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| Chuck Hagel / Saul Loeb, AFP |
This comes after quite a serious diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its fellow GCC member states Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates concerning its own independent foreign policy – which include its support for the Muslim Brotherhood.
That dispute saw these countries withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar last March and threatening to do their utmost to isolate it.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said to a meeting of GCC defines ministers that, "The most pressing security challenges threaten this region as a whole - and they demand a collective response."
He went on to contend that, "This approach is how the region must continue to address the threats posed by Iran."
Alluding to the nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran Hagel also declared that,
"While our strong preference is for a diplomatic solution, the United States will remain postured and prepared to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon – and that Iran abides by the terms of any potential agreement."
On Iran's agenda also is a visit between Iran and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministers. (Reuters, May 14)
Furthermore, it was reported last December that Mr. Hagel announced that his country was going to try and sell weapons to the GCC alliance as a single bloc as a opposed to each state individually.
On that occasion he expressed his wishes to expand U.S.-GCC cooperation and coordination between the military's of the two powers. He said such a set up would "enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defines, maritime security, and counter-terrorism."
This is stupid! Iran didn't negotiate its nuclear program with the U.S so that the latter can initiate another standoff with Iran by militarizing the region and arming (or deploying weapons systems to) the world's most tyrannical monarchies!
ReplyDeleteIran will have no choice but to step up its armament of pro-Iranian militias around Saudi Arabia and Israel to make up for that. No wonder why Khamenei wants to see more ballistic missiles from where he stands.
what is stupid is Iran's starting an arms race in the Gulf, particularly after the US ended the only regime that offered the slightest threat to Iran by toppling Saddam.
DeleteIran has only itself own inept expansionist regime to blame for any militarization by the GCC
Agreed Piruz
DeleteThat Chuck dude is what we in the Persian language would call a donkey!
AnonymousMay 14, 2014 at 3:13 PM
DeleteAre you blind?,its the gulf arabs are the ones engaged in an arms race aided and abetted by the west to the tune of billions of dollars,iran by comparison spends far less than those lunatics in the house of saud
Piruz MollazadehMay 14, 2014 at 2:25 PM
DeleteAgree completely,also if the us is going to try and introduce missiles into the nuke talks,then iran should introduce western arms sales to,and support for the gulf states as its extra demands as well
As the good and obedient puppet of the governing military-industrial elite running his pocket and country, our mate Chuck simply cannot be possibly expected to behave in any other way. After all, his "power" and very responsibilities and position depend on perpetuating useless and artificially inflated inter-state tensions and reciprocal perception of threat between neighbors so that the USN still has a role to play as a "pyromaniac firefighter" fanning the very flames of war they pretend to be here to extinguish, in old classical fashion of vicious two-faced imperialistic mindset, they have to forcefully justify their presence, geopolitical assets and weapons market one way or another, and they do so perfectly considering the petromonarchs and their disposal. Indeed after all, with no "common threat" like a "nuclear Iran", why would the GCC monarchs regularly go on record-breaking buying sprees from Uncle Sam every 3-4 years or so ? what would become of the hundreds of thousands defense-related job back on the US mainland ? I mean, 60 Billions is a prize to consider, what is a few risks of all-out regional war compared to the benefits of such business ? Where would Halliburton and Carlyle go and become since the US has no more troops on the ground in Iraq and the country is broke and devastated already with almost nothing left to bomb of its vital infrastructure anymore, and soon the same for Afghanistan and the more and more likely prospect of full pullout by NATO in a year or so ? the show went on for a decade and now it is over, time to rebuild a customer base, they need a bad guy, Iran is the perfect foe since its geopolitical alignment goes totally counter to America's and specially its protegee Israel, let's point fingers at it with our minions putting all the blame on them for starting an arms race while Israel's 400-strong nuclear arsenal oddly predates the very inception of the Islamic Republic, go figure what's right and what's lies here :-) Man, you gotta love (geo)politics, such a pure pool of cynicism and viciousness all the way you can't not appreciate it at least a bit. Too bad the US government has killed too many people and destroyed too many countries in total violation of all international norms since 2003 for the masses to still believe their Fox and CNN bullshit like they used to before, american citizens included.
DeleteI am amazed at some of the comments here. What Hagel said in Jerusalem has been the policy of the U.S. ever since the Iranian nuclear program was revealed. Hagel is emphasizing here that the on-going talks with Iran should not interpreted by anyone, especially by the Iranian government, as a policy change and that the U.S. will now be willing to accept a nuclear Iran. Well, the policy hasn't changed, and the U.S. doesn't seem to be accepting a nuclear Iran.
DeleteAgreed Mr. Uskowi, but despite the obvious concerning Iran's vicious behavior in once trying to acquire nukes, you cannot deny the blatant double standards that have been the centerpiece of American policy in regards to nuclear proliferation and seems to have been directed specifically against Iran ever since it went outside of the US sphere of influence, massively aiding allied regimes neighboring the country in the process and fanning the flames of an arms race in the region including the transfer of banned conventionnal weapons to backwards and repressive sunni monarchies condemned countless times by the UN in terms of Human rights violations at least as much as Iran itself, and justifying the presence of several thousands of its troops all around Iran in bases located in GCC countries. The latter organization itself owes its very credibility and funding as a geopolitical dominance tool to the instrumentalization of the so-called "Iranian threat ". Now taking in account the timing of Mr. Hagel's speech and the already tense and painstaking atmosphere surrounding the nuclear talks and President Rouhani already coping with many hardliners within Majlis trying to put in perspective any element possible helping them in painting the US as hypocritical partners, I find his choice of words and tone quite unhelpful to say the very least, hostile to go a bit further. He did not need to "reassure " his country's partners in suggesting military action one more time while the Iranian President has a hard time keeping every single IRGC military event as low profile as possible. Inded as you say, American policy towards Iran has been the same towarss the Iranian regime. But times seems to be slowly changing for clear-headed people willing to quit an era of confrontational rethoric on both sides. Mr. Hagel today missed a golden opportunity to appear as one of them and instead posturing as a military industrial complex shareholder on a tour to its client states. All I'm saying.
Deletelets just invade and retake our lost territories our useless shahs lost
ReplyDelete