Would Middle East be on the way to having an Islamic NATO?

Israel attacks Hamas leaders in the Qatar, there was no much what to do in relation to the ballistic missiles that Israel fired on September 9, when about 10 Israeli fighters flew over the Red Sea without crossing the airspace of any other country before putting the action into practice. An attack considered “beyond the horizon”. Ballistic missiles travel to the atmosphere or even the outer space before they return to Earth. The target of Israeli missiles were members of the Hamas Group, gathered to discuss a possible ceasefire in Gaza, in a noble neighborhood of the capital Doha. Six people were killed, although apparently it was not the targets of Israel. As the missiles emerged unexpectedly, Qatar could do little to defend itself. The truth is that one of the country’s most important safeguards against Israel has no connection with sophisticated anti -aircraft defense systems. The largest Israeli ally, the United States, have their largest regional base in the country and recently granted the status of “great non -member ally of NATO.” But not even that seems to have been enough to prevent Israel from performing its first known attack on an Arab state of the Gulf, an action on which the US probably would have to know. US President Donald Trump and Catar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani during a doha agreement ceremony on Wednesday (14/5). Reuters via BBC USA are seen as unchanging “The Israeli attack shakes Gulf’s assumptions about their US relations, and these countries will get closer. These oil monarchies are very similar… such a direct attack on their sovereignty and security is an anathema for all of them,” wrote Kristin Diwan, a researcher at the Gulf’s Arab Institute, Washington, Washington, Right after the attack. As a result, “the rulers of the Gulf countries seek greater strategic autonomy and are increasingly determined to protect themselves against the risks of depending on the US,” said Saman Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Chatham House program, in an article published this month in the British newspaper The Guardian. Due to all this, in recent weeks, there has been more and more about the formation of an “Islamic NATO”, an alliance of defense between Islamic and Arab countries that could function similarly to the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty. In an emergency dome organized last week by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Egyptian authorities suggested the creation of a joint task force for the NAB-like Nations. During a speech, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani also asked for a collective approach to regional security. And the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (CCG)-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates-said they would activate a clause of a joint defense agreement, signed for the first time in 2000, which said that an attack on a member state was an attack on all-a formulation similar to article 5 of NATO. After the emergency summit, the Ministers of Defense of the Gulf States held another meeting in Doha and agreed to improve information sharing and reports on the air situation, as well as to accelerate the creation of a new regional ballistic missile warning system. Plans for joint military exercises were also announced. In the same week, Saudi Arabia announced a “strategic agreement of mutual defense” with Pakistan, stating that “any aggression against one of the two will be considered an aggression against both.” Beginning of ‘Islamic NATO’? According to DW interviewed experts, it may seem, at first, that the Persian Gulf is even forming a kind of “Islamic NATO” to combat Israel, but reality is a little different. “An NATO -style alliance is not realistic because it would involve gulf countries in wars that they do not consider vital to their own interests. No Gulf ruler wants to be dragged to a confrontation with Israel on behalf of Egypt, for example,” says Andreas Krieg, senior professor at the King’s College School of Security Studies. Observers believe, however, that things are changing after the attack in Doha. “Gulf security has been based for a long time on a tax logic, [em que] Basically you pay someone to take care of your protection. After the attack in Doha, this mindset is beginning to change, but only slowly, “argues Krieg. Smoke is seen in Doha, Qatar, after attacks by Israel against Hamas Ibrahem leaders Ibu Mustafa/Reuters ‘format 6+2’ instead of an” Islamic NATO “, which the world can see is the so -called” format 6+2 ” Gulf countries in the Think Tank European Foreign Affairs Council (ECFR). The expression “6+2” refers to the six CCG countries, plus Turkey and Egypt. Defense and, perhaps most importantly, send a message from Dismissal to Israel, “he says, claiming that the commitment of the Gulf States to Mutual Defense is not as solid as NATO members. Military help from other places according to Krieg,” 6+2 “makes more sense than an” Islamic NATO “because Turkey is” the most reliable non -western partner for the gulf, with droops since 2017 and Real ability to act quickly in case of crisis. Egypt, however, is more complicated. The country has military strength, but its reliability is questioned in some Gulf capitals, “he argues. And even if a” 6+2 “format is in the plans, this will happen slowly and discreetly, Krieg and Bianco observe.” Most significant changes will occur behind the scenes. We will see public communications, domes and joint exercises. But the essential work, such as radar data sharing, the integration of early alert systems or the granting of grassroots rights, will remain discreet, “Krieg predicts. It is also possible for Gulf countries, which have depended widely on the US, try to expand defense bonds with other countries.” There are other actors such as Russia and China, who are willing to replace the US. But it is unlikely that any external actor replaces Americans overnight, “says Sinem Cengiz, a researcher at the University of Qatar Gulf Study Center. American dependence on anyway, there is no way to want to want it, Bianco adds. They remain dependent on US military technology. For example, after the attack on Daha, the Qatar sought their partner guarantees that they were still important. This is where the US never openly opposed this type of regionalization of the defense. In fact, they have always encouraged a single ballistic antimysis defense architecture for Gulf countries, “says Bianco. In fact, greater military integration in the Gulf could mean more US presence, as American systems are the backbone of defense in the region, Krieg explains.” But political meaning has changed. Washington is no longer seen as the maximum safety guarantee, but as a partner whose support is conditional and transactional. Gulf leaders are adapting to the idea that the US has interests, instead of allies, and are seeking a security hub led by its own Gulf, a middle ground between Iran and Israel, “the expert concludes.

Source link