‘High time for Iran, Arab patchup’
‘Key to end crisis lies in Sana’a’
“MANY people including myself agree that the former Chief of Intelligence Department in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal has inaugurated a new phase in terms of his country dealing with Iran,” columnist Hadi Ben Ayedh wrote for Al-Anba daily Tuesday.
“Although the initiative of Prince Al-Faisal came in the form of his participation in the Iranian opposition conference that was held in Paris, the capital of France, where he gave a speech, it doesn’t represent a radical change in the relationship between Riyadh and Tehran, but certainly this measure at the outset constitutes the so-called ‘Political Engineering in International Relations’.
“Such being the case, the SaudiIranian relations during the next phase will see a new dawn. In other words, it looks like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will deal with the Iranian attitudes towards some Arab countries in a different manner.
“In this context, we elucidate that the Kingdom has chosen a triangular format — the former chief of Intelligence Department who is also one of the members of the Saudi ruling family and the Iranian opposition conference — to convey a frank and unequivocal message to the international community before the same (message) finds its way to Iran.
“It is needless to say this Saudi measure has been carefully studied by the concerned officials in the Kingdom. In this connection, we say anyone who has been following the Saudi foreign policy over the past decades will certainly realize that Riyadh has always preferred the quiet diplomacy to solve issues and crisis away from any type or propaganda.
“In this context, we say there were a lot of differences between the Kingdom and some other countries and these differences ended calmly but nobody knew the beginning and the end of such differences. This is the type of policy that has been adopted by the school of the late Prince and former Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, the late Saud Al-Faisal.
“Speaking of the circumstances, events and coalitions that have surfaced in the region following the downfall of the regime of Saddam Hussein and the so-called Arab Spring revolutions and the state of hesitation involving Arab governments when it came to dealing with these events, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia opted to review its foreign policy to keep abreast with the current events unfolding in the Middle East and this was foremost evident through the appointment of Adel Aljubair as Foreign Minister.
“Aljubair has seemingly turned his back on the traditional Saudi diplomacy and this was evident by means of acute Saudi attitudes in the United Nations shown by its representative Abdullah Al-Moa’alami — the attitudes which look temporary in nature, because the Kingdom is sensitive about its relationships with the entire world.
“This said the Kingdom shall remain committed to its quiet diplomacy because this type of diplomacy has always been appreciated by the international community.
“Returning to the Saudi speech delivered by Prince Turki Al-Faisal before the Iranian opposition conference, it is needless to say this speech has sent many messages to the entire world, the first is related to ‘forgetting’ the cause of Al-Ahwaz in view of the sensitivity of the issue where the Saudi Prince has referred to the possibility of bringing down the Iranian regime and this reflects the Kingdom readiness to deal with Iran on ‘tit for tat’ basis particularly in response to Iran’s intervention in the affairs of Arab countries in general and the Arab Gulf countries in particular through Arab and Gulf interventions that shall lead to the downfall of the Iranian regime.
“But this doesn’t mean the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has put road blocks in the face of reconciliation with Iran nor Riyadh is determined to set fire to all the boats, rather has kept the door ajar for Iran to change its policy and deal in a different manner in various Arab dossiers in general and that of Syria and Yemen in particular.
“But the question is, will Tehran go ahead with its current policy which is likely to result in Riyadh to show more acuteness in dealing with it and eventually translate the content of the speech that has been delivered recently by Prince Turki Al-Faisal before the Iranian opposition conference in Paris into deeds.
“This reality is likely to result in Riyadh hosting a conference for the Iranian opposition and should this happen, it shall constitute a more obvious measure unlike the Paris conference.
“Having said this, will the Iranians strive to open new channels with the Saudis and start new negotiations with the involvement of a third party since this is something natural in international politics? This prospective attitude of Iran is likely to set rolling a new basis to settle a lot of problems which are currently prevalent in the region.
“However, in spite of the current events and the Iranian persistence to intervene in the internal affairs of some Arab countries, we suggest it is high time for the Arabs and Iran to come to terms to satisfy all parties.
