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Added conflicts and proxies: Redefining the Middle Eastern alliances
Global Village Space |
Samson Simon Sharif |
For over the past hundred years, West Asia has been the theater of conflicts and proxies. Most countries in the conflict did so due to history, dynasties, and religion that attract attracted invasions from North Africans, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Turks, French, Germans, and Anglo-US forces. Since the 1930s, petrodollars have provided the impetus.
Nothing is more amusing and weirder. Yemen, a country under armed assault by KSA has cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar through an exile in Saudi patronage. Yemen, the starting point, puts the roots of acrimony between Qatar, Turkey, and Iran with KSA, Egypt and the rest in historical and geopolitical context. Yemen, unlike Syria, is more transparent and one can discern who is who.
The Shia Iranians will never forget the massacre and destruction of Karbala in 1802 at the hands of Saudis.
The containment of Eurasia was never the real theater of conflict. The notion of the Middle East was introduced by the American strategist Admiral Mahan eyeing Central Asia in the Great Game. He advocated the importance of the Persian Gulf to check Russians. This later became Brzezinski’s Integrated Euro-Asian Geo-Strategy called the Southern Front. Religion, money, proxies, and terrorism are instruments of policy.
Read more: The Gulf tightening its noose: What are Qatar’s real options?
USA and UK relentlessly pursue dominance for over a century with petrol dollar, kingdoms, Israel, and Egypt. Destruction of Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen supported by countries of CCG, UK and France, and Sissi’s military Coup are all part of this sustained conflict. The only resistance is forces of Pan-Islamism (Muslim Brotherhood and its namesakes like Jamaat-e-Islami and Hamas), Turkey, and Iran.
Pan-Islamism supported the Ottoman Caliphate and reached out to Shia Iran. An Ottoman invasion in 1818 through Yemen brought down the first Saudi kingdom to be resurrected post-WWI by the British and Americans. Turks remember that North Yemen inherited the Ottoman Empire and also the tragic destruction of the holy sites constructed by them in Mecca and Medina. The Shia Iranians will never forget the massacre and destruction of Karbala in 1802 at the hands of Saudis.
The Saudis, Israelis, and Americans join hands
Given Turkish and Russian influence over the recently discovered oil and gas fields of Syria, the entire balance would shift.
As predicted, it is the interplay of Persian-Turk and Saudi rivalries that provide space and cause for the Anglo-US Integrated Euro-Asian Geo-Strategy. KSA and Israel emboldened President Trump to cross a red line President Obama resisted. This dared KSA to challenge Qatar, that shares an economically rich oil zone with Iran, an idea afoot for a long time.
Egypt, the heir apparent of a great civilization remembers the beating it got from Yemen from 1962 to 1970, compelling an Israeli historian Michael Oren to comment that the disastrous Egyptian adventure in Yemen could easily be compared to America in Vietnam. Saudi sponsored President Sissi sees an opportunity to be in league with North African Muslim conquerors.
Read more: Saudi-UAE-Qatar crisis: Will the US’ mediation bear fruit?
These explanations help one understand why Iran has become the enemy and why Turkey is ready to give all out support to Qatar in this tiff with KSA. Enter Russia and the world could see a new shift in the Southern Front with Qatar’s sea lines of communications becoming overland through Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. Given Turkish and Russian influence over the recently discovered oil and gas fields of Syria, the entire balance would shift. Israel enviously watches over this Syrian corridor and therefore its warmth with KSA and the other kingdoms. Qatar is the crucial link.
Cognisant of its wealth to population ratio, Qatar was always vulnerable to shifting geographies. The United States and Qatar have a Defense Cooperation Agreement since 1992. Qatar has also acted as a bridge between the USA and Afghan Taliban (who oppose ISIS). ISIS is a brainchild of Southern Front to counter diverse strains of Muslim Brotherhood that include Al Qaeda, Hamas, Al Nusra Front and maybe also Afghan Taliban.
