Are the conflicts that are pinning Arab citizens against their governments, and Muslims against Muslims, the result of what Obama had so elegantly promised in his pro-democracy speech in Cairo in 2009, or the result of a well conceived plan to appear less implicated, yet pull the strings from a distance? There is case to be made for the latter and not the former – The Obama administration had made an arrangement with the devil, well two devils, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This may turn out to be a very bad accord for all concerned. The USA is preoccupied by the power hungry Islamic Republic of Iran and its desire to build a nuclear reactor. Iran threatens everything the USA has worked hard to gain in the Arabian Peninsula. KSA and Qatar, for self preservation reasons cannot appear to be hostile to IRAN. Hence the decision to divide up the tasks: The USA looks after Iran, KSA and Qatar look after the rest of the Arab world, one exporting Wahabist Salafists practices, and the other the financial resources to keep Muslims fighting one another, and very far away. Let’s look at these 2 awkwardly joined partners separately.
As much as they despise revolutions and democracy, the Saudis fear the Islamic Republic of Iran even more, and they see the Syrian crisis as an opportunity to deal a severe blow to it. Oddly enough, during Tunisia first anniversary of its revolution, the KSA was very noticeable and among the first to congratulate the Tunisian on freedom and democracy. To say this was a charade and utter disrespect to all freedom lovers, it would be the understatement of the century.
Qatar’s approach to regional affairs is best described as a linear, self-serving, balancing act. Give them credit, as they make no attempt to hide their desire to become the region’s super power and to manipulate others as best serves their interests. On the one hand, they have embraced, even encouraged, political change in countries like Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt – the idea is come across as a freedom loving “family” as long as it far away from ours. On the other hand, they could not do enough for their traditional rivals and neighbors in Bahrain, the Khalifa. “…Qatar has offered unspecified security support to Bahrain alongside military and police forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some activists have criticized Al Jazeera for the tone and limited scope of its coverage of political debate and unrest in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Syria, in contrast to the network’s enthusiastic coverage of unrest and debate in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen.”
So the question we Tunisian need to ask ourselves is, in light of these strategic alliances that have us pinned in the middle, how should we react, if at all?
It seems that KSA and Qatar are following in the same footsteps of tried and true U.S. policy of buying loyalties and financial dependence. Tunisians should realize, in spite of the financial assistance Qatar is offering us, that no one will solve our unemployment problems, our sky rocketing debts, and our internal social issues, except us. Our biggest sustainable asset, bigger than even Oil money, is our intellectual resources. Qatar and others like it are no different than the petty drug dealer who offers school children drugs for free to get them hooked, then begins to see it to them at a premium once they become hooked.