“Although Iran is likely to initially turn down these solutions, it is needless to say it is likely to be forced upon to accept the same in due course and may be the ‘key’ to solve the conflict lies in Sana’a.”
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“The speech given by the Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal during the Iranian opposition conference recently in Paris is indeed comprehensive. He has carefully dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. For him this is something normal because his brother the late Prince Saud Al-Faisal was the dean of all foreign ministers of the world and his father’s death the late King Faisal — we pray to Almighty Allah to rest his soul in peace — has bereaved both the Arab and Muslim nations,” columnist Dr Humoud Al-Hattab wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Tuesday.
“The late King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz was actually adamant. He faced all challenges facing the nation in a strong and wise manner and we suggest that the speech of Prince Turki Al-Faisal can be deemed as an extension of the heritage of the Arab nation in terms of dealing with the challenges and crises facing the Arabs.
“In this context, we look at what has been done by the King of decisiveness and determination, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the King of peace, Salman Bin Abdulaziz — we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him — who is determined to encounter the Iranian interventions in the internal affairs of Arab countries.
“For his part, the former Chief of the Saudi Intelligence Department Prince Turki Al-Faisal last Saturday made it clear that although the Arabs respect the historical contributions made by the Persians, it is unwise for Iran to intervene in the internal affairs of its neighboring countries by supporting certain sectarian factions in the region.
“Meanwhile, Al-Faisal in his speech before the Iranian opposition conference confirmed ‘The Muslim World supports the Iranian opposition’. He added ‘The Khomeini regime has achieved nothing except destruction and sectarianism and killing, not only in Iran, but in all Middle Eastern countries’.
“Apart from the above, Al-Faisal said ‘Iran violates the sovereignty of some Arab countries including Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen in the name of supporting the underdogs and it is Iran which currently supports the sectarian armed groups in the Middle East in a bid to promote anarchy in this part of the world’.
“Speaking of the Iranian theocratic regime, Prince Al-Faisal said the Iranian spiritual leader had given himself absolute powers. He had isolated Iran from other countries and the Iranians were his first victims.”
“He also said, Khomeini was striving to export his revolution to the entire world and this increased the state of divisions in the world in general and in the Muslim world in particular.
“Referring to Khomeini’s successors, Khamenei and Rouhani, Prince Al-Faisal said they were supposed to pay attention to the problems of their country. He hinted the Iranian opposition will achieve its targeted objectives following the downfall of the regime of the Iranian spiritual leader.
“Reacting to slogans of people who call for the downfall of the regime (the Iranian regime) Prince Turki Al-Faisal said ‘I also want the downfall of the regime.”
“May the Almighty Allah help you Prince Al-Faisal and we pray to Almighty Allah to give you a long life for you to witness the downfall of the theocratic Iranian regime as we witnessed the downfall of Saddam Hussein, his regime and his statue.”
“Since Turkey has adopted a hardline policy and rode in the wave of political Islam with its extremist dimension, we have warned that the consequences will reflect on Turkey itself and will burn with the fire of terrorism which it has been supporting financially, logistically and militarily,” columnist Dr Hassan Abdullah Johar wrote for Al Jarida daily.
“Turkey, with its model of moderate Islam, was the focus of everyone’s attention considering it was a suitable alternative to Muslims’ expectations after the failure of political models that ruled Arab and Islamic nations since the Second World War in the name of nationalism or military governments or royal families and so forth.
“The Brotherhood government started its reign by acknowledging the Turkish secular principle, and then left personal freedoms as they are, focused on the economy and adopted the slogan ‘zero problems’ with neighbors. It succeeded in that, to the extent of having landslide parliamentary election wins for several terms.
“But with the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, the government of Erdogan threw its weight behind the armed opposition, starting with the Free Syrian Army and the early declaration of overthrowing the Syrian regime. This is in addition to the issue that did not leave Turkey with diplomatic or political options, such that it was transformed into the main center for armed groups on the North Syrian borders.
