The U.S. has been running a protection racket for the Arab monarchies, protecting them from Israel. What happens now that the protection racket has failed? From As`ad AbuKhalil at consortiumnews.com:
Like its Gulf neighbors, Qatar invested in a security system premised on U.S. reliability and Israeli restraint. Both pillars have now collapsed.
The Israeli attack on Qatar on Sept. 9 has undermined the very foundations of the security arrangement between the United States and the Gulf monarchies.
Since the 1980’s Iran-Iraq war, Washington conditioned its military commitment to the region on Gulf rulers granting the U.S. greater access to their territories — even if that meant compromising sovereignty.
In return, the Gulf countries expected U.S. protection against external threats. Rulers poured billions into constructing American military bases, often at their own expense, and tolerated the political risks of inviting foreign troops into their lands.
Initially, Gulf regimes were reluctant to display such ties openly, fearing popular opposition, especially during the heyday of Arab nationalism. But with Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser gone and Arab nationalist fervor subdued, rulers felt freer to offend domestic sensibilities in exchange for U.S. protection.
In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s coup against his father marked a turning point for Qatar. The Saudis, alarmed at the precedent of a son ousting his father, plotted repeatedly to undermine him — sometimes through relatives, including a cousin and former chief of police.
Hamad told me in one of my meetings with him that the Saudi regime never ceased its intrigues and that he needs the U.S. for his protection. His solution was to secure his throne through foreign policy:
- Entrench U.S. military protection by financing military massive bases and welcoming American troops.
- Appease Washington by cultivating Congress, courting AIPAC, and opening limited ties with Israel.
This strategy came at enormous cost. Qatar spent lavishly on airbases when it did not yet possess fighter jets. (When I pointed this out, Hamad quipped: “But we later acquired fighter jets.”)
Just don’t negotiate with Under Satan’s Authority or its master.