The United States government and its Arab allies may have tactical differences, but strategically they are all plotting to eliminate “independent” states in the Middle East, says an American author and political analyst.
Speaking after the annual [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on Thursday, US President Barack Obama admitted that conflicts of opinion do exist between Washington and the six Persian Gulf monarchies—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
He said, however, that the US remains committed to protecting its regional partners and interests against any aggression.
In an interview with Press TV on Thursday, Chicago-based analyst Stephen Lendman said that despite their disagreements on tactic, the US and its Arab allies believe in the same strategies.
“A major difference between both sides is that Riyadh and the other [Persian] Gulf states want some of the same things that Washington wants but they want them done faster,” he explained.
Lendman noted that both Washington and the Arab regimes advocate regime change in Syria and seek to “eliminate” President Bashar al-Assad and replace him with “tyranny.”
Syria halted military operations against militant groups, except Daesh and al-Nusra Front, in a bid to bolster UN-brokered peace talks with the foreign-backed opposition groups in the wake of tattering “cessation of hostilities” that was mediated by the US and Russia and came into effect in late February.
But the talks hit a roadblock on April 19 when the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) left the table to protest at what they called escalating violence and restrictions on humanitarian access in Syria.
Following the suspension of talks, the Turkey-based Free Syrian Army and Ahrar al-Sham Takfiri terrorists announced the launch of new assaults in Latakia and Hama provinces.
“This so-called cessation of hostilities and the peace talks, I think they were just cover; meaningless cover accomplishing nothing,” Lendman said.
“The issue between Washington and the [Persian] Gulf states is the Arab states want all the independent ones in the region eliminated,” he further opined.