The Middle East Crisis

Agreements between Iran, Saudi Arabia, France and other European governments toward a Middle East peace settlement are tainted with historic precedents.

These precedents along with Saudi Arabia's contradictory behavior have brought the spirit of these agreements into doubt.

Should Saudi Arabia's sincerity be believed or should she be considered "America's flunkey ", more focused on American interests rather than peace and stability in the Middle East? Especially in Iraq since after a while Saudi Arabia changed behavior and left the process.

 Saudi Arabia had various means in hand to enforce its policies.

At the onset it might be necessary to take a passing glance at the history of the Middle East peace process and specially the “ Road Map” that was originally proposed by the United States and passed in the UN Security Council in October 2002. This proposal consisted of several chapters and articles and was to be put into effect by the end of 2005.

One of the articles of the plan stated that  comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians must include all involved  and  that the negotiating parties must endeavor  to bring to the table Israel's other neighbors Lebanon and Syria.

 The plan was abandoned due to a new turn of events within the Palestinian territories and new positions taken by Israel. However, the "Road Map" was a precursor to the "Beirut Peace Plan" that included the evacuation of occupied territories, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

Arab leaders, who had gathered at the Riyadh peace conference were more insistent on one on one peace negotiations with Israel. But Israel * changed its position on the issue and initiated a "peace for peace" policy that put the Palestinian party under pressure insisting that any Palestinian government including the Hamas National Unity Government accept Israel's conditions such as recognition of Israel as an independent country and condemning any military action against them. In the mean time a meeting held between the American secretary of state and the heads of the Arab committee * made the situation worse.

 Although Saudi Arabia rejected the "Beirut Peace Plan", through negotiations with the USA,  paved the path for Israel to enter the Middle East peace making game.

Some Arab sources stated that following the Riyadh conference, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will moderate  relations between Arabs and Israelis and help American policies be enforced.

Political, military and security events in the region convinced the US that before starting another conflict, they must contain Iran's influence and reactions in the region including areas such as Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Syria and that they will have to engage Sunni Arab countries to reduce Iran's influence in the region and as a result increase their control.

To reduce pressure on his administration concerning his Iran policy, president Bush turned to his traditional allies in the region and asked for their full support of Nouri Al-Maleki in Iraq to curb Iranian influence in that country.

.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia declared his support for the Bush administration in an official interview and  the Saudi government expressed that they had no intention of confronting Iran but at the same time expressed their concern about Iran's domination in Iraq

.

Amongst the tools that Saudi Arabia used to further it's influence in the region was support for Sunni extremists. Conflicts and disputes between Shiite and Sunnis have been  ever present in the region.

 While Iran supports all Iraqi groups including the Shiite, Saudi Arabia and Egypt support the Sunni.

By supporting and providing military aid to extremist Sunni groups  and accusing the Iranian government of strengthening the Shiite, the Saudi government raised tension in the region and  caused an increase in the  number of terrorist attacks in Iraq.

 To further increase their influence, another means that the Saudis turned to was the oil weapon and announced that if necessary they were willing to raise production to reduce the price of oil on the global markets.

The role of Saudi National Security Advisor in their foreign policy should not be neglected.

 Prince Bandar Bin Sultan who is considered to be close to the Bush administration and the White House is pursuing the policy of distancing Iran and Syria since co-operation between the two countries can lead to a strengthening of Iran increase   her influence in the region.

On the other hand Baha Hariri, Rafiq Hariri's son accused Prince Sultan of interfering in Lebanon's interior affairs. Although publication of news saying that the  Prince had received  millions of pounds from an English company and accusations of weapon smuggling have endangered the prince's position, he is still considered the most important link between Saudi Arabia and the US regarding Middle East policies.

If  the Saudi government is  to gain the trust of the countries of the region,  they ought to abandon their paradoxical policies and pursue an unwavering  policy so that their influence as a regional heavy weight may be put to good use.