Read full article:
Added conflicts and proxies: Redefining the Middle Eastern alliances
Global Village Space |
Samson Simon Sharif |
For over the past hundred years, West Asia has been the theater of conflicts and proxies. Most countries in the conflict did so due to history, dynasties, and religion that attract attracted invasions from North Africans, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Turks, French, Germans, and Anglo-US forces. Since the 1930s, petrodollars have provided the impetus.
Nothing is more amusing and weirder. Yemen, a country under armed assault by KSA has cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar through an exile in Saudi patronage. Yemen, the starting point, puts the roots of acrimony between Qatar, Turkey, and Iran with KSA, Egypt and the rest in historical and geopolitical context. Yemen, unlike Syria, is more transparent and one can discern who is who.
The Shia Iranians will never forget the massacre and destruction of Karbala in 1802 at the hands of Saudis.
The containment of Eurasia was never the real theater of conflict. The notion of the Middle East was introduced by the American strategist Admiral Mahan eyeing Central Asia in the Great Game. He advocated the importance of the Persian Gulf to check Russians. This later became Brzezinski’s Integrated Euro-Asian Geo-Strategy called the Southern Front. Religion, money, proxies, and terrorism are instruments of policy.
Read more: The Gulf tightening its noose: What are Qatar’s real options?
USA and UK relentlessly pursue dominance for over a century with petrol dollar, kingdoms, Israel, and Egypt. Destruction of Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen supported by countries of CCG, UK and France, and Sissi’s military Coup are all part of this sustained conflict. The only resistance is forces of Pan-Islamism (Muslim Brotherhood and its namesakes like Jamaat-e-Islami and Hamas), Turkey, and Iran.
Pan-Islamism supported the Ottoman Caliphate and reached out to Shia Iran. An Ottoman invasion in 1818 through Yemen brought down the first Saudi kingdom to be resurrected post-WWI by the British and Americans. Turks remember that North Yemen inherited the Ottoman Empire and also the tragic destruction of the holy sites constructed by them in Mecca and Medina. The Shia Iranians will never forget the massacre and destruction of Karbala in 1802 at the hands of Saudis.
The Saudis, Israelis, and Americans join hands
Given Turkish and Russian influence over the recently discovered oil and gas fields of Syria, the entire balance would shift.
As predicted, it is the interplay of Persian-Turk and Saudi rivalries that provide space and cause for the Anglo-US Integrated Euro-Asian Geo-Strategy. KSA and Israel emboldened President Trump to cross a red line President Obama resisted. This dared KSA to challenge Qatar, that shares an economically rich oil zone with Iran, an idea afoot for a long time.
Egypt, the heir apparent of a great civilization remembers the beating it got from Yemen from 1962 to 1970, compelling an Israeli historian Michael Oren to comment that the disastrous Egyptian adventure in Yemen could easily be compared to America in Vietnam. Saudi sponsored President Sissi sees an opportunity to be in league with North African Muslim conquerors.
Read more: Saudi-UAE-Qatar crisis: Will the US’ mediation bear fruit?
These explanations help one understand why Iran has become the enemy and why Turkey is ready to give all out support to Qatar in this tiff with KSA. Enter Russia and the world could see a new shift in the Southern Front with Qatar’s sea lines of communications becoming overland through Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. Given Turkish and Russian influence over the recently discovered oil and gas fields of Syria, the entire balance would shift. Israel enviously watches over this Syrian corridor and therefore its warmth with KSA and the other kingdoms. Qatar is the crucial link.
Cognisant of its wealth to population ratio, Qatar was always vulnerable to shifting geographies. The United States and Qatar have a Defense Cooperation Agreement since 1992. Qatar has also acted as a bridge between the USA and Afghan Taliban (who oppose ISIS). ISIS is a brainchild of Southern Front to counter diverse strains of Muslim Brotherhood that include Al Qaeda, Hamas, Al Nusra Front and maybe also Afghan Taliban.
Read full article:
Added conflicts and proxies: Redefining the Middle Eastern alliances
