Is this a new dawn for Arab unity?

Is the Arab geopolitical landscape - which was turned upside down by former US president George W. Bush's adventures and occupation, and the grandiose project of the neo-conservative clique to re-shape the broader region in order to advance US interests - facing realignment? On the surface, it looks like it, but further probing is needed.

That realignment was pushed for in a region that lacks a balance of power, which the Bush administration unwittingly destroyed by toppling Saddam Hussain's Baathist regime in Iraq and the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

This emboldened Iran, the region's belligerent and dominant power, to advance its agenda through soft and hard power. It is now standing up to the bullying Americans, which makes Iran the darling of the Arab and Muslim masses.

Turkey is also emerging as a strong power. It is gaining support in a region the Ottomans used to occupy by just standing up to the Americans and the Israelis, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan did at Davos.

He lambasted and lectured Israeli President Shimon Peres in front of a shocked and appreciative Arab audience, before walking out in disgust over Israel's excessive use of force against unarmed civilians in Gaza.

With this, Turkey, the former master of the region, won the hearts and minds of the Arabs.

Then there is Israel, the pariah state in our midst and the cause of much instability and chaos in the region. It has a long reach, shaping and influencing all other conflicts in the region.

There is no doubt that after more than 60 years, the Arab-Israeli conflict - the responsibility for which must mainly lie with Israel and its backers and their belligerence - is pushing the region into a state of flux. Such an environment feeds

the hardliners' legitimacy and allows state and non-state actors, such as Iran, Al Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah, to become the voice and conscience of the defeated and helpless Arab masses.

This further erodes the credentials of the moderate Arab leaders who ally themselves with the West.

It undermines their credibility in the eyes of their peoples and marginalises them in the tug of war that has been exacerbated by the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

To add insult to injury, the US trampled Arab dignity in Guantanamo and Abu Gharib prisons, dividing the Arabs into the 'axis of moderates' and 'axis of hardliners' and giving Israel a free hand to massacre Lebanese and Palestinians on live TV.

Add to this the targeting of certain Arab countries, in what can be described as one eyed-justice. The International Criminal Court decided to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, while letting the Israeli civilian and military leadership go free.

The catalogue of Arab miseries and grievances continues to chip away at Arab moderates, and allows forces such as Al Qaida and Iran - and their proxies from Afghanistan to Iraq and from Lebanon to Gaza - to project influence.

Their steadfastness in the showdown with the moderate, marginalised pro-Western Arabs in the region is a cause for celebration among the Arab masses. All this as the Americans keep repeating unflinchingly: "Why do they hate us?"

It was, therefore, refreshing to see Arab leaders led by the Saudis and Egyptians, along with the Syrians, who have been allying themselves with the Iranians, agree to bury the hatchet (hopefully) and revive the old Arab triangle to face the host of challenges from the non-Arab regional players.

The first move towards this rapprochement was orchestrated through a Kuwaiti initiative during the Arab Economic Summit in January in Kuwait.

The idea is to end the 'Arab Cold War', project an Arab consensus to deal effectively with the host of the challenges and to present a united front in dealing with the Obama administration.

This comes as the US adopts a new approach vis-à-vis allies and foes in the region, especially Iran and Syria. The looming grand bargain and opening up to Iran is worrying Arab moderates.

We are worried when we see the US and West clamouring for Iran's good intentions and help in Iraq, Afghanistan and other flashpoints.

This will only embolden Iran and harden its position and serve Tehran's interests by allowing it to flex its muscles and bully its weaker and more accommodating Gulf Arab neighbours in the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

This manifested itself lately through Iran's provocative rhetoric. And America seems to be opening up to Iran, rewarding it rather than containing it.

What jolted the Arabs to get their act together was the harsh assessment from Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, who bluntly stated: "Our [Arab] political disputes led to our divisions and fragmentation, and helped the Israeli enemy and whoever wants to split the Arab ranks to advance their regional designs, which undermines our solidarity, dignity and our aspirations."

He was referring to the non-Arab forces, namely Israel and Iran. That was followed by the opening up to Syria to take it away from Iran's orbit, and a mini-Arab summit last week in Riyadh, which brought together the Egyptian and Syrian presidents along with the Kuwaiti Emir.

The goal was to cement this new Arab alignment, in preparation for the Arab summit at the end of the month in Doha.

Disunity and fragmentation have bedeviled the Arab political structure and allowed non-Arab countries, such as Israel, Iran and even Turkey, to advance their interests, designs and agendas through soft and hard power at the expense of Arab national interests. What is more alarming is that it allowed Arab non-state actors to dictate terms.

Are we at the dawn of a new, lasting Arab alignment? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Dr Abdullah Al Shayji is professor of International Relations and the head of the American Studies Unit at Kuwait University.