The prince cited the Saudi monarchy's continued arming of the Syrian opposition as proof of its independence. He could have also raised its involvement in the fighting in Iraq. It is there that the shift in US policy is best exemplified, where Washington is now arming the Shia and pro-Iranian regime of Nour al-Maliki with 36 Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Block 52 fighters to combat the same Sunni Al Qaeda forces that were, until recently, employed as its proxies in neighbouring Syria.
In alliance with a new imperialist partner, Saudi Arabia has pledged a massive $3 billion to pay for weapons being supplied by the government of French President Francois Hollande to the Lebanese army in order to target Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and Syria.
These sordid maneuvers prove only that every imperialist power abides by Lord Palmerston's injunction, "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."
What is taking place in the Middle East is naked imperialist power politics, in which it is entirely possible that, at least for a time, yesterday's enemies can become today's allies and vice-versa.
However, whether or not the Middle Eastern regimes occasionally portray themselves as "anti-imperialist" is solely conditioned by tactical considerations, above all the need to pose as such before their own populations. To the extent that any of the region's bourgeois powers find themselves in conflict with the US, they desire nothing more than an accommodation that allows them to continue to preside over the exploitation of the working class and rural poor.
Sectarianism and clan rivalries are not atavistic survivals of a bygone era. They are utilized as an instrument for maintaining a grip over the workers and peasants and fostering support for contending bourgeois regimes. This has been given additional weight by the failure of secular nationalist movements and regimes -- in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Palestine -- to provide a genuine and viable means of combating foreign domination and securing social progress.
The Middle East today stands first of all as proof of the malignant role of imperialism in forcing the mass of the world's people to suffer grinding poverty, brutal levels of exploitation and the ever growing danger of war. Secondly, it is stark confirmation of the inability of the national bourgeoisie to oppose imperialist oppression.
The only consistently anti-imperialist force in the world is the international working class. The fundamental task facing the workers of the Middle East is the construction of a new socialist movement that makes its appeal across all artificial national and religious distinctions. In turn, workers in the US and other imperialist countries must reject with contempt the cynical efforts by the New York Times et al, to legitimize or conceal their governments' predatory designs on the world's strategic markets and resources through the building of a powerful socialist anti-war movement.
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