The American- Russian Strategic Competition in the Arab Middle East

Abdulwahab Al-Qassab March 23, 2017 The Historical Context States as a superpower. In the Arab world, particularly in the Gulf region, American The presence of global powers in the Arab interests became apparent, most visibly through Middle East region is not new. American and competition over oil with the United Kingdom; Russian involvement goes back to the 18th and gaining the Saudi oil concessions was one of the 19th centuries, when the area was part of the most important accomplishments of the United Ottoman Empire. Cultural and commercial States during that period. relations between the rising power, the United States of America, and the region started to US-USSR Competition grow, beginning in 1833 when the United States and the Sultanate of Oman signed a Treaty of For the Russians, a presence in warm waters Amity and Commerce followed by the opening had been a dream since the days of Peter the of an American Consulate in Oman in 1838 and Great. Washington started to promote its the subsequent accreditation of the first Omani interests in the region during and after World Arab diplomat in the United States. The War II, when a naval base was established in American presence included commercial, Juffair, Bahrain. The Russians were lagging educational, and cultural activities as well as behind in the aftermath of the war, which forced missionary work, through which humanitarian the Soviet Union to consolidate its gains in services were extended to the local population. Germany and Eastern Europe and to At that time, the strategic view toward the reconstruct internally rather than compete with region was not quite clear due to the policy of the mighty victor of the war—the United States. isolation, which branded American relations The establishment of NATO as the main abroad. apparatus for guaranteeing the stability and security of Europe sparked the Cold War, when It is because of the development of a naval the Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc strategy by Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, the alliance, or the Warsaw Pact. Washington strategic naval thinker and historian, and the preempted the situation in the Middle East by presence of the US Navy beyond the limits of creating the Baghdad Pact, known later as the the contiguous seas and oceans littoral to the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), leaving American mainland, that gave a push to Moscow with no leverage to strategically increased understanding of the strategic challenge and confront US predominance in the interests of the United States. The notion of Middle East. “national interests” started to develop and a US naval and diplomatic presence began to Gamal Abdul-Nasser’s revolution and his quest materialize. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 for assistance from the Soviet Union gave the and the policies of President Woodrow Wilson Russians an unprecedented means to break into gave centrality to the new role of the United the region and challenge American prevalence.

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Egypt, Syria, and finally Iraq developed Superpowers Trading Places friendlier terms with the Russians than with the West. After Iraq’s pullout from the Baghdad The return of Russia as a power on the global Pact, it became known as CENTO but stage came with the ascension of Vladimir Putin diminished over time, leaving the southern to the presidency and he vowed to regain the front of the Soviet Union more secure than country’s status as a superpower. This goal before. The Soviet Union’s involvement in the meant challenging the US presence and region increased and attracted more countries interests in the region. President Barack into its sphere of influence, breaking away from Obama’s low-profile involvement in the Middle the United States. By the 1970s, a series of East provided a golden opportunity for Putin to strategic cooperation treaties were reached and renew and consolidate Russian interests there. signed between the Soviet Union and Egypt, But it was during the first years of Putin’s Syria, Iraq, and South Yemen. This left US allies presidency (2000-2004) that he solidified his exposed, and the masses branded them as power and set his priorities, which included reactionaries who collaborated with the West increased involvement in the Arab Middle East. against Arab interests. The Soviets consolidated To the Russians, the proximity and strategic their gains by supporting the Ethiopian coup value of this area makes it very important. d’etat and the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime. Later, Soviet-supported and Marxist South In those years, and as a part of consolidating his Yemen unified with North Yemen, forming the power, Putin chose to regain control over new Republic of Yemen, which had more of an Chechnya by curbing Islamic extremism, which affinity to the United States. The competition he subsequently accomplished though with a found its end by the dissolution of the Soviet heavy price. Then he faced a showdown with Union in 1991 and the exit of the East European NATO on Georgia, during which the Russian- states from the Warsaw Pact and the latter’s supported separatists in Sokhumi were collapse, thus freeing themselves from Soviet victorious over Georgian troops. This was a hegemony. very important message to the Americans—that Russia under Putin was not the same as that What was left of the Soviet deployment in the under Yeltsin. region were naval facilities in Algeria and Syria. Arms sales as a source of hard currency Putin viewed the 2011 collapse of Libyan Col. decreased; indeed, Russia was almost crippled Muammar Qadhafi’s regime and the air battle during the decade of the nineties under conducted over Libya to force Qadhafi out as a President Boris Yeltsin. deception and humiliation to Russia. He waited for the right moment to retaliate, and this was given to him by the tentative policy of the Obama Administration toward the civil war in

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Syria and the Bashar al-Asad regime. Putin sponsor of the Eurasian geopolitical came to the support of Asad the moment he was understanding, believes that the Arab Middle about to fall; Russia waged a large-scale air East is an original part of Eurasia. The United campaign, followed by a land and naval States, on the other hand, views the initiative, to rescue the Syrian president and Mediterranean Sea as home to the majority of save his regime. It was another retaliatory move the Arab countries, geographically and by Putin against the Americans, as a response to strategically. The geographic proximity NATO’s role in the Ukraine. between the Arab world and Europe imbues the region with geopolitical importance. This Another factor that gave the Russian policy in closeness explains the friction between Europe the Arab Middle East a push forward was the and Russia as well as the interests of the United Obama Administration’s preference for Asia- States, and the West, in this part of the world. Pacific ties over the historical and traditional American relations with Arab Middle Eastern When the Obama Administration adopted the countries. Since then, the region has become a Asia-Pacific strategy, it appeared as if the field in which accounts tended to be settled United States sailed away from the Middle East. between the Russians and the Americans Washington’s low profile encouraged the reach regarding the strategic interests of both parties. of Iran and the growth of nongovernmental Moscow became the sole sponsor of the Syrian terrorist actors like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the crisis with authority to make decisions about Iranian-backed militias. Finally, Russia had its Syria’s future. Putin pursued certain steps to chance to engage in the affairs of the Arab secure his gains such as normalizing relations Middle East in a way contrary to the national with Turkey, solidifying his alliance with Iran, interests of the Arab countries and of the United and controlling developments in Syria. He States. This does not mean that the national created links with the Arab Gulf states to interests of the Arabs and the Americans are neutralize their opposition to the new Russian congruent or identical; rather, it suggests that campaign to regain a foothold in the Arab Russian intrusion in the region is harmful to Middle East, including a series of official visits both parties. with traditional US allies in the region. The Obama Administration’s policy of US and Russian Engagement in the Middle noninvolvement in the internal conflicts of the East region was very harmful to the aims and interests of the United States. In this context, the The main motives behind the American- Trump Administration’s strategy regarding Russian competition are rooted in the conflict Syria, Iraq, and Iran will be decisive for the between the Trans-Atlantic and Eurasian future of the region. The recent visits of King geopolitical theatres. Russia, as the main Abdullah II of Jordan, Saudi Arabian Deputy

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Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and necessarily affect the American-Russian Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq clearly competition there. Closer Turkish-Russian show a greater interest in the region, as strategic relations will enforce and consolidate compared to the previous administration. The the Russian thrust, while victory over ISIS on fates of the Iran nuclear deal, the war against both the Iraqi and Syrian fronts will increase the ISIS, Russian-Turkish cooperation, and the stakes for the United States to regain its Iranian expansionist policy in the region will historical position in the region.

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