Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi
The Russian bear confronting the American donkey, is one of the comments that have featured in the international media in the discussion of the declining role of the US and the rising role of Russia in the Arab world.
The Syrian crisis represents a turning point, as the US retreated from a military strike on Syria to join the Russian initiative to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
This initiative helped Moscow and President Vladimir Putin to return to the forefront of the political scene, and shed light on Russia’s role in the Middle East and at the international level for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, Barack Obama faced accusations of being a broke president and a humiliated leader, and all his cards have been exposed. In addition to this, the US president has started recently to court Tehran and there were rumours about a potential Iranian plan to dominate the Arabian Gulf and the Arab-Islamic world.
The British newspaper The Independent has reported that the political and military weakness of the US stem from its inability to achieve victory in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Besides, a series of stumbles by Obama have led, among other things, to the undermining of US influence in the region.
The newspaper added that American miscalculation about the Syrian crisis had contributed to the weakness of America’s stance. Muammar Gaddafi’s regime fell because of Nato backing for Libyan rebels, while the Syrian rebels have no backers amidst American fear of the consequences of the fall of the Assad regime.
The Syrian crisis and the US openness towards Tehran reveal many factors related to the conflict. In Syria, a people’s revolution erupted against Assad’s bloody regime, and then it was described as a civil war. Later on it was called a Sunni-Shia conflict, but finally the country has turned into a battlefield for superpower interests, in other words, a battle between the Russian “bear” and the American “donkey” over the fate of the Arab “camel”.
The open conflict between all parties has started to push the region towards fragmentation, with the likely result of turning it into small and fragile entities and states.
A new map of the Arab world that The New York Times published showed five countries in the Middle East divided into 14 Arab states because of religious, sectarian, tribal and national disputes.
What is the stance of the Arab world on all that is happening in the region? I thought that Arabs were a vocal people, even as they stood powerless watching what was happening. But I realised after the eruption of Arab Spring revolutions that they contribute to turning conspiracies and plots, even if illusory, into facts.
The Russian bear confronting the American donkey, is one of the comments that have featured in the international media in the discussion of the declining role of the US and the rising role of Russia in the Arab world.
The Syrian crisis represents a turning point, as the US retreated from a military strike on Syria to join the Russian initiative to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
This initiative helped Moscow and President Vladimir Putin to return to the forefront of the political scene, and shed light on Russia’s role in the Middle East and at the international level for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, Barack Obama faced accusations of being a broke president and a humiliated leader, and all his cards have been exposed. In addition to this, the US president has started recently to court Tehran and there were rumours about a potential Iranian plan to dominate the Arabian Gulf and the Arab-Islamic world.
The British newspaper The Independent has reported that the political and military weakness of the US stem from its inability to achieve victory in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Besides, a series of stumbles by Obama have led, among other things, to the undermining of US influence in the region.
The newspaper added that American miscalculation about the Syrian crisis had contributed to the weakness of America’s stance. Muammar Gaddafi’s regime fell because of Nato backing for Libyan rebels, while the Syrian rebels have no backers amidst American fear of the consequences of the fall of the Assad regime.
The Syrian crisis and the US openness towards Tehran reveal many factors related to the conflict. In Syria, a people’s revolution erupted against Assad’s bloody regime, and then it was described as a civil war. Later on it was called a Sunni-Shia conflict, but finally the country has turned into a battlefield for superpower interests, in other words, a battle between the Russian “bear” and the American “donkey” over the fate of the Arab “camel”.
The open conflict between all parties has started to push the region towards fragmentation, with the likely result of turning it into small and fragile entities and states.
A new map of the Arab world that The New York Times published showed five countries in the Middle East divided into 14 Arab states because of religious, sectarian, tribal and national disputes.
What is the stance of the Arab world on all that is happening in the region? I thought that Arabs were a vocal people, even as they stood powerless watching what was happening. But I realised after the eruption of Arab Spring revolutions that they contribute to turning conspiracies and plots, even if illusory, into facts.
