On The Thinking Muslim this week, I spoke with Dr Andreas Krieg about a sinister network of malign actors who have arguably wreaked havoc across Africa and the Middle East by subverting civil societies, sabotaging democracies and fueling the flames of civil war.
Dr. Andreas Krieg discusses what very few are willing to say out loud for fear of reprisal. Namely, how the ruling elite of Abu Dhabi, through warlords and corporate mercenaries, were able to curate a Machiavellianesque strategy to further authoritarian, secular interests at the expense of and with little regard to the suffering of millions of people across the region.
The UAE has curated a string of anti-revolutionary non-state actors across the Middle East to serve the state’s deeply secular interests. Abu Dhabi has waged a war against Islamic civil society and non-state actors under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” and today acts as the primary means by which the small but effective federation of seven emirates prevents the rise of independent states in the Middle East.
Behind every foiled attempt to wrestle power from Arab dictators is the UAE, which has used its petrodollars and economic prowess to curtail civil society activism. Its deep alliance with Israel and its Zionist project have given the UAE an unprecedented means to act as a spoiler in the region. We explore the tentacles of this project and its impact upon the hopes of much of ordinary Arab Muslim society.
The UAE is probably the primary malign actor in the Middle East and Israel’s closest Arab ally.
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