Saudi Arabia - Financing Development Works In Qatar, Sudan, Maghreb, Somalia, Kuwait And Oman Playing A Proxy Super Power
By Nawazish Ali
January 29,
2021
A proxy war
occurs when a major power instigates and plays a significant role in supporting
and directing a conflict but does a small fraction of the actual fighting.
Employing proxy warfare as a dominant strategy holds attractive prospects for
American policymakers, albeit in a less direct manner enjoying greater
flexibility in helping its regional allies. The contentions of retaining proxy
warfare in favour of direct interventions seem advantageous to American
interests in securing benefits without having to deal with domestically
worrying consequences such as American casualties and enormous war expenses.
The permanency of proxy warfare as a part of American military strategy
gradually displays an appreciation into prevalent regional conflicts
particularly in the Middle East. The succeeding contentions illustrate, how and
where Saudi Arab is playing an active part as a regional power to play as proxy
to the USA.
Syria is an
important part of Iran’s sphere of influence and has been a major theatre of
fluctuating proxy conflicts throughout its ongoing civil war began since 2011.
Iran versus the rival Arab states have provides varying degrees of military and
financial support to opposing sides, with Iran backing the Syrian government
and Saudi Arabia supporting rebel militants. Iranian forces have been directly
involved on the ground, with soldiers of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
suffering heavy casualties. Saudi Arabia and its allies have sided with Sunni
rebels by supplying American-made weapons for years to weaken Iran. Although
China has warm relations with the Assad government yet stayed out of the
conflict for relying on the region for oil supply. China did not involve
directly in the conflict, instead supported the Russian-led peace process by
investing in Syria’s reconstruction.
Following
the United States withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011, Iraq drifted further
into Iran’s sphere of influence. As of today Iran has become Iraq’s top trading
partner. In addition to fostering economic ties, Tehran furthered its influence
by aiding the Iraqi government in her fight against the push for independence
in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is mainly Sunni dominated region. Saudi Arabia
responded by strengthening its ties to the Kurdistan Regional Government,
seeing it as a barrier to the expansion of Iranian influence in the region,
while adopting a soft power approach to improve relations with the Iraqi
government. Additionally, Saudi Arabia and Iran have sought to extend their
respective influence in Bahrain for decades. While the majority of Muslims in
Bahrain are Shia, the country is ruled by the Sunni Al- Khalifa family, who are
widely viewed as being subservient to the Saudi government.
Yemen had
been within the Saudi sphere of influence for years. The United States had to
intervene to protect oil shipments along the sea lanes, after missiles were
fired at a US warship in October 2016. The US blamed the rebels and responded
by targeting radar sites with missile strikes along the Red Sea coast. Jordan
has historically been on the Saudi bloc and has sour relations with Iran.
After the
Cold War, Saudi policy shifted as of USA, from fighting against the spread of
communism to containing Iranian influence in South and Central Asia.In 2001,
the invasion of Afghanistan and the removal of the Taliban in the wake of
September 11 attacks benefited Iran, which had previously been on the brink of
war with the group. The removal of Saddam Hussein two years later further
bolstered its position, allowing it to refocus its efforts on other conflict
areas, especially Syria and Yemen. In the ensuing years, Iran sought to expand
her soft influence over Afghanistan by building pro-Iranian schools, mosques,
and media centers, and by maintaining close ties with Afghanistan’s Tajik and
Hazara population.
Although
Azerbaijan is a majority Shi’a country with historic relations to Iran but
mostly tense. Azerbaijan developed a strong relationship with Israel and
fosters a good relationship with Sunni Turkey despite Iranian pressure. Saudi
Arabia has managed to exploit the tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan to
increase cooperation, making Azerbaijan the only majority-dominated Shi’a ally
of Saudi Arabia.
Due to
Albania’s decision to welcome the Mujahideen-e-Khaliq (MEK) to take refuge in
the country, tension between Iran and Albania gradually increased. In January
2020, following the death of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian government lashed out
at Albania for hosting MEK members. Saudi Arabia, in response, announced its
support for Albania in its effort against Iran.
The growing
Turkish military, political and economic expansions have not gone without fear
from the Saudi and Iranian sides’ altogether. Iran considers Turkish military
adventurism in Syria and its growing encounter in Iraq as a ‘challenge’. Saudi Arab is therefore financing development
works in Qatar, Sudan, Maghreb, Somalia, Kuwait and Oman to counter the growing
Turkish presence.
Russia’s
relations with Saudi Arabia have become increasingly warmed since 2010s despite
numerous differences. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has shifted its diplomacy
to become friendlier to Russia, with King Salman as the first Saudi head of
state to visit Russia. Since then, Saudi Arabia and Russia have started to
support each other in ongoing conflicts in Syria and Libya. In addition, Saudi
Arabia and Russia are also becoming more antagonistic to Iranian ambitions in
the Middle East
Oman is a
member of the GCC and thus maintains a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia.
However, unlike the majority of GCC countries, Oman doesn’t perceive Iran as a
threat. Oman has promoted itself as the main stabilizing force amidst the
intensified Iranian–Saudi conflict and prefers a diplomatic solution to end the
regional conflicts.
Pakistan’s
relations with Saudi Arabia have been historically strong. Pakistan is
economically dependent on oil imports from Saudi Arabia as a key strategic
ally. The foreign employees from Pakistan in Saudi Arab play a crucial role in
Pakistan’s economic stability by continuously sending large remittances.
Pakistan is also a neighbour of Iran sharing historic mutual bonds. However,
the Saudi monarchy views the Baluchistan province of Pakistan as a potential
means of stirring ethnic unrest in neighbouring Iran. At home, the Pakistani
lawmakers have levelled accusations at Iran of influencing Pakistani Shias to
act as substitution to further Iranian interests in Pakistan.
For reasons
politico-economic as well as sectarian, the Middle East is fated to remain an
unceasing ‘trouble spot’. The same reason dictates that Pakistan continuously
walks a tight rope in attempts to strike a balance in its relations with the
opposing camps in the region.
Original Headline: Is Saudi Arab playing a
proxy super power
Source: The Daily Times, Pakistan
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