Daily Alert Archives

Arab Summit, Iranian Agenda

[Ha'aretz] Jonathan Spyer - The Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar, this week reflected a growing Iranian encroachment on the politics of the Arabic-speaking world, and the divided Arab response to this. The Palestinian cause - the great self-proclaimed moral flagship of Arab politics - is currently the subject of a hostile takeover bid by Iran and its clients. The Iranian-armed and sponsored Hamas enclave in Gaza has successfully suppressed its internal rivals and defended its existence against Israel. There are now in effect two Palestinian national movements. One of them is ideologically strong and hungry, favors Israel's destruction, and is supported by Iran. The other is old and tired, propped up by vast amounts of Western funding. The former is in the process of trying to devour the latter, and may succeed. One might conclude that Iran is developing into a vast, looming power, about to overshadow the region. But Iran's advances are testimony not to the great strength and vitality of the Tehran regime, but rather to the weakness of Arab states and political cultures. Iran dreams of a bloc of Muslim states led by a nuclear Iran, challenging Israel's existence and American power. But Iran will always suffer from a "legitimacy gap" in the Arab world. It will always be perceived as a foreign, frightening power by many non-Shi'ite Arabs. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
2009-04-03 06:00:00
Full Article