The region and international community are confronted with a long overdue appointment: The confrontation of the militias that have led to the collapse of several Arab countries.
Now, these militias are threatening the international community by obstructing international marine navigation, effectively disrupting the global economy, and are also threatening to expand the conflict in the region.
The international community, including the United States and Europe, are being confronted with an issue they have long ignored in Iraq: pro-Iran militias.
I won't get into why they have ignored those militias, but it was due to political short-sightedness dating back to the Bush administration and the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Today, Washington has had to target the leaderships of the al-Nujaba militia in Iraq in response to attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria. Washington has willingly ignored these militias and what they have done and continue to do in Iraq.
The international community, including the United States and Europe, are being confronted with another issue: How to deal with Hezbollah, which is on the verge of a destructive war against Lebanon. The party has turned Beirut into a war room where it manages pro-Iran militias in the region.
Observers will notice the western media’s intense reporting on the militias in our region - that they view as a new discovery – and the danger they pose.
Today, Washington is amassing a naval force to protect marine navigation from Houthi attacks on shipping vessels after it had completely ignored the danger from Yemen for over ten years.
In sum, what had long been ignored in the region for decades is now demanding urgent international intervention because the harm is reaching everyone in the region and international community and it is also threatening to expand the war in Gaza.
Lebanon is the country most likely to join the war. The reasons for this are many, including Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to extend his political career and drag Hezbollah into the developments in the region. Hassan Nasrallah is now seen as Qassem Soleimani’s replacement in running the militias in the region.
And so, the region needs now, more than ever, a new strategy to deal with the militias that have destroyed Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. These militias also created divisions among the Palestinians to prevent the rise of a capable authority that could protect the Palestinian cause.
A real strategy demands Arab, American and international cooperation to confront the danger of the militias on the region. This must go beyond limited military operations in response to drone attacks in the region.
A clear strategy must be devised and it must tackle the reasons for which these militias were formed. It must start with seriously reviving the peace process that commits to a timeframe and path.
A political solution must be implemented in Syria in line with a timeframe and Arab and international commitments. The same applies to Yemen, which is now very close to signing a peace process.
The sectarianism in Iraq must also be addressed because the current situation must not go on.
A real strategy is needed so that Arab countries would not have to describe the region as a “place of death”, which was the term used at the UN to describe Gaza.
