is the leader of a Persian,
predominantly Shi'a nation seemed not to matter
... ordinary Arabs see Ahmadinejad as a breath of
fresh air.
"The feelings are compounded by
the perception that moderate Sunni states, such as
US allies Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, simply
follow Washington's bidding. The Iranian leader
strikes a balance that resonates in the Arab
world: candid and outspoken in his criticism of
the West and Israel, while appearing as a humble
man of the people."
In a way, that was
also the angst that the untutored, obscure
preacher giving the Friday prayer sermon amid the
ruins of Baghdad was striving to convey.
M K Bhadrakumar served as a
career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for
more than 29 years, with postings including
ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-98) and to Turkey
(1998-2001).
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