'Our Allies Were
Our Biggest Problem' (Trouw, The Netherlands)
"Vice
President Joe Biden, known for his loose tongue, accidentally spoke the truth
last week. The poor man had to grovel for his candor, but he was absolutely
right. … Not only were the sheikhs and princes made to look like fools by IS,
they suddenly realized that they themselves could form the next target of the
extremists - with Saudi Arabia, land of Mecca and Medina, as first prize. Hence
their readiness, along with the Americans, to throw bombs at the monster they themselves
have created. … They eagerly use Islam to provide their authority with a
spiritual touch - but one day it turns against them."
With an almost laconic realism, American Rear-Admiral John
Kirby declared this week that the Syrian border town of Kobani
might simply fall into the Islamic State's hands. The campaign against IS is a question of patience, he said. "There's going to
be setbacks, there's going to be successes, there's
going to be failures."
It took me no trouble believing him. In the battle of Kobani, all the absurdities of the struggle in the Middle
East seem to be compressed. How many wars are being fought within this one?
Sunnis against Shiites, Assad against the Free Syrian Army, Hezbullah against
the United States, Turks against Kurds, Qatar against Assad, al-Nussrah against IS, Iran against Saudi Arabia, half of Iraq
against the other, Moscow against Washington - I tried make a diagram but ended
up with one large blob.
It's going to take some time to untangle this mess, not least
because of the interference of America's Arab friends (and Turkey) which have
stoked the Islamist fire. It would also be nice if they took a liking to playing
a role an extinguishing it.
In a speech at Harvard University, Vice President Joe Biden,
known for his loose tongue, accidentally spoke the truth last week. "Our
allies were our biggest problem," he said, deviating from his text.
"The Turks, the Saudis, the Emirates - what did they do? They threw
hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons to anyone who
wanted to fight against Assad, but those who were supplied were al-Nussrah, al-Qaeda and extremist jihadists from all parts of
the world."
Biden, the poor man, had to grovel for his candor, but he
was absolutely right. In a long and detailed
article in Foreign Policy,
researcher Elizabeth Dickinson describes how, for example Qatar, a member of
the coalition against IS, played a pivotal role in sponsoring extremists - anything
anti-Shiite was embraced.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Qatar had "played a major role in destabilizing nearly
every trouble spot in the region and in accelerating the growth of radical and
jihadi factions," says Dickinson. She describes the five-star hotels of
Doha as the scene of shadowy encounters where rebels from across the globe - nervously
sipping their hot tea - await the promise of even more support.
Sheikhs and princes
Salafist preachers from Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, some
of them overt admirers of Osama bin Laden, encountered no obstacle in the way of
raising funds for jihad in Syria until the holy warriors began to emerge as
such barbaric people that it embarrassed their patrons.
More than that: Not only were the sheikhs and princes made
to look like fools by IS, they suddenly realized that they themselves could
form the next target of the extremists - with Saudi Arabia, land of Mecca and
Medina, as first prize. Hence their readiness, along with the Americans, to
throw bombs at the monster they themselves have created.
But bombs are not enough. The Arab rulers will have to
consider how long they wish to continue to encourage Salafism
in their own ranks. IS puts them on the spot like al-Qaeda did before. They
eagerly use Islam to provide their authority with a spiritual touch - but one
day it turns against them.
