Master and Mediator – Orientalism, Neo-Colonialism, and America’s Dual Role in the Middle East

By| Farooq Ah Lone

As we all know that USA plays an important role in the events of middle east whether it is normalization between Israel and Arab states or conflict between Israel and Hamas. USA is acting as the guide of both Arabs and Israeli’s in both conflict and conciliation though there are exceptions too.

The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in which USA was fully supporting Israel both through arms and financial aid while in the end acting as deal broker along with Egypt and Qatar is a good example to understand US involvement and interference in the region. A few years ago US also successfully brokered normalization deals between Arab states of UAE and Bahrain with the state of Israel which was seeming impossible a decade ago as Arabs were insisting on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as a condition for normalization of relations with Israel. As it is clear that USA fully sides with Israel against Arabs while as also maintaining its good relations with Arab states. How is USA successful in playing the role as an enemy as well as a guide of Arabs.

The answer lies in orientalism and neo-colonialism. Americans are well aware of Arabs through the studies of orientalism as this branch of literature deals with how the orient can be known and managed directly as during the era of colonialism in 19th and 20th centuries or indirectly as during today’s era of neo-colonialism.US knows the geography and culture of Arabs hence it is best suited to develop policies towards middle east which simultaneously benefit America and control Arab states under the banner of US security. There are a large number of organizations in USA which produce high quality research on middle east. Almost every month many reports on middle east from various policy institutes and centers are being issued to inform the US policymakers about how to deal with any possible situation in middle east.

The orientalists or the regional experts leave no stone unturned in order to get data about the potential geopolitical opportunities and threats to US from the world of Arabs. Being equipped with maximum knowledge and powerful global standing it becomes very easy for US to implement its will on Arabs through policies and strategies. In this way US acts as a neo-colonial master of Arabs. As we know that the nation-states of middle east were created under the colonial directions of Britain and France after the liberation of Arab lands from Ottomans. The imperial masters of England and France carved large number of small sized states from the liberated territories in order to keep them less powerful in the future as to control them easily through neo-colonialism. It were not the Arabs but English and French who established the boundaries between Arab states.

The rise of USA as a superpower with strong ties to Europe led to further interference in the Arab world. For the American policymakers Middle East became a part of US grand strategy to be controlled for strategic and economic objectives. The Americans first study the region and then draft their policies about that region. Middle east which has been central to US grand strategy is the most researched and studied region in US foreign policy circles. USA exploits various weaknesses like sectarian divisions, lack of democracy, weak defense capability etc. of Arabs to further its imperial ambitions in Arab world.

The Arabs have to wake up to rule and represent themselves. They have to defeat western neo-colonialism to keep their nations free from the menace of western interference. Key states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc. have to play leading roles in resisting western narratives about Arabs and Islam. Arabs also have to support Palestinians as their brothers in their struggle against Israeli occupation.

They can use oil as leverage to bring the west on its knees just as King Faisal tried in 1974 leading to oil crisis in the global market. Developing good relations with Turkiye is in the favour of Arabs and Islam as Turks are brave muslims as well as forward visionaries. The recent news making rounds that Saudi Arabia is considering 6 billion dollars defense deal with Turkiye is encouraging. Taking a lot of bold and visionary steps at both political and diplomatic levels and building a strong brotherly bond with Turks is the pathway to the sovereign and prosperous Arab world which is free from western interventions. If it happens the freedom struggle of Palestinians can get more strong to achieve its goals as well. Let’s hope good.

Author Farooq Ahmad Lone writes on international relations. He can be reached at lonefarooqahmad80@gmail.com.