MIKE AND JARED'S BIG ADVENTURE
Hoping to Seize on UAE-Israel Deal, Pompeo and Kushner Head East in Search
of New Allies for Israel
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump adviser Jared Kushner are hitting
the road in an attempt to strong-arm more Arab states into normalizing
relations with Israel, turning their backs on Palestine and isolating Iran.
by Raul Diego
August 24th, 2020
By Raul Diego
U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and unelected advisor to President
Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, are embarking on a tour of the Middle East
beginning with a stop in Israel to discuss "regional security issues related
to Iran's malicious influence" with Prime Minister Netanyahu, followed by
visits to Sudan, Bahrain and now official U.S. partner, the United Arab
Emirates.
Spun as an effort to speed up a U.S.-brokered "normalization" between Arab
countries and Israel, the trip comes just four days after the White House
sent the Secretary of State to the U.N. Security Council with the message
that all UN sanctions against Iran were to be restored; invoking a clause in
the Iran nuclear deal "that allows participants to reimpose UN sanctions on
Iran."
Critics of the move have deemed it illegal, not only because the Trump
administration itself withdrew from the deal it is now attempting to
enforce, but also because the UN Security Council had previously voted to
allow the arms embargo to expire in the fall.
As Pompeo and company land in Jerusalem, tensions are high in the region.
Sudan, one of the countries on the itinerary, is in political disarray
nearly two years after the ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir in
2018. In July, Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, replaced seven
senior cabinet officials, including the ministers of finance, foreign,
energy, and health. Five days ago, he sacked his official spokesperson for
disclosing ongoing talks with Israel during a press conference in which
spokesman Haider Badawi said he was "looking forward to concluding a peace
agreement" with the apartheid state.
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The Sudanese government immediately disavowed Badawi's comments, asserting
that "no one tasked [the spokesman] with making statements on this matter."
Meanwhile, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen has reportedly confirmed
talks with Sudan, adding that "Israel hopes to reach a peace agreement that
includes the return of Sudanese refugees to their country," according to the
Al-Ittihad newspaper. Israeli officials have also claimed that Netanyahu
himself met with the head of Sudan's transitional government in Uganda last
February for a top-secret meeting to discuss normalizing relations.
The long-time ally
Bahrain, a long-time Atlanticist client state, is also on Pompeo's
diplomatic schedule. The tiny Gulf state of fewer than two million people
has played host to the U.S. Navy since 1947 and was the headquarters for the
British protectorate of the lower Persian Gulf after World War II. The crown
prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa descends from a long
line of Al-Khalifas to rule the nation under Britain's neo-colonial eye and,
later, as a sovereign country since 1971. Considered a "strong security
partner" by the U.S. and host of the only operating American naval base in
the region with 7,800 U.S. troops, the Trump administration recently lifted
arms sales restrictions imposed by Obama. Another member of the Al-Kahlifa
clan, Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Al-Khalifa, sat down for an interview
with The Times of Israel last summer in which he said he "hoped to visit
Israel, when it's all open, peaceful," signaling Bahrain's openness to
facilitate normalization between Israel and Arab states.
Jared Kushner pitches his so-called "Deal of the Century" to a crowd of
Bahrain's royalty in Manama, June, 2019. BNA via AP
A report updated in June by the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CSR)
titled "Bahrain: Unrest, Security, and U.S. Policy," outlined the country's
human rights record and history of political repression, which should
nevertheless be overlooked because the country "has long presented a policy
dilemma for the United States because Bahrain is a longtime ally that is
pivotal to maintaining Persian Gulf security."
An easy dilemma
The policy dilemma is limited to whether or not Bahrain, Sudan or any other
oil-rich countries wish to abide by Atlanticist dictates for their
particular region, which has now shifted to a policy of exclusion of the
Palestinian people living under the apartheid regime in Israel and an
intensification of the campaign of isolation against Iran.
This is being called normalization and some, like Sudan's former government
spokesman, see nothing wrong with it. In what may be the most disingenuous
statement ever made, Haider Badawi told Sky News Arabia that Sudan "shall be
able to build an exemplary peace deal to all our neighboring countries in
the region, so that they are able to follow our footsteps and do the same
with Israel. I would like to note here that even Palestinians have had a
long history of diplomatic ties with Israel. So, why should it be right for
them and considered wrong for us."
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Pompeo will finalize his trip in the UAE, where he will meet with Foreign
Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to discuss the deal signed with Israel
a few weeks ago. Jared Kushner's itinerary, however, has not been made
public. He will be accompanied on an ostensibly separate excursion by
National Security adviser, Robert O'Brien and special envoy for Iran, Brian
Hook in what is only being described as "talks with leaders in the region to
encourage more Arab countries to follow in the UAE's footsteps and move
forward with full normalization of relations with Israel."
