In a June 17, 2008 article in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, columnist Muhammad bin 'Abd Al- Latif Aal Al-Sheikh writes about the arrogance of the northern Arab states vis-à-vis the southern ones, arguing that the Gulf states should not support them or their causes unless and until they support the Gulf states against Iran.
The following are excerpts from the article: (1)
"The 'Arabs of the North' Are Now Defending Iran with Unparalleled Zeal"
"The 'Arabs of the North' the pan-Arab ideologues are now defending Iran with unparalleled zeal, as if defending a brother. They stand with it in the same trench, in opposition to the U.S., which rejects [the idea of] Iran possessing nuclear weapons. The reason for this is that Iran supports the Palestinian cause, and its president does not tire of threatening that he will, as he puts it, soon erase Israel from the map.
"These exaggerated claims are just soap bubbles, a publicity stunt to attract popular Arab support. They have no basis in fact, and are of no consequence in strategic calculations in the region.
"And at the same time, the Arabs of the North are continuing to pressure the Gulf Arabs, demanding that they stand with them politically, financially, and logistically, in support of the Palestinian cause and against the occupying enemy. Yet they [both] the pan-Arabists among them and the Islamists among them do not lift a finger against the Iranian occupation of UAE islands, for example, and pay no heed to the Iranian threat to the Gulf states as if the issue does not concern them at all.
1) Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), June 17, 2008.
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