07 July 2010 By Tariq Alhomayed Last Saturday, I wrote that two parties have been
provoked by the intense Saudi Arabian political
presence and activity at the international level,
especially after the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz participated in the G20
summit in Canada, and following this visited
Washington where he received a warm welcome from US
President Barack Obama. These parties are of course
Iran and Israel. While on Sunday, the Iranians
revealed the existence of a secret battle taking place
in the corridors of Washington to break down the Saudi
Arabian arms deal [with the US], and particularly
Saudi Arabia's attempt to buy F15 jets, [military]
equipment, and other devices. Of course this is not
something new, nor is it of particular concern to the
Saudis; for there is a long history of this unseen
conflict that is taking place in the corridors of
Washington between the Saudis and Israelis, and Tel
Aviv has not been able to prevent Riyadh getting its
hands on what it wants. The most prominent example of
this was the sale of AWACS [Airborne Warning and
Control System] surveillance planes [to Saudi Arabia],
as well as other such deals. However what is strange in Israel's opposition to
this military aircraft deal is their claim that Saudi
Arabia could use these aircraft against them in the
future. Tel Aviv wants to maintain its military
advantage in the region, at the expense of everybody
else, and there are those who say that this entire
issue is just a new Israeli extortion of Washington,
which would not be unlikely. However the response in
Washington to the Israeli argument must be in kind and
that is by asking: how long will this protection of
Israel in the region last for? For instead of Israel seeking to increase arming in
the region, and therefore increasing tensions, it
would be much safer for it to side with peace and
respond to all the attempts that are being made to
conclude the Palestinian – Israeli peace process, and
the Syrian – Israeli peace process, and therefore
[achieving] Arab – Israeli peace, putting an end to
the conflict in the region. This would mean that
justice is carried out, while Israel is also
protected, rather than Israel continuing to be
pampered with arms and money, and being exempt from
observing international laws. If Israel wants to protect itself then peace is the
best protection; for peace is more effective than all
the weapons and [military] aircraft. This is because
Israel is surrounded by Arabs, and it cannot guarantee
its own security and safety through the military
support provided to it by the US, or even ensure its
own military superiority [through this]; for arms are
not a protection from hatred, nor are they capable of
establishing security by themselves, however peace can
achieve all of this and without one shot being fired!
This is the message that must be communicated to
the Americans, and American society, especially as
there are voices being raised there – however
hesitantly – asking: why should the American citizens
foot the bill for Israeli security and prosperity?
This is something that those monitoring the reaction
to some journalistic articles in the US media will
have noticed. When we say that Iran and Israel are provoked by
the Saudi Arabian [political] activity, the reason is
simple; Israel is using Iran as a pretext to avoid
peace, and Iran is using Israel as a pretext in its
expansion and interference in the affairs of our
states and region, and therefore the entire security
of the region is under threat. Meanwhile the rational,
like Saudi Arabia, are trying to protect the region
from the evil of any new disasters. Therefore, both
Iran and Israel are being provoked by the Saudi
Arabian [political] activity, and as a result of this
we find Iran defaming Saudi Arabia in the Arab world,
while Israel is seeking to defame Saudi Arabia in both
the US and Europe. Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also completed his Introductory courses towards a Master’s degree from George Washington University in Washington D.C. He is based in London.
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