Tariq Al-Homayed
Saudi journalist and writer, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper
TT

‘The Best Barber on This Street’

Since the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the return of the Taliban to power, I have asked all the experts and observers that I spoke with: Are you now concerned about what might result from the negotiations between the United States and the West generally, and Iran over its nuclear program?

I have yet to hear a convincing answer to my query. However, the course of events, as well as all statements from the Americans, prompt the observer to be more disconcerted. Statements from the US administration do not deviate from a single cliché: the necessity of a diplomatic solution.

No party rejects a diplomatic solution altogether, but how could such a solution be achieved? Is it conducted in the manner it was in Afghanistan? Is the path to set a date for withdrawal after an agreement whose contents were not announced and whose terms were not clearly articulated, followed by withdrawal and a return to square one?

Those who follow US statements and actions in the region, and in its surroundings, cannot see plans or strategic action, but rather empty ornamented rhetoric focused only on the need to find “diplomatic solutions,” engage on the basis of “human rights”, and the need for “democratic action.” All of these talking points became obsolete with the return of the Taliban to power.

Take, for example, the American position on Houthi terrorism. Despite a litany of Houthi crimes, the US State Department continues to call on them to engage in the political process. The question is: How? This prompted one American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, to write a hard-hitting editorial with a remarkable headline: “We Once Again Urge…” The editorial criticizes the US State Department’s lenient statements regarding the Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The truth is that following the withdrawal from Afghanistan and handing over the country back to the Taliban without guarantees to preserve any gains for Afghans, even women and civil society there, US positions and statements no longer carry any meaning.

Therefore, one is prompted to ask: Who can guarantee that the Vienna agreement will not be at the expense of Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen? Is the Vienna agreement dissimilar to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan? There is no problem with a US withdrawal from the region. Rather, the problem is in giving Iran what it does not have and does not deserve.

Let us say, for instance, that Bashar al-Assad were to emerge and claim what the Taliban is now claiming, that he hopes for normal ties with the international community and the US and that he will uphold freedom of expression and stand against terrorism, and all the other claims of this kind. Who, then, could guarantee that Washington will not strike a deal with Assad, rushing faster than some Arab countries are to normalize ties with his regime?

Who can guarantee that this outcome will be prevented, even if at Iranian advice to lift the pressure on Assad, since Syria is one of the most significant spheres of Iranian influence - even more important than Iraq as Syria grants Iran an outlet to Lebanon, the Mediterranean, and a pressure card against the Israelis?

Here, someone might say: What about the countries of the region? Are they ready for this ambiguous situation with Washington today? The best answer can be derived from a story that I have heard from a person of considerable life experience, a story with a profound lesson, which goes: “A man opens a barbershop, and immediately two other barbershops open right next to him. The first named his shop ‘the best barber in the world’ and the second ‘the best barber in town’.

“The man was frustrated as to what to call his shop until someone advised him to name his shop ‘the best barber on this street!’” This, therefore, is the solution, to take care of our own countries and our surroundings, as those who are strong domestically and in their immediate vicinity will be stronger and more prepared for external rivals and threats.