Shifting Global Alliances

Editor

In international relations there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. The wily British were the first to spell this out. Relations between countries have been governed by this dictum since the concept of state first emerged on the global scene.

The phenomenon of shifting alliances is currently being played out, especially in the Muslim East. Old alliances are falling apart and new ones are being formed based on converging common interests. The most striking example is Turkey’s fast developing alliance with Russia and Iran. Turkey is a long-standing NATO member second in importance only to the US. Turkey’s NATO links have irked Muslims worldwide but Ankara’s decision to align itself with Russia and Iran, both viewed by the US as enemies, reflects the new emerging reality.

The US-led unipolar world is dead. A multipolar world has taken its place with China, Iran, Russia, and Turkey in the lead. The unipolar world idea was the product of arrogance expounded in the immediate aftermath of the demise of the Soviet Union. The neocons spelled it out in their 1997 document, “Project for the New American Century.” Dominated by hard-core Zionists, the central theme of the document was that the US should not allow any power — friend or foe — to emerge to challenge US global dominance. To establish US hegemony, the neocons argued that another Pearl Harbor-type catastrophe must occur in the US to enable it to wage endless wars. The result was the false-flag operation of 9/11 and the still raging wars that erupted in its aftermath.

But that is where American hubris met its fiercest challenge. While US military forces quickly drove the Taliban from power in Kabul and Saddam Husayn from Baghdad in Iraq, what followed were developments the Americans had not anticipated. In both locales, determined resistance to US occupation erupted. True, American forces are still in Afghanistan but they have found the Afghans incredibly tough people to subdue. Despite 17 years of war, the Taliban still control more than 60% of Afghan territory. The US-propped regime in Kabul would collapse within two weeks if the Americans were to leave.

In Iraq, the situation is equally bleak, from the US point of view. The country is no longer open to American dictation. It is, however, in Syria where American disruptive policies have been soundly defeated. This has not been achieved without sacrifices on the part of Hizbullah and Islamic Iran. Russia too has seen fit to come to the aid of the Syrian government but only in a limited sense and to advance its own selfish agenda.

This was exposed by how Moscow compromised, over objections of the Syrian government and Iran, to hold back the assault on terrorist-occupied Idlib province. Both Turkey and the US prevailed over Russia frustrating Syrian army plans to liberate and cleanse the last Syrian province of the remaining remnants of the takfiri terrorists.

Amid these fast-paced developments, the Khashoggi saga exploded as a bombshell. Donald Trump’s policy of using Saudi Arabia as a lynchpin for his “deal of the century” to bury the Palestinian question has been dealt a mortal blow. Even before the Khashoggi saga, the Palestinians were extremely unhappy, including the puppets in the Palestinian Authority (PA), over what the US had proposed. Even the PA clowns could not accept such brazen betrayal of Palestinian rights. Regardless of whether Saudi clown prince Muhammad bin Salman retains his position or is deposed, he has been mortally wounded. He has become virtually irrelevant in regional politics. Saudi ambitions to claim the mantle of leadership of the “Sunni” world have been dealt a severe blow. Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan has skillfully manipulated Khashoggi’s murder to advance his own claims at Saudi expense.

The Arabian regimes and their rulers look extremely vulnerable now. Unable to get along even with each other, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is dead for all practical purposes because of Saudi bullheadedness over Qatar. The Arab League, a country club for Arabian billionaires, has never been a viable entity and now Bani Saud in Saudi Arabia seem destined to the dustbin of history.

The Resistance Front, led by Islamic Iran looks increasingly more confident. It represents the hope of the Ummah for a brighter future. That is why the US, Zionist Israel, and Saudi Arabia all look and feel so nervous today. Their evil scheming has come to naught. As Allah says in the noble Qur’an, “And [the kafirs] schemed but Allah brought their scheming to naught: for Allah is above all schemers” (3:54).