The Gulf States Reject Bush’s Approach to Iran

What kind of discussions went on behind closed doors during President Bush’s recent tour of the Middle East? According to this at times biting op-ed from the Al-Illihad newspaper of the United Arab Emirates, ‘Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, by visiting Iran before Bush ended his historic visit the region, was sending a clear message: We don’t agree with your escalation and confrontation with Iran, nor do we agree with your siege and boycott, which is being pursued without international approval. … If Washington’s closest ally, Kuwait, responded in this fashion and won’t accept the U.S. interpretation of events, then what was it Bush was told in the rest of Gulf capitals he visited?’

By Dr. Bin Saad Al-Ajmi

Translated By James Jacobson

January 17, 2008

United Arab Emirates – Al-Illihad – Original Article (Arabic)

Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah, by visiting Iran before Bush ended his historic visit the region, was sending a clear message that we are moving in accord with our interests in the Gulf, which may not always coincide with the interests of the United States, and we do not agree with your escalation and confrontation with Iran, nor do we agree with your siege and boycott, which is being pursued without international approval. It’s true that the visit was scheduled in advance, but most observers see a link between the meeting and Bush’s visit.

Positive statements were exchanged by Kuwaitis and Iranians during and after the visit, an agreement on the demarcation of the continental shelf between the two countries was announced and another deal to purchase water and gas from Iran was signed.

Kuwait’s independence and resolve in expressing such a sharp difference with America’s policy of escalation makes one wonder: If Washington’s closest ally, Kuwait, responded in this fashion and won’t accept the U.S. interpretation of events, then what was it Bush was told in the rest of Gulf capitals he visited?

As far as Gulf newspapers and mass-media were concerned, Bush’s hardline anti-Iranian calls were very coolly received. Indeed, there is open opposition to lining up in the American trench against Iran. American weapons sales to the Gulf have been interpreted as a way of justifying U.S. policy against Iran. The suspicion is that by escalating the level of intimidation in regard to the Iranian threat, we in the Gulf will buy more weapons, which also cuts into the financial benefits of rising of oil prices. And one cannot forget the spontaneous hostility to anything American, which informs the opinions of most writers and those who run religious schools.

However, the important question here is: How does Iran understand this position of the Gulf? How does it interpret and deal with it?

There are two Iranian schools of thought on the Gulf’s opposition to America’s escalation against Iran. One school says that the Gulf is aware of Bush’s weakness and his incapacity to open other warfronts, since he’s so busy in Iraq and Afghanistan – but that if the Gulf States were sure of Bush’s ability to confront Iran, they wouldn’t hesitate to support him.

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