BAHRAIN just became the second Gulf State to “normalize” ties with Israel. One article from israelnationalnews.com reports that: “Bahrain thus becomes the second Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel, after the UAE and Israel announced they were normalizing relations on August 13.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move “a new era of peace. Peace for peace. Economy for economy.”
Of course, the reason why these countries are normalizing relations has nothing to do with peace or their respective Gross Domestic Products (GDPs). The reason is Trump, and his foreign policy. America has reduced its presence abroad under his presidency, and even after the end of his administration, it’s unlikely that the US will return.
Moreover, aside from American public opinion being against an interventionist policy, the Middle East is no longer what it once was 30 years ago. China and Turkey have growing interests in the area, and America no longer needs the region for energy security thanks to fracking. Israel and the Gulf state looked at the changing political realities around them, and decided they needed allies.
The realignment won’t stop with Bahrain. More states will likely join in, and they will bring in outside players as well. The fact that Israel is not particularly liked in the region won’t stop states from allying with it. And from there, the Middle East will reform itself. Without the US, propping up the relative tranquility in the region, players may need to consider the most unlikely of allies.
It’s a little too early to make predictions, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll see unusual changes form up in the decades to come, like say a pro-Western post-Revolutionary Iran, a pro-Chinese Yemen or even a neo-Imperial Egypt/Turkey attempting to impose itself on the rest of the region. Yes, these predictions are farfetched, but then again so was the Israeli/Gulf State rapprochement several years ago./PN
