A Syria-Turkey-Iran triangle in the making

• Last Updated: October 14. 2009 9:37PM UAE / October 14. 2009 5:37PM GMT

Syrian-Turkish relations are rapidly evolving on all fronts, noted the pan-Arab daily Al Quds al Arabi in its main leader. The two parties have signed an agreement to establish a free trade zone and to waive entry visas for the citizens of both states.

“Syria has started to look northwards to break out of its isolation in the Arab world, which had been imposed on it by Saudi Arabia and Egypt at a time when many differences arose over Lebanon.”

At the same time, Turkey has about-faced eastwards and started to embrace its Ottoman legacy after its efforts to join the EU proved to be fruitless.

It is not yet clear how this Syrian-Turkish entente will influence the region’s alliances. Countries like Egypt, for instance, are quite “embarrassed” by Turkey’s dynamism. Syria itself thinks Turkey would become a serious challenger if it gains full access to the Arab region by championing all its major causes, especially Palestine’s.

Now, adding Iran to the equation, a Damascus-Ankara-Tehran triangle would appear to be edging its way to replace the older Damascus-Cairo-Riyadh bloc which has governed the region for over 30 years.

Palestinain infighting bolsters Netanyahu

While the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal ,were exchanging accusations and jibes, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was speaking to the Knesset, pledging to defy the Goldstone report and make sure that no Israeli official is brought before the International Court of Justice, wrote Tariq al Homayed, the editor-in-chief of the London-based daily Asharq al Awsat.

“Hamas, after attacking the report and accusing its presenter, Richard Goldstone, of being a Jew at the service of Israel, has reversed it position and now sees in the report a convenient opportunity to hit more than one bird with a single stone.”

Hamas wants to cleanse its own slate while sullying that of Abbas and absolve itself from accusations of irresponsible behaviour which led to Israel’s attack on Gaza last December.

Of course, Israel comes out the sole winner of inter-Palestinian upheaval. Mr Netanyahu has actually used Mr Abbas and Mr Mashaal as crutches to heave himself up and face Israeli public opinion.

“The Palestinians, especially Hamas, have agreed to seal the reconciliation deal in Cairo despite the postponement of the vote on Goldstone’s report. That would have been wiser and more beneficial. The report will still be there waiting for them to push for its enforcement.”

Obama’s ordeal in Afghanistan lingers

Afghanistan became a pivotal issue during the US president Barack Obama’s election campaign when he vowed to pull out all US troops from Iraq and focus on Afghanistan to stamp out terrorism at its roots, wrote Khaled al Sergany in the comment pages of the Emirati daily Al Bayan.

“Of course, this perspective was not devoid of electoral pragmatism. The Democratic candidate was concerned about US conservatives accusing him of faltering because of his pullout call, so he wagered on enlarging the war in Afghanistan.”

Now Mr Obama is in a tough situation not only because he has to dispatch more troops to Afghanistan amid growing international resentment against the war in general, but also because his efforts to satisfy the urgent demands of his generals coincide with the unpredictable decisions by other Nato states to reduce their presence in the country or withdraw their forces altogether.

Other options available for Mr Obama are even tougher as they may run counter to stated US policies. For instance, Middle Asia experts suggest that direct dialogue with the Taliban may be the US’s best bet. They argue that there is a big difference between Taliban and al Qa’eda. But doing so would flagrantly contradict the discourse that US officials had maintained during the beginning of the war when they made no distinction whatsoever between the two groups.

Egypt ignores steep unmarried figures

No substantial reaction has emerged after the Egyptian public mobilisation and statistics agency issued its report on the number of single women who are thought to be past the age of marriage in the country, commented Mohammed Amin in the opinion section of the Egyptian newspaper Al Wafd.

“No fuss or debate began after Maj Gen Abu Bakr al Goundi announced that there are 13 million spinsters in Egypt. I thought these figures would resound like an explosion, but, to my dismay, no one moved a little finger; not the government, not civil society, not religious authorities.

The Muslim leadership is immersed in other issues such as the niqab or veil, whether it is mandatory, recommended or optional. “But when are we going to address this issue of spinsterhood in the country? It is certainly no less serious than national security issues.”

The sensitivity of the issue makes ignoring it a more comfortable option for some, at a time when the most sensible thing to do is sound the alarm, work towards relaxing the socio-economic complications that surround marriage and assist young couples in acquiring decent housing.

* Digest compiled by Achraf A ElBahi

aelbahi@thenational.ae