At a gathering of Arab leaders in Sharm Al Shaikh over the past weekend, an Egyptian proposal for the creation of a pan-Arab military force was approved, allowing the multinational force intervene in crises. The decision to approval such a force comes as an international coalition of 10 nations is acting together to turn back the advance of Al Houthi rebels in Yemen, to restore the legitimate administration of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and to ensure that the rightful government in Yemen can function without fear from outside influences and weaponry given to the rebels.
It should be remembered that Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi had raised the issue of a pan Arab force weeks before Al Houthis usurped the legal authority in Sana’a, and that the backing given by Arab leaders for a pan-Arab military force is separate from the coalition of nations intervening in Yemen.
Indeed, history tells us that the Arab League, meeting for its first time in March, 1945, envisaged such a force and the founding principles of the Arab League allow for this. Interestingly enough, this agreement came as Europe was in the final days of the Second World War, the United Nations had yet to be established and even meet, and the illegal creation of Israel was still three years off. History also shows that such a pan-Arab force was highly effective when it intervened in Lebanon in 1976 as a result of an emergency meeting in Riyadh. The so-called Arab Deterrent Force was active in Lebanon through to 1979 — and even the forces of the young UAE played a key role in its activities in bringing order to the chaos of civil war.
Those who view the backing of a pan-Arab force as overtly aggressive are mistaken: there is no mutual self-defence agreement as in the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Instead, this agreement allows Arabs to stand together, to send a strong message that outside interference is not acceptable, and that Arabs alone control Arab affairs. No one can argue with that.
