{"id":294,"date":"2007-05-21T09:20:18","date_gmt":"2007-05-21T14:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=294"},"modified":"2007-05-21T09:20:18","modified_gmt":"2007-05-21T14:20:18","slug":"a-regional-civil-war-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=294","title":{"rendered":"A Regional Civil War in the Middle East?"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is proving increasingly diffi<\/title>It is proving increasingly difficult to interpret US policy in the Middle East by listening to the fears of its presumed targets.\u00c2\u00a0 Why?\u00c2\u00a0 Because<em> all<\/em> the Sunni and Shiite regimes in the region now seem to think they are being targeted by the US.<\/p>\n<p>And, given that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zmag.org\/content\/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10185\">paramount US goal in the invasion of Iraq was to achieve a dual rollback<\/a> of “wayward” Sunni <em>and<\/em> Shiite regimes, one might even say that <em>all<\/em> the panic is justified.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sunni Arab Fear of a US Tilt toward the Shia?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, Sunni political elites are quite understandably upset by signs of an Iraq-based, US-inaugurated “Shiite tilt” in the regional balance of power.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, one might suggest that pronounced Sunni howls of protest over the weekend provide the best evidence yet that the US moved <em>decisively<\/em> toward a “<a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=200\">Shiite Option<\/a>” in Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>Consider, for example, signs of increasing frustration and defiance on the part of Iraq’s Sunni vice president, Tariq Al Hashemi.<\/p>\n<p>According to an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/worldlatest\/story\/0,,-6647181,00.html\"> Associated Press<\/a> report, Hashemi is very concerned about the upcoming talks between the US and Iran:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Iraq’s Sunni vice president spoke out Sunday against the upcoming \tU.S.-Iran talks on the situation in his country, saying the dialogue was \t“damaging to Iraq’s sovereignty.”…<\/p>\n<p>“It’s not good to encourage anybody to talk on behalf of the Iraqi people \ton their internal and national affairs,” al-Hashemi told reporters on the \tlast day of an international conference held by the Geneva-based World \tEconomic Forum.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Hashemi said he would have preferred that the subject of Iraq’s stability \twas “tackled by Iraqis themselves.”<\/p>\n<p>“This is really damaging to Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And, yet, for all his alleged concern for Iraq’s sovereignty as a general principle, Hashemi seems most concerned about one neighbor in particular–Iran.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gulfnews.com\/region\/Jordan\/10126810.html\">Gulf News<\/a><\/em> reports that Hashemi “lashed out” at Iran:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, lashed out at Iran \tat the conference.<\/p>\n<p>“We say stop your interference in our internal affairs, stop settling scores \ton our soil, stop being part of covert plans to destabilize Iraq, and sit \tdown with us to settle our differences, resolve outstanding issues and talk \tabout economic cooperation,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Indeed, in an effort to thwart a US-Iranian tilt in Iraq, Hashemi seems willing to drop all the pretenses about Iraqi sovereignty and <em>invite<\/em> a regional takeover of Iraq.\u00c2\u00a0 The <em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.menafn.com\/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093153748\">Jordan Times<\/a><\/em> reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Iraqi Vice President Tariq Al Hashemi stressed that the security of Iraq \tis becoming the security of the region and it is trying to convince its \tneighbours that “the situation in Iraq is going to spill over sooner or \tlater.”<\/p>\n<p>He asked for help from Iraq’s neighbours to reconcile internal differences \tbefore moving on to resolve external conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>“We are not asking anyone to come and make decisions for us. All that we \tneed is to stop people who are capitalising on our human tragedy; <strong>if this \tis beyond the capacity of the US then<\/strong> <strong>let the United Nations and our \tneighbours take over<\/strong>,” the Iraqi vice president said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Finally, Hashemi is also reportedly resisting passage of the US-backed hydrocarbons bill <a href=\"http:\/\/ca.today.reuters.com\/misc\/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=uri:2007-05-02T133945Z_01_IBO131419_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-COL.XML\"> introduced by Iraq’s Shiite Oil Minister, Hussain al-Shahristani<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/ap\/2007\/05\/20\/business\/ME-FIN-Jordan-Iraq-Oil-Law.php\"> Associated Press reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Iraq’s vice president said Sunday he opposes a draft law that is key to \tthe future of his country’s lucrative oil sector, saying it gives too many \tconcessions to foreign oil companies.<\/p>\n<p>“We disagree with the production sharing agreement,” Tariq al-Hashemi told \treporters on the sideline of an international conference hosted by the \tGeneva-based World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n<p>“We want foreign oil companies, and we have to lure them into Iraq to learn \tfrom their expertise and acquire their technology, but we shouldn’t give \tthem big privileges,” al-Hashemi said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As the <em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.menafn.com\/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093153748\">Jordan Times<\/a><\/em> reports, Hashemi’s fears and frustrations were echoed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>“We have to end proxy wars, we don’t want any party to use Iraq as a \tfighting ground for capital gains,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abdul Ilah \tKhatib said at the session, entitled “Iraq the regional security dimension.”