MATTIS TO TALK UP REGIONAL SECURITY
Gen James Mattis aims to reset US relations with Riyadh, Doha and Cairo and boost their security cooperation
US defence secretary to tour Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Djibouti and Israel for cooperation talks,
ABU DHABI // The US defence secretary will meet ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt this week to discuss strengthening security cooperation.
James Mattis, a retired US general, will also be in Israel and Djibouti as part of his weeklong trip to the region as the Donald Trump continues his push to reset Washington’s relations with US partners in the Middle East.
During his tour, Gen Mattis would aim “to reaffirm key US military alliances, to engage with strategic partners in the Middle East and Africa, and to discuss cooperative effort to counter destabilising activities and defeat extremist terror organisations”, said the Pentagon. Gen Mattis’s trip will start in Saudi Arabia today.
In February, the former commander of the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) made his first trip to the Arabian Gulf, and met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in the capital.
He has maintained good relations with UAE leadership since his time at Centcom, but it was unclear whether UAE officials would be attending the talks in Riyadh.
The Pentagon said Mr Mattis would meet key defence ministers “to strengthen commitments to the US-Saudi security partnership”.
Although US-Saudi relations frayed badly under former president Barack Obama, president Donald Trump and his national security team have been determined to reaffirm ties with Arabian Gulf monarchies and Egypt over shared interests. They are placing much less emphasis on differences such as human rights issues and political reform.
A catalyst for the change is the White House’s shift to a more combative stance – rhetorically, for now – on Iran and Tehran’s efforts to spread its influence across the Middle East as it engages in a cold war with arch-rival Riyadh. Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman met Mr Trump and his senior foreign policy staff during a visit to the White House in February, where they discussed the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
The US priority in Yemen is counter-terrorism and cooperation against ISIL and Al Qaeda. The Trump administration also views Yemen as a potential theatre for repelling Iran, via the rebels Iran supports there. How Arabian Gulf partners can bolster Mr Trump’s strate- gy to combat ISIL and contain Tehran is likely to be at the top of the agenda in Riyadh today. The Obama administration had reduced its intelligence and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen over concerns about civilian casualties and strategy, and had also halted some weapons sales.
But Gen Mattis has reportedly asked the White House to lift the restrictions on US support for the coalition’s campaign against Houthi rebels and their allies, and the Trump administration is reviewing its Yemen policies, with a decision expected in weeks.
Mr Mattis is also likely to discuss the US desire for GCC countries to play a larger role in the stabilisation of areas in Iraq and Syria retaken from ISIL, including the possibility of safe zones for civilians in Syria.
“What’s going to be really critical though is what forces can then establish enduring security in those regions that have a legitimacy with the population, that are representative of the population, that can set conditions for reconstruction to begin,” Lt Gen H R McMaster, the US national security adviser, said on Sunday.
Tomorrow Gen Mattis is slated to visit Egypt for security talks. Washington views Egypt as a crucial security partner in the Middle East, and vital to its attempts to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr Trump has embraced Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and invited him to the White House last month, after the Obama administration kept Mr El Sisi at arm’s length over his policies on Egypt’s political opposition.
Mr Trump has set aside all of those concerns, and although the White House has not decided to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, it appears more probable that it will approve sales of military arms to Egypt.
Before Gen Mattis’s visit, an Egyptian court acquitted Egyptian-American aid worker Aya Hijazi, whose release had been sought by US politicians since her arrest in 2014.
Gen Mattis will also visit Qatar to “continue efforts to strengthen regional security architectures”, the Pentagon said.
Doha’s ties to the Trump administration are not as close as those of Abu Dhabi or Riyadh, perhaps because of Washington’s concerns about Qatar’s ties with extremist groups. But Doha is an integral US partner and host to Centcom’s regional headquarters, as well as an important player in the Syrian war.