From: ba05105@binghamton.edu Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 15:58:47 -0400 (EDT) To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: Arabs & Iran Contemplate A Different Middle East (fwd) The following news item might interest those who maintain the position (often heard on this list, and often repeated at the recent PEWS conference) that US hegemony is virtually unchallenged and unchallengable. Steven Sherman Binghamton U. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 00:16:38 -0500 From: MID-EAST REALITIES - _______ ____ ______ / |/ / /___/ / /_ // M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S / /|_/ / /_/_ / /\\ Making Sense of the Middle East /_/ /_/ /___/ /_/ \\ www.MiddleEast.Org ARABS & IRAN CONTEMPLATE _____________________________________________________________________ M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups, and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know. ___________________________________________________________________ TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE EMAIL TO: INFOMER@MiddleEast.Org ------------------------------------------------------------------- A M E R I C A N D E C L I N E ? MER - Washington - 1 April: ARABS AND IRAN CONTEMPLATE A LESS AMERICAN- The foreign ministers of Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday completed two days of talks in Riyadh, aimed at shaping a coordinated response to the stalled Middle East peace process. The surprise meeting was prompted by recent failed attempts by representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and United Nations to breathe life into the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa reportedly briefed Syria's Farouq al- Sharaa and Saudi Arabia's Saud al-Faisal on talks held Monday between US envoy Dennis Ross and Egyptian leaders. The three also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, who unexpectedly arrived in Riyadh on Monday. Coincidentally with the Riyadh meeting, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Jordan's King Hussein on Monday night to discuss recent developments in the peace process. According to diplomatic sources in Riyadh, the three foreign ministers agreed to hold a mini-summit of Arab leaders in Cairo next month, to include Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian National Authority, and Morocco. With the United States clearly unwilling or unable to pressure the Netanyahu regime into making concessions necessary to restart the peace process, Washington's Arab allies have joined with more hard-line Arab leaders and resolved to take matters into their own hands. Washington is being shoved aside as ineffective as the Arab states attempt to shape a regional response to the issue. This not only threatens to complicate the situation by increasing the number of players and turning it back into a confrontational pan-Arab versus Israeli issue, but also lays the groundwork for pan-Arab cooperation in other realms, including the Persian Gulf. Indeed, one of the central features of the region in recent months has been the emergence of an assertive Iran seeking closer ties to Arab countries. A central feature of Tehran's agenda has been the call for a regional security framework for dealing with crises without American or European involvement. Iran has charged that Middle Eastern problems should face a Middle Eastern response, and has gone as far as to say that, had Arabs and Iranians cooperated to confront Iraq, there would have been no need for an American military presence in the region. Iran has also led calls lately for regional action against weapons of mass destruction, an idea that could just as easily be applied to Iraq as to the stated offender, Israel. As we reported on February 25, the abrupt conclusion of the latest US- Iraqi confrontation over UN arms inspections set off a sudden flurry of diplomatic initiatives throughout the Middle East. Diplomatic efforts continue unabated, with Saudi Arabia drawing ever closer to Iran, and Egypt moving closer to Syria, with both Riyadh and Cairo pulling away from their American moorings. With Washington appearing increasingly impotent in the region, the stage is set for Arab-Iranian coordination and cooperation on security issues, with possible support from the Russians and maybe the French. Three questions remain: Has Washington completely lost control of Middle Eastern events? Can it regain control? And how far will this new regional cooperation extend? From: Global Intelligence Update - 4/1/98 __________________________________________________________________ MID-EAST REALITIES is published a number of times weekly and the MERTV Program shows weekly on Cable TV. M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S MER may be freely distributed by email and on the Internet so long as there is no editing of any kind. For any print publication, permission in writing is required. MER@MiddleEast.Org / Fax: 202 362-6965 / Phone: 202 362-5266