The following news item might interest those who maintain the position
(often heard on this list, and often repeated at the recent PEWS
conference) that US hegemony is virtually unchallenged and unchallengable.
Steven Sherman
Binghamton U.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 00:16:38 -0500
From: MID-EAST REALITIES <MeR@MiddleEast.Org>
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www.MiddleEast.Org ARABS & IRAN CONTEMPLATE
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A M E R I C A N D E C L I N E ?
MER - Washington - 1 April:
ARABS AND IRAN CONTEMPLATE A LESS AMERICAN-
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
completed two days of talks in Riyadh, aimed at shaping a coordinated
response to the stalled Middle East peace process. The surprise
meeting was prompted by recent failed attempts by representatives of
the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and United Nations
to breathe life into the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue. Egyptian
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa reportedly briefed Syria's Farouq al-
Sharaa and Saudi Arabia's Saud al-Faisal on talks held Monday between
US envoy Dennis Ross and Egyptian leaders. The three also met with
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, who unexpectedly arrived in
Riyadh on Monday. Coincidentally with the Riyadh meeting, Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Jordan's King Hussein on Monday
night to discuss recent developments in the peace process.
According to diplomatic sources in Riyadh, the three foreign ministers
agreed to hold a mini-summit of Arab leaders in Cairo next month,
to include Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, the
Palestinian National Authority, and Morocco.
With the United States clearly unwilling or unable to pressure the
Netanyahu regime into making concessions necessary to restart the peace
process, Washington's Arab allies have joined with more hard-line Arab
leaders and resolved to take matters into their own hands. Washington
is being shoved aside as ineffective as the Arab states attempt to
shape a regional response to the issue. This not only threatens to
complicate the situation by increasing the number of players and
turning it back into a confrontational pan-Arab versus Israeli issue,
but also lays the groundwork for pan-Arab cooperation in other realms,
including the Persian Gulf. Indeed, one of the central features of the
region in recent months has been the emergence of an assertive Iran
seeking closer ties to Arab countries.
A central feature of Tehran's agenda has been the call for a regional
security framework for dealing with crises without American or European
involvement. Iran has charged that Middle Eastern problems should face
a Middle Eastern response, and has gone as far as to say that, had Arabs
and Iranians cooperated to confront Iraq, there would have been no need
for an American military presence in the region. Iran has also led
calls lately for regional action against weapons of mass destruction,
an idea that could just as easily be applied to Iraq as to the stated
offender, Israel.
As we reported on February 25, the abrupt conclusion of the latest US-
Iraqi confrontation over UN arms inspections set off a sudden flurry of
diplomatic initiatives throughout the Middle East.
Diplomatic efforts continue unabated, with Saudi Arabia drawing ever
closer to Iran, and Egypt moving closer to Syria, with both Riyadh and
Cairo pulling away from their American moorings. With Washington
appearing increasingly impotent in the region, the stage is set for
Arab-Iranian coordination and cooperation on security issues, with
possible support from the Russians and maybe the French. Three
questions remain: Has Washington completely lost control of Middle
Eastern events? Can it regain control? And how far will this new
regional cooperation extend?
From: Global Intelligence Update - 4/1/98
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