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Tuesday, November 17, 2009     GET REAL

Mideast report: 'Bad Time to be a U.S. Ally . . .'

ABU DHABI Ñ An increasing number of Middle East countries regard their alliance with the United States as problematic, a report said.   

The report, which quoted Arab officials, asserted that Middle East, particularly Arab allies, have been alarmed by the failure of the United States to confront Iran. "The common view shared by several officials in many U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East is that 'it is a bad time to be AmericaÕs ally in the region,'" the report said. "Iran appears to have time on its side, while the U.S. and its allies are growing weaker by the day."


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The report by the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis, established in 2001 and based in the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai, said Arab League members felt increasingly helpless in countering the rise of Iran. Institute chief executive officer Riad Kahwaji quoted a senior Arab official as saying that Iran's proxies were making advances throughout the Middle East. "Whether it is in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Yemen and even parts of North Africa, Iran and its proxies seem to have the momentum with very little Washington can do to stop them," a senior Arab official was quoted as saying. Titled "Bad Time to be a U.S. Ally in a Rapidly Changing Middle East," the report said the United States has been blamed for the Iranian threat, failure to establish a Palestinian state and lack of a strategy against Al Qaida and Taliban. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Arabs states regarded the United States as passive, in a policy which encouraged Teheran's expansionist policy. "The strong arms race in the region generated by the U.S.-Iranian Cold War, and Washington's failure to check Iran's growing influence or its controversial nuclear program has driven few Arab officials in countries allied with America to suspect a 'conspiracy' cooked by Teheran and Washington to divide and weaken the Arab world and manipulate the oil market to their advantage," the report said. Kahwaji, a leading Middle East analyst with close ties to Gulf Cooperation Council and other Arab countries, said his report was based on briefings by Arab officials and analysts. He said Arab states were examining ways to overcome their dependency on the United States to counter Iran and other regional threats. "Several U.S. allies today are seeking other options to secure their interests and survival," the report said. Saudi Arabia and Turkey were cited as pursuing policies independent of the United States. Kahwaji said a new security framework could develop in the Middle East based on regional powers that conclude that the United States has lost its ability to counter Iran and its proxies. "But it remains to be seen whether other super powers like India, China or Russia or Europe would be able to gain from AmericaÕs losses in the region," the report said.



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