Author: David Hearst
Affiliation: Editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye
Organization/Publisher: Middle East Eye
Date/Place: March 15, 2021/UK
Type of Literature: Opinion
Word Count: 2152
Link: https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/arab-yacht-summit-plotters-have-fallen-out
Keywords: Egypt, Libya, UAE, and Saudi Arabia
Brief:
The editor-in-chief of the Middle East Eye details a secret alliance of Arab leaders that was convened on a yacht a decade ago, with the aim of maintaining their declining regimes. In furtherance of such, they have waged wars in Yemen, Libya and Syria, and funded coups in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey. Because of their interventionist policies, hundreds of thousands have been killed. Their fight has been in the name of defending the region from Islamism and extremism, which has gotten the backing of colonial powers France and Britain, although this fight has “nothing to do with defending liberalism or secularism.” This alliance’s leaders are the crown princes and rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and Jordan. However, this alliance is not stable anymore for many reasons. For instance, the relationships between Saudi Arabia and Egypt are going downhill as the Saudis no longer have financial support for Egypt. Also, Sisi is distancing himself from Bin Salman for the very negative reputation Bin Salman has. Furthermore, Haftar’s defeat in Libya weakens this alliance since it has forced Egypt to talk with the government in Tripoli and Turkey. He concludes that this alliance is waning because the leaders’ plans and stated “national interests” are not based on the peoples’ interests, but rather on these leaders’ interests.
By: Fadi Zatari, CIGA Senior Research Associate
