The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

  By James M. Dorsey When US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III declared that Washington wanted to see Russia so “weakened" that it would no longer be able to invade a neighbouring state, he lifted the veil on US goals in Ukraine. He also held out the prospect of a long-term US-Russian contest for power and influence. Mr. Austin's remarks were problematic on several fronts. For one, they legitimised Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification of the invasion of Ukraine as a defence against US-led efforts to box Russia in and potentially undermine his regime. “US policy toward Russia continues to be plagued by lack of rhetorical discipline . First calling for regime change, now goal of weakening Russia. This only increases Putin’s case for escalating & shifts focus away from Russian actions in Ukraine & toward Russia-US/NATO showdown,” tweeted New York-based Council of Foreign Relations president and former senior State Department official Richard Haas...

  By James M. Dorsey Russia and the Nordic countries’ pavilions at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art exhibition, project two different concepts of civilisation, nationalism, and sovereignty that have come to blows in Ukraine. Newly renovated, brooding, and inward-looking, Russia’s art nouveau pavilion stands empty and abandoned after its Lithuanian curator and artists resigned in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A lone armed guard is what is left of what would have been Russia’s cultural contribution. The pavilion, located in Giardini, a Venice city park, is expected to attract protesters instead of visitors. By contrast, the modern structure representing the Nordic states, -- Sweden, Norway, and Finland, -- radiates light and openness at a time that Russia’s actions have prompted Swedes and Finns to consider trading in their long-standing neutrality for membership in Moscow’s nemesis, the North Atlantic Treaty   Organisation (...

By James M. Dorsey Rather than push for an immediate improvement of strained relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia appears to be looking forward to a time when US President Joe Biden's wings may be clipped. The kingdom seems to be betting on a better reception in Washington if Democrats lose control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections and/or Donald J. Trump or a Republican candidate with similar inclinations wins the White House in the 2024 presidential election. The Saudi approach signals that the kingdom has not given up on the United States, although it has lost faith in Mr. Biden because of his attitude towards Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his efforts to revive a nuclear accord with Iran. The approach further suggests that Saudi Arabia recognizes that neither China nor Russia are able or willing to replace the United States as the kingdom's security guarantor despite Washington proving in recent years to be an increasingly unreliable partn...

  By James M. Dorsey Middle Eastern states see their ability narrow to walk a fine line in the Ukraine conflict. Israel is a case in point as tensions with Iran in Syria and Palestinians in Jerusalem flare, and both Russia and the United States signal impatience with its attempts to straddle the fence. The United States has cautioned that it would step up pressure on countries that fail to sanction Russia but has yet to single out Israel, home to significant Ukrainian and Russian Jewish communities that include various oligarchs. In contrast, Russia has made its irritation with the Jewish state evident in recent days. In doing so, Russia is playing on Israeli fears that Russia could backtrack on its tacit acquiescence of Israeli attacks on Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria, stiffen support for Iran, and back Palestinians who are clashing with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem. Walking a fine line, Israel has rejected Ukrainian requests for arms sales and access ...

  By James M. Dorsey Anti-Iranian protests in Afghanistan and the stabbing of three clerics in Iran threaten to cast a shadow over Iranian efforts to capitalise on the fallout in Central Asia of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The protests at Iran’s diplomatic representations in Kabul and Herat erupted after videos went viral on social media allegedly showing police beating Afghan refugees in Iran. Shouting “Mag bar Iran” (Death to Iran), protesters set the Herat consulate’s door on fire and destroyed security cameras. Iranian and Taliban officials sought to downplay the incident. They said ‘rogue elements’ and forces seeking to stoke unrest had staged the protests. The protests erupted almost a week after two Iranian Shiite clerics were killed and a third injured in the conservative religious stronghold of Mashhad in a knife attack by an allegedly Afghan Salafi immigrant. The attack occurred at the shrine of Ali Al-Ridha, the eighth Shiite imam. The incidents cast a...

By James M. Dorsey Russia's invasion of Ukraine spotlights seemingly widening differences between the United States and its closest Middle Eastern allies, sparking eulogies for an era of bygone American regional dominance. "America's Middle East Friendships are Dying a Natural Death" predicted foreign policy analyst Steven A. Cook this week after countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to varying degrees, rebuffed US requests to help reduce energy prices and join sanctions against Russia. A Saudi television satire that could not have been broadcast without at least tacit government approval mocked US President Joe Biden as a leader who had lost his memory and needed Vice President Kamel Harris as a prop. The reference to Mr. Biden's memory was an apparent reference to Saudi and Emirati assertions that Mr. Biden has forgotten who America's longstanding regional allies are. In a further sign of strained US-Saudi relations, Saud...

  By James M. Dorsey Russia’s suspension from the United Nations Human Rights Council was long overdue, even without the mass killing of innocent civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. A country that poisons or otherwise does away with its critics at home and abroad and stifles freedom of the press, expression, and association should not qualify for a seat on the Council. A quick look at current and past membership in the Council explains why the UN General Assembly vote to suspend Russia, like multiple aspects of the Ukraine war, raises the spectre of double standards. Current members China and the United Arab Emirates rank alongside Russia among the world's worst human rights violators. China has brutally repressed its Turkic Muslim population in the north-western province of Xinjiang in an effort to Sinicise its ethnic and religious identity. China has also built a surveillance state in which free access to information and basic human rights are denied. So has the...