US Air Defense Pact Called MEAD That's Getting Turned Down

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

     Tehran and their very large missile

Just what is this US Air Defense Pact?  The pact, called “MEAD — Middle East Air Defense,” is meant to connect air defense systems to combat Iran's increasing use of drones and missiles in the Middle East. Iran's statement comes ahead of US President Joe Biden's planned visit to Israel  and Saudi Arabia.    The plan was for nine Arab rulers to meet Biden for a unique summit to launch the first US-led regional air defense cooperation pact. Here are 3 kings and a president.                                                      

                                                    President of the UAE
                                                                                             

                                         King Abdullah of Jordan

  King of Morocco                                                  

                                          
                                                               King of Saudi Arabia

                                                             

Illustrative: Posters of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a US drone attack on January 3, 2020, are seen in front of Qiam, background left, Zolfaghar, top right, and Dezful missiles displayed in a missile capabilities exhibition by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini grand mosque, in Tehran, Iran, January 7, 2022 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Tehran says ‘entry of foreigners in the region’ is the ‘main cause of tension and regional rift.  “The entry of foreigners in the region… will not create security and stability but is itself the main cause of tension and regional rift,” ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, according to Reuters.’  

                     Israel's Defense Minister, Benny Gantz

Briefing lawmakers at the Knesset’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee last month, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the pact was “already in action” and that he hoped it would expand with Biden’s visit.  However, UAE opted out of US-planned air defense pact as Biden flew to Jeddah.

      Anwar Gargash, political advisor to Prince Zayed of UAE.

The United Arab Emirates knew this would upset  US President Joe Biden ahead of his arrival in Jeddah on Thursday, July 15 on the second leg of his Mid-East trip after Israel.  However, the UAE, a key member, got in first with a stunning announcement. Anwar Gargash, political adviser to Crown Prince Muhammed bin Zayed said “The United Arab Emirates will not be part of an ‘axis’ against Iran even…  if Tehran’s actions are not helping diplomatic efforts.” He further disclosed, “The UAE is working to send an ambassador to Tehran as it seeks to rebuild bridges with Iran. The idea of a confrontational approach to Tehran is not something Abu Dhabi supported.”

    Bisher al-Khasawneh, PM of Jordan

The UAE is important as they are part of the Abrahamic Accords with Israel.  They opted out  after an earlier knock from Amman.  Jordan’s prime minister Bisher al-Khasawneh, told the BBC, “Iran does not threaten Jordan’s national security, Jordan does not treat it as a threat, and is open to developing a healthy relationship with the Islamic Republic.”  

Last week, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh spoke in front of the parliament and made offensive, false, and insulting remarks against Israel. His use of extreme terminology is intolerable. Wanting to express support for the Palestinian rioters, he said that the Jews were “defiling Al-Aqsa Mosque.” This is a sharp terminology. In addition, following the clashes on the Temple Mount, Israel’s deputy ambassador to Jordan was summoned to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, where he was reprimanded. 

The US-backed pact reportedly involves the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt, plus Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with which Israel has no formal diplomatic relations. It builds on the 2020 Abraham accords between Israel and four Arab countries, including Sudan and Morocco.

The fact remains that Jordan and the UAE are of different strains of Islam from Iran.  They all read the Koran.  They follow the Sunni belief system while Iran follows the Shi'a and is an Islamic state with 98% of its people.Iran, 6th largest of Muslim states, has a population of 76,923,300, following the Jafari fiqh, and has 545,000 active troops, which is even more than Egypt has.    

Jordan had 5,568,565 people with 95% Muslim in 2011, while UAE had 5,432,746 with 76% Muslim.  They're comparable in population.  Jordan's main fiqh is Shafi'i while UAE's is Maliki;  both state religions.  A fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is often described as the human understanding and practices of the sharia, that is human understanding of the divine ...The difference is that Jordan's military power of active troops was 100,700 while UAE was 50,500.  

The 3 states all have slightly different interpretations of the Koran that rules their actions with Jordan and EAU being the closest.  

                                                    

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and US President Joe Biden participate in a welcoming ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2022 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

The highlight of his two and a half-day Israel trip was the Jerusalem Declaration he signed with Prime Minister Yair Lapid, in which the US vowed to use “all elements in its national power” to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, aside from protestations of undying friendship and the unshakable strategic partnership binding the two peoples, the two governments ended the visit at odds on at least two key issues.

 In particular, Biden stuck to his guns on diplomacy as the best way to achieve Iran’s nuclear disarmament. Lapid failed to push him into a commitment to act should dialogue fail or endorse the Israeli proposition that nothing but a credible military threat would provide the necessary deterrence.

The president also stood by his belief in a two-state resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, although he admitted it was “not near.”                                        

The only tangible achievement from the Biden trip was the gesture he obtained from Saudi Arabia to open its skies to Israeli carriers, although a breakthrough to normal relations with Riyadh was not in sight.  Saudi Arabia is the 14th state in size of Islamic states with 27,601,038 population with 100% Muslims.  They do not allow anyone else to live there.  They are Sunni but with Hanbali as their fiqh, and is an Islamic State for sure.  Their active troops number 199,500.  

 The Biden administration is urging Arab nations to team up with Israel to counter Iranian missiles, but continued mistrust and technological differences mean any kind of alliance could be years away.

Officials and experts say a more realistic goal would be for Israel to share some intelligence with Arab states, conduct tabletop exercises together and perhaps even purchase additional compatible weaponry. That’s more attainable than a regional defense shield linking shooters with radars, satellites and other sensors, they say.  At least relations are better than they were in 2016.  Back then, Jerusalem had ties with only Egypt and Jordan. But Tehran’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region, coupled with several deals brokered by the Trump administration, have drastically changed the diplomatic landscape.

Resource:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-israel-us-air-defense-pact-with-arabs-would-increase-tensions/#:~:text=The%20pact%2C%20called%20%E2%80%9CMEAD%20%E2%80%94,Saudi%20Arabia%20later%20this%20week.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/03/mirage-of-peace-joe-biden-ventures-into-middle-easts-shifting-sands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_Middle_Eastern_and_North_African_states

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/12/biden-middle-east-air-defense-alliance-00045423