<\/p>\n<p>He added, however, that the Kingdom first wants to see Iraq achieve \tpolitical reconciliation internally and the revival of Iraqi nationalism.<\/p>\n<p>“When there is a national feeling of weakness it opens the door for other \taffiliations to emerge at the expense of our collective security in the \tregion,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>An <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/ap\/2007\/05\/20\/africa\/ME-GEN-Jordan-World-Economic-Forum.php\"> Associated Press report<\/a> puts Khatib’s concerns in the context of the regional balance of power:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib… turned a cold shoulder \tto… Iranian delegates.<\/p>\n<p>“There are serious flaws in the regional order and some countries are \tinterfering in the affairs of Arab countries,” al-Khatib said Sunday, \treferring to Iran’s growing influence in Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>“We need to see deeds on the ground and respect for Iraq’s territorial \tintegrity,” he said…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Iranian Fear of an Arab-Israeli-American Coalition against Iran?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even as the Arabs continue to fear US plans for the formation of a “Shia Gulf,” the Iranian regime appears to fear Arab support for US and Israeli efforts to topple the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n<p>The<em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ft.com\/cms\/s\/6814b376-06f7-11dc-93e1-000b5df10621.html\"> Financial Times<\/a><\/em> reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Shia Iran meanwhile suspects its Sunni Arab neighbours, all allies of the \tUS, of working to undermine it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In response, Iran is trying to enhance its credibility with the “Arab street” in order to undermine the legitimacy of any anti-Iranian Arab initiative.\u00c2\u00a0 The <em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ft.com\/cms\/s\/6814b376-06f7-11dc-93e1-000b5df10621.html\">FT<\/a><\/em> makes the point:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Seeking the support of ordinary Arabs and Muslims with anti-Israeli \tslogans has been a cornerstone of Iran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s foreign policy under President \tMahmoud Ahmadi-\u00c2\u00a0Nejad. But the strategy has infuriated Arab governments, and \tintensified suspicions of Tehran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intentions at a time when its influence \tin the region has grown.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Evidence of such a strategy was on display at the World Economic Forum where Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki took aim at Saudi King Abdullah’s Palestinian “peace initiative.”\u00c2\u00a0 The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/worldlatest\/story\/0,,-6646219,00.html\"> Associated Press reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the [Saudi] plan would \tflounder…<\/p>\n<p>“We had some 130 plans in the past 30 years, but none of them were realized \tbecause of the approach of the other side (Israel),” Mottaki said during a \tpanel discussion. “Besides, we do not see any chance for the success of <strong> \tthe Arab peace initiative<\/strong> because it <strong>fails to address<\/strong> fateful \tissues, like the capital of a Palestinian state and <strong>the right of return \tfor some 5 million refugees<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n<p>Former Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Turki al-Faisal scolded Iran, \thowever, saying that the predominantly Persian country had little to do with \tIsraeli-Palestinian peacemaking.<\/p>\n<p>“It’s an Arab issue and should be resolved within the Arab fold,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Cheney’s Middle East<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prince Turki al-Faisal and Saudi King Abdullah <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=253\">can hardly be viewed as Cheney’s likely or willing collaborators<\/a> in his efforts to assemble an anti-Iranian coalition in the Gulf.\u00c2\u00a0 It is, therefore, quite an accomplishment for the Iranian Foreign Minister to provoked the wrath of Prince Turki.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the real “accomplishment” should be credited to Cheney himself.<\/p>\n<p>After all, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=280\"> Cheney’s “rejectionists”<\/a> in Gaza who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailytimes.com.pk\/default.asp?page=2007\\05\\21\\story_21-5-2007_pg4_3\"> detonated the current round of fighting<\/a> that pits Iranian-backed Hamas forces against Fatah forces traditionally backed by Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>And it is Cheney and his <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=212\">Right Zionist allies<\/a> who have been working overtime to reconstruct the balance of power in the Middle East with the help of <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=87\">a regional civil war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is proving increasingly diffiIt is proving increasingly difficult to interpret US policy in the Middle East by listening to the fears of its presumed targets.\u00c2\u00a0 Why?\u00c2\u00a0 Because all the Sunni and Shiite regimes in the region now seem to think they are being targeted by the US. And, given that the paramount US goal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,3,11,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}