Mick Hartley

Jamal says that in 1991, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Palestinian leader Arafat said in a speech before the Arab League that “the Kuwaiti problem will be solved only after the Palestinian Cause.” Palestine was a cause, but Kuwait — invaded and burnt down by a fellow Arab country — was only a problem. In 1991, only 12 out of 22 Arab League members voted against Iraq, six Gulf countries and the six others were bought off by wealthy Gulf governments.
This round, the line is even clearer since aggression is not by an Arab League member against another, but by a non-Arab foreign country against Arab countries, and yet, the Arab League is shameful and so are countries like Iraq, Algeria, Sudan’s Burhan government and West Libya government.
The Gulf is hurt and will not forget how fellow Arab countries let it down, like always citing Palestine as a distraction. When the shooting stops, I expect a few Gulf countries to rush to normalization with Israel. My money is on Kuwait, perhaps Saudi Arabia too.