TODAY, Iraq embarks on the development and rebuilding stage, even though the speed in overcoming past tribulations and removing their effects was halted by consecutive wars. The best remedy is to stop the extremist sectarian expansion orchestrated by the Tehran regime.
The dose of major support and opening doors of cooperation between Riyadh and Baghdad are considered the treatment and vaccination for the division ailment. The Iranian regime took advantage of the pains suffered by Iraqis for years to market its scheme. Today, the scheme is breathing its last in the entire region.
Iraq has been living a miserable life over the past years due to its unstable security. Its good people — both the Sunnis and Shias — are blaming Arab countries, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for not being active enough as they see Iranian interference in every detail of their lives.
At the time, they did not realize that the position taken by Gulf nations was aimed at avoiding sectarian war fueled by internal divisions after the major Iranian sectarian call which started with the Khomeini coup against the Shah that portrayed Iraq as the backyard of Tehran.
Undoubtedly, everyone realized how sensitive the previous period was, especially after the ‘Arab Spring’ outbreak and chaos reigned in the region. They also realized that Iraq has always been in Iran’s schemes since 1979.
In addition, everyone realized the results of the politics of vengeance exercised by Khomeini’s regime in response to his expulsion from Baghdad, and the provocative terrorist operations resulting in war which lasted for eight years.
Therefore, it is not advisable to deal with exploding Iraq in a manner that could fuel internal conflicts due to awareness of the Gulf countries that Iraq is a barrel of gunpowder which can explode the entire region.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz heard all the media noises; hence, he has been working hard since he assumed power to redraw Saudi-Iraqi relations by liberating the latter from the claws of the sectarian monster propelled by the Mullah regime.
This is to ensure that the window where the wind to weaken the region blows through a group of people in accordance with the expansionism scheme is completely shut. All of this is being done calmly, quietly and wisely.
Hence, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques started his reign by closing the boycott gap between the Kingdom and Iraq which lasted for almost a quarter of a century. This is based on the fact that the role of the Kingdom — the big brother in the region — is to bring together, not to divide.
The Kingdom does not distinguish between the social calibers of Iraqis. The best means to crush the Iranian scheme is to snatch Iran’s motivations from its hands, especially concerning the issue of livelihood — a very sensitive issue. Iran openly exploited the issue by cutting water and electricity in the South which is considered the natural habitat for its scheme.
The Saudi-Iraqi relations developed in recent years in a manner applauded by everyone. Thus, this relationship was crowned with the major initiatives that Riyadh announced concerning several consulates, visits of business delegations consisting of about a hundred people, grants of about a billion dollars awarded by the King, and construction of a sports city and modern road network linking the two countries.
This aid was added to what the Kingdom and Kuwait have given over the past years to help Iraqis deal with tough situations, as well as ministerial visits by the two countries to Baghdad, and the launching of several development projects.
Undoubtedly, Iraq is heading towards a major construction workshop. Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have a wide range of industrial and services which enable them to extensively participate in this workshop to achieve the most important principle — success in making the political bridge through cooperation and economic openness.
Iraqis have been tested throughout the past years by the difference between the one who gives and does not take — Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states; and the one who gives terrorism and takes security, stability and life as Iran has been doing.
Therefore, the major challenge today for Iraqis is how to help themselves adhere to their pan-Arabism by shutting the doors through which the Iranian toxic wind passes.
This will enable the Iraqis to preoccupy themselves with the reconstruction of their country and get rid of the sectarian plague planted by the Mullah regime in a bid to revive the glory of the Persian Empire on the skulls and bones of Iraqis.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
