When there is widespread condemnation of the stand taken by Gulf monarchies on Gaza carnage and Sudanese civil war, the Washington Post columnist, Fareed Zakaria, deemed it fit to shower praise on them. In his October 9 piece “Five realities about the new Middle East” for the Post he wrote: “Where the old Middle East was led by large states that espoused pan-Arabism and encouraged Palestinian terrorism, the gulf kingdoms search for modernity, technological advancement, and above all, peace and stability.”
Can there be any view as removed from reality as this one? What kind of peace and stability are the new Arab rulers in search for? How can one turn a blind eye to the totally unwarranted and illegal aggression against Yemen by Saudi Arabia? What about the United Arab Emirates’ dirty game being played in Yemen to help Israel?
Is not the world aware of the heinous crimes committed by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in resource-rich Sudan just to help the Western masters and Israel, which virtually rules UAE? Who can deny the role of the latter in the massacre of thousands of Sudanese at the hands of paramilitary, Rapid Support Force backed by it. The Saudis and Egyptians are on the other hand, lending support to the Sudanese Armed Force, the other actor in the civil war, which had cost over 150,000 lives since mid-April 2023.
What about the involvement of oil-rich Arab countries in Libyan crisis and social strife in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Titular heads
Without justifying any type of terrorism Fareed should know that if some large Arab states had in the past really been backing Palestinians, they at least had a point. Lakhs of people were displaced and thousands butchered for no crime whatsoever, and a new state of Israel came up. One can dispute with the mode of operation of the Palestinians, be it by Left-leaning militants in the past or Islamists or secular groups now, but may one ask as to for what reason the Gulf despots are fanning turmoil in Africa, especially Sudan?
The truth, Fareed Zakaria, is that these Gulf rulers are now titular heads playing into the hands of the United States and its allies. They are doing everything on their behalf.
The expressions like “modernity” and “technological advancement” were used by the Western imperialists to enter the region in the early parts of the 20th century. What Fareed missed to mention is the term “civilizational mission” used by the colonists to expand and consolidate themselves, especially in the Indian sub-continent.
The House of Saud in Riyadh and Shahs of Iran had been modernising their respective countries even as they remained slave to the West, which left the Middle East by dividing the entire region into pieces. They created a dozen tiny and inherently weak and sparsely populated states which cannot even protect themselves. So, from their origin they have to compromise their sovereignty and become military bases of these imperialist powers.
Qatar, whose leadership Fareed has praised a lot in his column, has, according to him: Doha ““is” seeking military guarantees from Washington and Riyadh signing a mutual defense pact with Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation.”
What this renowned US journalist of Indian origin failed to highlight as to why Saudi Arabia had to sign a deal with Pakistan, a country having its own quota of problems. If Mohammad Bin Salman finds his country equipped and powerful enough to launch aggression against Yemen, a nation of 25 million for no rhyme or reason, why it cannot defend itself from Israel, a theocratic state having 75 lakh Jews. And if the royal family is so inclined to sign the Abraham Accord with the Zionist state, where is the need for a security pact with Pakistan?
Why is Qatar asking for “military guarantees” from Washington when there already was an American base when the country was attacked by the Israeli Air Force. Not even a fool would believe that Benjamin Netanyahu took this decision to target Hamas leadership in Qatar without the knowledge of the United States.
Israeli domination
According to him the new Middle East is dominated by Gulf states and “Israel which is in a “commanding position of strength” and ”where the Iranian threat has weakened considerably” especially after the Israeli attack on it. He mentions about the killing of its top scientists and military commanders.
He penned this piece on the eve of President Donald Trump-brokered Gaza peace deal made after Israel’s failure to wipe out Hamas even after 735 days of savagery. Fareed may boast that Israel is in commanding position of strength but notwithstanding overwhelming backing from the US and Western powers could not finish off Hezbollah and Ansarallah (Houthis) as well. Whatever may be his view, Iran has emerged as much united country within. Not only that, never in almost the last half century the post-revolution Iran got so full-throated support from the Arab masses. Even most of the rulers of the region have softened their stand towards Tehran.
While Fareed went on to explain the economic miseries Iran has been facing, he made no mention about the similar challenge Israel is confronting after the massive retaliation from the regime in Tehran which led to the destruction of its prize assets, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israeli defence ministry and country’s military intelligence base in Tel Aviv.
So far war with Iran is concerned, it was Israel which started it and none else but its Prime Minister Netanyahu who repeatedly requested Trump to intervene and bring about cease fire. Netanyahu pleaded before Trump to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, which however could not be fully destroyed even by US bombers.
No doubt, all the parties in the war had to suffer, but there is a subtle campaign to highlight that Israel has emerged as victorious. The truth is that neither in Iran, Yemen, Gaza or Lebanon people have come out to stop the war. Nor have any people fled these places for safety. They have faced immense hardship due to brutal barbarity committed by the Zionists, yet it is in Israel that thousands of people are coming out to protest against Netanyahu, soldiers are committing suicide, people suffering from serious mental ailments, and a large number of Israelis have left the country to permanently settle elsewhere. Is it the sign of commanding position of strength, Fareed Zakaria?
Parental legacy
Objective journalism should be in the blood of Fareed as he is the son of Fatima Zakaria, renowned editor of the Sunday Times of India and Rafiq Zakaria, famous writer and author as well as senior Congress politician close to the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. His father started his career in a newspaper in Britain.
Fareed should read the article written by his father Rafiq in the Illustrated Weekly of India after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. He objectively analysed as to how the Egyptian and Syrian armies managed to succeed, at least in the early days of war.
The Arabs did not convincingly win that war but at least brought to end the chain of defeats since 1948. He wrote as to how “the Arabs were the beaten people and laughing stock of the world” after the Six Day War of 1967. The 1973 war reverted this phenomenon.
For the sake of promotion in his career in the United States, Fareed should not become the spokesman of the Western establishment. The opinion makers in the West, both crude and subtle methods of propaganda to psychologically win the war.
There is absolutely no scope for the glorification of Israel’s military strength–which actually is nothing without the help from Western masters. Instead, its crime in Gaza and elsewhere should be exposed so should be the criminal role of the Gulf monarchs.
Learn from many Western scribes and television personalities who have shown courage and sacrificed their posts and positions for the sake of their genuine stand.
Without championing the regime in Tehran, or whatever Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis are doing, one will have to accept that whatever they have achieved they have done on their own, notwithstanding the sanctions and stiff opposition by the global players. No, they did not fight with swords, spears, arrows, and shields, but technologically advanced hypersonic missiles and drones.
Never in 77 years of its existence Israel has suffered such devastation.
Ironically, the Levant has never witnessed any killing between Muslims and Jews in 1200 years of shared history. It was the Western imperialist powers which sowed the seeds of discord in the 19th Century. And a chunk of Jews chose to play into their hands.
Soroor Ahmed is a Patna-based freelance journalist and the author of the book The Jewish Obsession, written in 2004.
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