Opinion | Columnists
A new Saudi approach
For the past several decades, precisely since the end of the Yemen War in the late 1960s, Saudi Arabia has adopted an exceptionally quiet diplomacy in managing its foreign and regional policies.
- By Marwan Al Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 April 13, 2007
For the past several decades, precisely since the end of the Yemen War in the late 1960s, Saudi Arabia has adopted an exceptionally quiet diplomacy in managing its foreign and regional policies.
Despite leading the Arab oil embargo of 1973, the Saudis stuck to their guns as leaders of the moderate camp in the Arab world. When Egypt signed the Camp David Accord with Israel in 1978, the Saudi government respected the Arab resolution of the Baghdad summit in boycotting Egypt.
Yet, it refrained from taking any further step towards antagonising the Egyptians.
The Iranian revolution of 1979 and Khomeini's endeavours to unseat the conservative Arab Gulf regimes did not break the nerves of the Saudi government. Riyadh considered, publicly at least, the revolution an internal Iranian affair.
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, the Saudi government denounced the invasion and pledged to support the Afghan Mujahideen to expel the invaders. Yet, Riyadh was very careful to play this role as quietly as possible, without creating much noise.
When the Iraq-Iran war broke out in 1980, Saudi Arabia first tried to mediate between the two countries. Only when Iran rejected every peace initiative did Saudi Arabia take sides in the confrontation.
When Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait in August 1990, the Saudi leadership requested the help of foreign forces only after it was presented with satellite pictures, showing the Iraqi army taking offensive positions.
Throughout the 1990s, Riyadh played the role of stabiliser in the Arab world through the Syrian-Egyptian-Saudi tripartite axis. The axis slowed down the haste of some Arab countries towards normalising relations with Israel.
The Saudis did not hide their displeasure with the US plans to invade Iraq in 2003. Yet, their opposition was expressed from behind closed doors.
This unpublicised opposition protected the Saudis from the wrath of the neo-cons of the Bush administration when it became absolutely clear that most of the Jihadists infiltrating into Iraq were Saudi nationals.
In the summer of last year, this quiet, noiseless diplomacy had to change. The Saudis started to play a more aggressive role in the region, expressing their displeasure clearly and loudly with the unfolding events in Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.
In the summer of 2006, the Saudi government denounced the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, which led to massive Israeli aerial bombardment against Lebanon. The Saudis described Hezbollah's action as irresponsible and uncalculated adventure.
Surge in Iran's influence
Around the same time, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said from Washington that it was US polices that have led to a surge in Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.
The dramatic shift in Saudi foreign policy was, in fact, instigated by the rising influence of Iran and the retreat of the main Arab actors, which have historically played a key role in regional politics.
Egypt lost much of its influence as the ageing Mubarak regime was completely pre-occupied with the succession question. Iraq was neutralised and destroyed by the US military machine.
Syria was under huge international pressure for its alleged role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The US was struggling to quash the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the Saudis, this power vacuum had to be filled somehow. Fearing that Iran might take advantage of the fragmented and weakened Arab world, Saudi Arabia decided to take the unusual step of taking the lead.
The latest Arab summit was due to be held in Sharm Al Shaikh, Egypt, when the Saudis decided to host it. Before that Riyadh, after abstaining for years from interfering in Palestine, invited the leaderships of Fatah and Hamas and arranged for national reconciliation.
The Saudis also decided to play a more active role in Lebanon. Yet, their major contribution was made concerning the Middle East peace process. In the Riyadh summit, the Saudis revived the Arab peace initiative, first floated in the 2002 Beirut summit.
The plan promises Israel diplomatic relations and permanent peace with all Arab states in return for withdrawal to the 1967 borders, establishment of a Palestinian state and honouring the Palestinian refugees' right of return.
Regardless of Israel and the US's reaction to the plan, in the Riyadh summit the Saudis succeeded in re-establishing their leading role in the Arab world, implicating that their interests must be taken into account.
That was quite a shift from the traditional passive Saudi role in regional politics and is very likely to create new dynamics in the region.
Dr Marwan Al Kabalan is a lecturer in media and international relations, Faculty of Political Science and Media, Damascus University, Syria.
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