The Reuters news agency reports that the Trump
administration wants to create a security alliance that will bring the six
members of the Gulf Cooperation Council together with Egypt and Jordan. It is
not clear at this point in time how the coalition will relate to the United
States but whatever the case, the idea was once dubbed Arab NATO, but never
took flight because it commanded no one's interest.
In fact, this will be the third attempt at creating such a
grouping. The first was called Baghdad Pact and broke off eventually. The
second never materialized, and the third will most likely never happen. But if
it does, it will be something very different from what its dreamers are
envisaging at this time. It is also ironic that the American President whose
philosophy is to dismantle all coalitions and forge bilateral relations with
individual countries, would want to be a part of a coalition that brings the
United States together with eight Arab countries.
The Baghdad Pact was put together in 1955 and had its
headquarter in Baghdad for the first 3 years of its existence. A revolution in
Iraq then took place, and the government there was replaced. The first act that
the new government did was to withdraw from the Pact that had brought Iraq,
Turkey, Iran and Pakistan into a coalition under the aegis of Britain.
The Americans were supposed to join the pact but the grand
irony is that John Foster Dulles who stabbed Egypt in the back on the Aswan Dam
project to please the Jews, got stabbed in the back by the same Jews when he
tried to join a coalition that was meant to contain the Soviet Union. But the
thing is that despite the withdrawal of Iraq from the Pact, the coalition, now
headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, survived for 21 more years under a different
name: The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). It eventually dissolved in 1979.
The idea behind forming a new alliance as envisaged by the
Trump White House is to contain Iran. But the problem is that the project
evokes a fundamental question: Can Donald Trump put together an Arab-American
coalition for any purpose, let alone a coalition that may be dragged into a
real war –– not just a proxy war –– with a Muslim country that may be disliked
by many but did not invade another Arab or Muslim country?
Even if we discount the Jewish factor for the moment,
knowing that it will play a big role in this project, the culture under which
the Arabs operate is so different from what America has become, it will be
impossible for the two to see eye to eye on many of the important issues. For
example, both sides say that abiding by the law is paramount in their culture,
but there will be a difference.
The Arabs believe what they say and would pay any price
rather than breach the law. By contrast, the Americans use the law as a
convenience that's so versatile, they twist it at will and turn it into a tool,
a weapon, an excuse to disparage someone or an alibi to interfere in the
affairs of others. Name it, and the Americans will commit just about anything
illegal that might serve them … and do it all in the name of the law.
And so, if it happens that an operation will require
breaking or bending an international law, the Americans will not think twice
about bending or breaking the law. The Arabs, on the other hand, will refuse to
follow suit, thus create friction with the Americans. And there is no telling
to what point the disagreement will escalate.
Another difference between the cultures is that the Arabs
will gauge everything they do now in terms of what impact it will have in the
future. If they believe that doing something at this time will disgrace them or
their offspring in the future, they will not do it. The Americans, by contrast,
will not take into account what someone will say about them or their offspring
after they die. It the thing will serve their purpose now, they will do it and
damn the torpedoes.
For all of these reasons, the Arabs will want to work with
limited and precise objectives. They will halt any operation when they have
achieved its predetermined goals. Past experience shows that this will not
happen with the Americans who will operate without a plan B or an exit
strategy.
If they find that the going is easy, they will take
advantage of every opportunity opening to them to forge ahead. It is how they
behaved in Libya when they betrayed their Arab partners and pressed on with a
campaign that eventually brought horror to North Africa.
Now imagine what will happen when the Jews will get involved
and put into practice their propensity to stab in the back all those who smile
in their face and give them the opportunity to take part in a civilized
endeavor.