Why is it that President Bush’s “message of freedom” during his recent tour of the Middle East seems to have fallen on deaf ears? According to this op-ed article from Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau, President is not only a lame duck that lacks credibility, but the Gulf states don’t share his penchant for a confrontation with Iran, preferring instead dialog and coexistence with the Islamic Republic.
“As in the rest of the Arab world, Bush no longer has any credibility in the Gulf region. … Riyadh is ready to recognize Iran as an equal and equivalent mid-sized power in the region. Which is exactly what the United States and Israel want to prevent, but without knowing how.”
By Michael Lüders, Translated By Ulf Behncke, January 18, 2008
Germany – Frankfurter Rundschau – Original Article (German)On Sunday, the Arab news station Al-Jazeera broadcast live U.S. President George W. Bush’s keynote address on his trip through the Gulf States. In Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, he warned against the “world’s leading sponsor of terrorism,” Iran. At the same time, he spoke of the “message of freedom” for which his country stands.
The handpicked audience, including the entire leadership of the United Arab Emirates, offered their polite applause – but afterwards the speech was no doubt neatly filed away – and not only because President Bush is regarded in the Gulf States as a discontinued model and a “lame duck.” As in the rest of the Arab world, he no longer has any credibility. The difficulties in Afghanistan, the disaster in Iraq, a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians that doesn’t deserve the name: the leadership of the Gulf States and their general publics hold the policies of the Bush Government responsible.
Against this backdrop, the “message of the freedom” isn’t catching on. Although Iran’s radicalism-prone Shiite leadership is anything but popular with the Sunni-ruled Gulf States, even Washington’s obsession with Teheran isn’t shared by them. For Saudi Arabia – Iran’s great rival for leadership of the Islamic world – it is crucial to focus not on continued confrontation with Tehran, but on coexistence. In other words: Riyadh is ready to recognize Iran as an equal and equivalent mid-sized power in the region. Which is exactly what the United States and Israel want to prevent, but without knowing how.
The Gulf States are Iran’s immediate neighbors. They fear nothing more than another war that would further destabilize the region. Added to that are the close economic ties between Iran and the Gulf States. More than half of Iran’s foreign trade beyond oil and gas is flows through the ports of the Emirates. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians live in Dubai and Abu Dhabi alone. This close economic interdependence is another reason Teheran has increasingly ignored Washington’s saber rattling.
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