Hi Bye and Thanks Mr. President
Date
4/20/2016 5:06:51 PM
Dr. Saad bin Teflah Al Ajmi
In public all Arabic hospitality will be expressed in welcoming President Obama as he visits Saudi Arabia today to meet with all GCC leaders in Riyadh. The visit of Obama comes at a time when trust in US foreign policy is at its lowest.
What Western media “dubbed” as strain in the relationship between the US and its Arab allies in the Arabian Gulf is an understatement. The damage Obama’s administration made to the role of the US as a truly reliable ally for Gulf Arab states is simply irreparable.
President Obama is a lame-duck president. His presidency will be remembered by many as the man who let us down. President Obama was wrongfully advised that we had “free-ride” in fighting terrorism. Facts and innocent blood of victims of ISIS and AlQa’edah from Kuwait to Jezan prove otherwise. He thinks of leaving behind a legacy as a man who appeased Iran. Facts and innocent blood of Syrians Iraqis and Yemenis stipulate exactly the opposite. Obama may think that he confronted ISIS and amassed tens of countries to fight it not realizing that by ignoring its creator Basshar Alassad his endeavors will all go in vein. Mr. Obama is too frightened to even name Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a belligerent “free-rider” opposing the two-state solution to the Palestinian plight and continuing settlements building on Palestinian lands. The list of let-down policies of Mr. Obama towards his allies worldwide is longer than a newspaper column. Ukraine Turkey Iraq South Korea and Japan in the face of North Korean nuclear threats and most recently Nagorno-Karabakh to name just a few.
Yet one must thank Mr. Obama for his wake-up policies of hesitation for us to start thinking of a new strategy for self-reliance. The GCC countries have great sources of wealth and know-how to designate a new strategy of regional security. The so-called Obama “doctrine” must be transcended by the “Salman Doctrine”. Resolve of measures for greater integration and deeper cooperation among the GCC countries is an urgent priority. A real cooperation leading to an eventual confederation yields a solidified Arab front that will certainly create a regional power to be reckoned with. Measures for confederation must be accompanied by measures of reform and modernization. The rule of law stringer observation of human rights and all-out transparent war against corruption in our countries must be adhered to.
Mr. Obama’s visit to the GCC may be his last to the region as a president all be it a lame-duck one. He will leave with no tangible remedy for his failed regional policies. But he will leave with the region contemplating hard and deep for new ways of thinking and security seeking; or so one really hopes.
Mr. Obama: Welcome! Goodbye and thank you!
The writer is a former Minister of Information in Kuwait and a Professor at Kuwait University