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In the New Geopolitics Emerging in the Middle East, America Is No Longer Dominant even among Its Allies

(Telegraph-UK) Mark Almond - Israelis and key Arab states are forming a security pact against the common threat of terrorism, much of it sponsored, all of it applauded, by Iran, and Tehran's own growing military power. Despite the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the Negev Desert summit, the deal between Israel, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain was the first major breakthrough in Arab-Israeli relations not actively brought about by Washington. Blinken was present as an observer, not the key player. Israel and its new partners were cooperating despite the Biden administration rather than because of its sponsorship. Blinken's attendance was a walk-on part made worse by his failure to "read the room" by talking at length about issues which the Israelis and Arabs present regarded as peripheral. The essence of the new geopolitics emerging in the Middle East is that America is no longer dominant even among its allies. The fiasco in Afghanistan made brutally clear the folly of relying on Biden's America in a crisis which required American military power to act quickly whatever the risks. Now with cruel clarity, in the Middle East many key long-term American partners are looking to themselves for their security and discounting Washington as a guarantor. The Biden administration's obsession with bringing Iran in from the cold is increasing tensions in a strategically vital region. The dual threat of Sunni jihadi extremism and Iranian power-projection have pushed Israel, Egypt and the Emiratis to act together - without America.
2022-03-31 00:00:00
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