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According to Reuters, Egypt announced its reluctance to take part in the American initiative to create a Middle Eastern military alliance. “Arab NATO”, as the unrealized project was called by journalists, faces troubles at the discussion stage - there are too many contradictions among potential participants.
Egypt notified all members of the proposed Middle East alliance of its decision. As noted, Cairo believes that the formation of an "Arab NATO" could lead to tensions with Iran.
At the same time, Egypt is concerned that the alliance will be threatened in case of losing US President Donald Trump in the new election.
An alliance that hasn’t yet been created should unite Jordan, Egypt, and also the six Gulf states: Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The idea of creating a Middle Eastern military alliance was suggested by US President Donald Trump in 2017 during his visit to Riyadh. Since then, American diplomats have been actively meeting with representatives of potential participants in the organization.
One of these meetings was held recently with representatives of Egypt. On April 9, President of this country Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Donald Trump at the White House.
During this meeting, Trump noted Egypt’s "significant progress" in the fight against terrorism. The parties also discussed trade and military cooperation. Apparently, it was during this meeting that Egypt announced its unwillingness to be part of the "Arab NATO".
Washington hopes that the main goal of the organization will be to protect the Middle East from "external aggression" and "strengthen relations between the United States and countries of the region."
It’s assumed that the military alliance will become not only a platform for joint consultations, but will also serve as the basis for the creation of regional air defense and missile defense systems, joint military exercises and close cooperation of counter-terrorism structures. Its ultimate goal is the conclusion of a collective security agreement and the formation of a common military contingent.
In addition, the creation of such an alliance would contribute to the implementation of Trump's idea of reducing the US military presence in the Middle East.
Trump's intentions are in line with the US National Security Strategy, which refers to the need to "expand regional consultative mechanisms" and "deepen interaction" between states supported by the states.
From the point of view of Trump, the United States paid too long for the security of its allies in the Middle East - now it’s time for them to defend themselves.
And if Washington really reduces its presence in the region, the new strategic alliance will be called upon to prevent Iran from filling the vacuum.
In fact, cooperation between the US and a number of Gulf states to contain Iran already exists. But it’s difficult to call this a full-fledged coalition, since there is no general strategy for action.
The Arab countries are allies, but at the same time irreconcilable competitors fighting for leadership in the region.
One of the main obstacles to create a military alliance may be the conflict between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on the one hand, and Qatar on the other.
The last one has been in diplomatic isolation from other Arab countries for more than a year, and recently announced its withdrawal from OPEC, of which Saudi Arabia is the informal leader.
The authorities of Qatar refer to the economic reasons for getting out of the oil cartel (the country is going to significantly reduce oil production, and it would be difficult to do this within OPEC), it isn’t difficult to trace the political background.
Oman’s membership in the “Arab NATO” also looks vague.
Defense News columnists believe the country is unlikely to sacrifice its traditional neutrality in order to fight Iran.
The agreement among the Arab countries is complicated by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose organization is blamed on Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
It remains unclear how Israel will respond to the emergence of a military alliance in the Middle East.
On the one hand, the alliance is beneficial for Tel Aviv, since one more influential opponent of Iran will appear in the region. "Arab NATO" can be a deterrent to the spread of radical Islam and terrorism, which will favorably affect the security of Israel.
On the other hand, the Arab military alliance may be a threat to Israel due to the prevailing anti-Israeli sentiment in the region. Indeed, recently the Jewish state had to wage bloody wars with the combined Arab forces.
At the moment, there are many more questions than answers around the Middle East strategic alliance. The future of this initiative looks extremely vague, since potential members of the union don’t want to led by the Americans and to enter into unprofitable unions.
Egypt notified all members of the proposed Middle East alliance of its decision. As noted, Cairo believes that the formation of an "Arab NATO" could lead to tensions with Iran.
At the same time, Egypt is concerned that the alliance will be threatened in case of losing US President Donald Trump in the new election.
An alliance that hasn’t yet been created should unite Jordan, Egypt, and also the six Gulf states: Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The idea of creating a Middle Eastern military alliance was suggested by US President Donald Trump in 2017 during his visit to Riyadh. Since then, American diplomats have been actively meeting with representatives of potential participants in the organization.
One of these meetings was held recently with representatives of Egypt. On April 9, President of this country Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Donald Trump at the White House.
During this meeting, Trump noted Egypt’s "significant progress" in the fight against terrorism. The parties also discussed trade and military cooperation. Apparently, it was during this meeting that Egypt announced its unwillingness to be part of the "Arab NATO".
Washington hopes that the main goal of the organization will be to protect the Middle East from "external aggression" and "strengthen relations between the United States and countries of the region."
It’s assumed that the military alliance will become not only a platform for joint consultations, but will also serve as the basis for the creation of regional air defense and missile defense systems, joint military exercises and close cooperation of counter-terrorism structures. Its ultimate goal is the conclusion of a collective security agreement and the formation of a common military contingent.
In addition, the creation of such an alliance would contribute to the implementation of Trump's idea of reducing the US military presence in the Middle East.
Trump's intentions are in line with the US National Security Strategy, which refers to the need to "expand regional consultative mechanisms" and "deepen interaction" between states supported by the states.
From the point of view of Trump, the United States paid too long for the security of its allies in the Middle East - now it’s time for them to defend themselves.
And if Washington really reduces its presence in the region, the new strategic alliance will be called upon to prevent Iran from filling the vacuum.
In fact, cooperation between the US and a number of Gulf states to contain Iran already exists. But it’s difficult to call this a full-fledged coalition, since there is no general strategy for action.
The Arab countries are allies, but at the same time irreconcilable competitors fighting for leadership in the region.
One of the main obstacles to create a military alliance may be the conflict between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on the one hand, and Qatar on the other.
The last one has been in diplomatic isolation from other Arab countries for more than a year, and recently announced its withdrawal from OPEC, of which Saudi Arabia is the informal leader.
The authorities of Qatar refer to the economic reasons for getting out of the oil cartel (the country is going to significantly reduce oil production, and it would be difficult to do this within OPEC), it isn’t difficult to trace the political background.
Oman’s membership in the “Arab NATO” also looks vague.
Defense News columnists believe the country is unlikely to sacrifice its traditional neutrality in order to fight Iran.
The agreement among the Arab countries is complicated by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose organization is blamed on Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
It remains unclear how Israel will respond to the emergence of a military alliance in the Middle East.
On the one hand, the alliance is beneficial for Tel Aviv, since one more influential opponent of Iran will appear in the region. "Arab NATO" can be a deterrent to the spread of radical Islam and terrorism, which will favorably affect the security of Israel.
On the other hand, the Arab military alliance may be a threat to Israel due to the prevailing anti-Israeli sentiment in the region. Indeed, recently the Jewish state had to wage bloody wars with the combined Arab forces.
At the moment, there are many more questions than answers around the Middle East strategic alliance. The future of this initiative looks extremely vague, since potential members of the union don’t want to led by the Americans and to enter into unprofitable unions.
