Portland – Persian Gulf Arabs, what are your unelected rulers scared of? They put all their eggs in American baskets, protecting inappropriate wealth and not trying to cling to power. Instead of subordinating to neocolonialists like the United States, they should be tall and work only to benefit you and your future generations.
Simply put, your ruler is unsafe. They gave the United States countless military bases in the area. Bahrain is home to the Navy Base, home to the 5th Fleet of the US Navy and the Central Commander of the US Navcent. Kuwait has important US Army bases for regional military operations and air force bases for supplying troops and supplies. Qatar has the Al Udeid Air Base and the CENTCOM headquarters, the US Central Command headquarters, which houses more than 10,000 units, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft and sophisticated radar. It is the best US Air Force base in the United Arab Emirates with the most information warning systems. And finally, in Saudi Arabia, there are no official US bases to not induce domestic rage, but there are thousands of US troops and intelligence report advisors. All of these bases and American servicemen will cost you “probably” hundreds of billions of dollars to protect you.
Unfortunately, the recent gathering of Arab and Muslim leaders in Doha on September 15th was a recurring repetition of the past. Six countries that established the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981 in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution have directed the United States much of their oil and natural gas revenue as investment, purchasing military equipment and support services, priority business agreements for US companies, and donations to US universities and other nonprofits. These revenues (derived from the sale of natural resources) are the legitimate legacy of all citizens and future generations, and you are wasting the majority. These incomes from the extraction of depleted oil, gas and minerals should not be handed over for the interests of foreigners and the luxurious lifestyle of the ruler. Your rulers generally grab the US line of international organizations, allowing the US free access to your airspace for reconnaissance and military operations. Overall, GCC countries are American ally, but in reality they are subordinate.
The US receives financial, economic and strategic benefits from the GCC, using many local bases to control the entire neighborhood for its own interests and the interests of its agents, Israel.
What did the GCC and the other Arabs get in return?
Not much. Protection from external attacks? It’s not likely to happen! Israel bravely attacked the Doha homes to assassinate Hamas leaders. An official guest in Qatar and an individual involved in negotiations, regardless of collateral damage. But that gets worse. Not only did the US not try to protect its hosts from foreign invasions, it also did the opposite, it turned off the sophisticated radar it sold to Qatar and gave Israelis a toll-free open highway! The alert system in Kuwait and Bahrain was not working. The other US eyes in Jordan and Saudi Arabia were “blind.” The AWAC flying over the Persian Gulf did not warn Qatar. British planes cooperated by refueling Israeli planes in the air! Israel attacked Qatar’s sovereignty with US approval and support from Britain, the world’s top colonialist. In the process, Israel destroyed the basic tenets of the UN Charter supported by both the US and the UK! Two permanent UNSC members supporting a brave attack on sovereign states? What about the international rule of law? What kind of world do these two forces create?
In the aftermath of the illegal attacks in Doha, the Israeli Prime Minister humiliated the wound by vowing to continue such an invasion, in order to acquire everything in Hamas anywhere and anywhere. In the process, is he incited more violent acts by doing the same to the Palestinians and their sympathizers?
After all, President Trump can only praise Qatar as a great ally and simply advised Israel to be very careful, saying that his actions against Hamas must be balanced! Words with normal meaningless arrangements.
Israel is no longer subordinate to the United States, but the United States is subordinate to Israel.
What can the GCC, Arab and Muslim countries do?
Not only did the US not try to protect its hosts from foreign invasions, it also did the opposite, it turned off the sophisticated radar it sold to Qatar and gave Israelis a free open highway! If the US sees more solutions on the part of the GCC and other Arabs and Muslims, it will act to reverse years of injustice before it takes an even more disastrous step.
I am a realist and not peaceful. If the country longs for respect, they must show resolve, sometimes including solidity and the assumption of risk to achieve their goals. Compare what Zionists have gained from the US Congress and the President over the years for relatively little money, and compare what the GCC has gained with billions. Zionists are solid and ruthless to use their money to get what they want, but Gulf Arabs are less than that. Sadly, Qatar gave Trump a gorgeous Boeing 747, which he paid them by allowing Israel’s attack on Doha! For shame!
The GCC has made many reasonable requests that have been brushed under the rug for years by many of its western allies and the US.
– First, for immediate implementation, we will call for a US veto at UNSC, and a threat to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its justice to protect Israeli violations, including the ongoing occupation of genocide and Palestinian lands in Gaza. There is no obvious or secret support for Israeli attacks on Israeli states against the Arab countries of the region, and does not violate the territory or airspace of the GCC.
– Secondly, and within one to two years, establish a treaty between the regional Arab countries, Türkiye, Iran and Israel, transforming the region into a nuclear-free zone, and lifting the ominous threat of nuclear war supported and signed by all permanent UNSC members. All regional countries except Israel support such a vision. If the US, the UK and France really want a nuclear-free region and support nuclear non-proliferation, they can accept such a very wise future in Israel or be completely isolated. To further prevent regional hostility, the US military footprint should be reduced as direct hostilities between the US and one or more countries can ripple over other countries.
If the US sees more solutions on the part of the GCC and other Arabs and Muslims, it will act to reverse years of injustice before it takes an even more disastrous step. – Third, and within two years, establish a sovereign Palestinian state based on the border or green line of 1967, creating an adjacent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
– Fourth, it established a committee to establish war compensation for the pain and suffering of the newly created Palestinian state, setting up physical damage caused by the destruction of most civil infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank in Israel, as well as the grabs of illegal land by Israeli settlers.
– Finally, it states that there is an escalating step in which the GCC (preferred by all Arab and Muslim countries as possible) takes consecutively if these reasonable demands are not met. Hopefully the first two and the coming threats need to achieve their target.
– Destroy all relationships with Israel
– Remembering the ambassador to Washington
-Türkiye, convenes regional forums to establish security contracts for regions including Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Syria
– Closes all foreign bases in the GCC and other parts of the Middle East.
Unfortunately, the recent gathering of Arab and Muslim leaders in Doha on September 15th was a recurring repetition of the past. This was bomb rhetoric and sky threats that did not take concrete steps to correct the local humanitarian disaster. GCC rulers must act just before the population rebelled, subverting them, and plunging the region into more chaos than ever before. Trump will cave if the GCC and Muslim countries can gather together to present concrete steps calling for a unified front.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author
Hossein Askari is Professor Emeritus of Business and International Affairs at George Washington University