“Gradually after the fall of secular movements, the extremist religious and terrorist organizations including DAESH and Al-Nusrah Front dominated Turkey’s decision-making process. Turkey regarded these groups as its tools and bridges for reviving the Ottoman Empire. What a mistaken thought and political suicide!”
“During earlier times, Britain or the United Kingdom controlled the whole world, but this vast ‘empire’ today has become the United Kingdom that may again be divided and become an isolated island,” columnist Mohammad Ahmad Al-Mullah wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“I remember a story that happened during the British era, which in the past was a superpower and the story goes like this.
“There was a Somali called ‘Mad Mullah’ and this mad Mullah was a religious leader whose real name was Syed Mohammad bin Abdullah al-Hassan but all his enemies called him the mad Mullah because he dominated or exercised control over most of Somalia where the British considered Somalia as their reserve empire.
“According to history, in 1904 Somalia was classified within countries where conflicts and problems erupted and in 1899 there was a revolution which was led by this mad Mullah.
“He was called the mad Mullah in spite of the fact that he was well read. He disturbed the British although he attempted, several times, to cooperate with them but he found they were arrogant and the real problem surfaced between the mad Mullah and the British when the Christian missionaries set foot on the Somali soil.
“Apart from the above, Al-Mullah was most popular as a preacher and orator in Somalia and took his studies and education from the teachings of the Mahdi in the Sudan.”
“It is quite evident that DAESH is either passing through tough times or it is no longer as strong as it was before. The repeated defeats of DAESH in Iraq have forced its fighters to flee to Syria particularly Riqqa but then they become easy targets for the airstrikes of the international coalition,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Such a bad situation for DAESH implies that it will come to an end sooner or later. Nevertheless, we cannot expect the ideology of DAESH to end with the dismantling of this terrorist organization. We might witness the birth of a new group under a new label and following the same ideology as DAESH, similar to the way DAESH emerged following the end of the alQaeda group.
“What will be the fate of the DAESH fighters after the group is dispersed? Geographically, the closest area to the remains of DAESH in Riqqa is Lebanon. However, Lebanon will be used just as a transit point for the DAESH fighters as it is not a great prize for them. There must be a new place for them to rearrange themselves and find sources of wealth for financing their military budget, similar to what they did earlier in Iraq and Syria by capturing oil fields and selling the oil in the black market at cheap prices. They might infiltrate into Iran or any of the Gulf countries such as Kuwait because DAESH has many supporters here who can provide it with the necessary logistics and supplies required for the organization to be revived.
“Therefore, we have to dry up all sources of support for terrorism and revise the number of expatriates which has become so large that we are unable to distinguish between friends and foes. The vision is no longer clear and the task is getting harder for the relevant authorities.”
“While I was reading a column in the Al-Seyassah newspaper under the title ‘If I were in charge’ I would say I have a desire to enact a law to punish those who indulge in black magic and those who deal with such people,” columnist Haya Al-Fahd wrote for Al-Wasat newspaper.
“This article caught my attention because of the painful reality that we live in today, notably in the present day Kuwait.
“In the past, black magic or sorcery was restricted to people who were considered abnormal, but today with the openness witnessed by Kuwait, a mall country, the black magic has taken center stage since it has become the preferred ‘option’ for many and dealing with the unfortunate reality is crystal clear.
“Unfortunately, I have come across so many cases where people sought the help of black magicians to cast a spell on others either for benefits, control the lives of others, to harm or to take revenge, disturb relationships, etc. This is the world we live in today.
“What kind of fearful world we live in? Does anyone have a material reason or is it the weakness of religious restraint? Is it an absolute selfishness and the desire to get under the ends to justify the means? Is it a blind imitation of other nationalities to make use of the magic wand to attain certain goals?
“Our role as responsible officials is to protect the oppressed and support the people who have suffered and are suffering because of black magic. And there are several ways to do it.”
— Compiled by Zaki Taleb