Wednesday, March 25, 2015

SPEAKING OUT: Saudi commentator: ‘He [Obama] is gambling with the future of the region’

Arab Media Lashes Out at Obama for Iran Negotiations - Washington Free Beacon

With Washington cozying up to Tehran as nuclear negotiations approach countdown stage, Arab media in the region are lashing out at the United States for jilting its Arab allies.

Unlike Israelis, who are focused on the danger of nuclear weapons in the hands of a regime calling for their country’s elimination, citizens of Arab states are concerned about Iran’s imperial ambitions. The nuclear threat is seen as a tool to further those ambitions rather than a direct threat.

Khaled Al-Dahil, a Saudi political commentator writing in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, said the Obama administration is allowing Iran and its Shiite militias to operate freely in Iraq and Syria in order to advance the signing of a nuclear agreement. “Why does Obama consider it necessary to reach such an agreement? Because his objective is to tie the Iranians’ hands for 10-15 years in hopes that by then Iran will have a new leadership and will become a different country—perhaps a democratic country with less of a desire for nuclear weapons. This perception is superficial and faulty because it is based on dreams that are more like delusions. He is gambling with the future of the region.”