The State of the Arab Family

Smiles and cordiality seemed the order of the day as the 22-member countries of the Arab League gathered this past week in Kuwait for their 2-day annual meeting. Nothing in the way of dispute or demonstration was evident. But even a slight scratching of the veneer revealed such a different reality.

Not so subtle snubs abounded. Thus, the United Arab Emirates sent along as their summit representative Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, the ruler of Fujairah, the least influential of the seven emirates that make up the UAE. But it was the Saudis who seemed particularly bent on singular behavior. Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who flew back to Riyadh after just the first day of the summit, nonetheless managed during his one-day attendance to make clear his regime's continuing support for Syria's rebel Sunni opposition - and by implication his hatred of Syrian President Assad and Mr. Assad's patron, Shia-dominated Iran. Egypt's new military government is exactly what the rife-torn country now needs to foster stability, according to the Prince, and it is entirely justified in removing former Egyptian President Morsi, and in its persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed, the Prince went so far as to denounce Qatar's support for the Brotherhood, even withdrawing, earlier this month, the Saudi ambassador from Doha, the Qatari capital, and pressuring the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to do likewise. While at the Arab League summit, he reportedly instructed his host, the Kuwaiti emir, to butt out from attempts at mediating between the Qataris and himself. And when the Prince hosted President Obama in Riyadh one day after the summit, he suggested that America extend a bit more warmth towards Egypt's military leader (and probable new President) General al-Sisi, who has recently proceeded to renew a dialogue with Russia's Putin, another of President Assad's patrons.

So, given all this multi-level dissension within the Arab league countries, it is remarkable that the Kuwaitis managed to even hold, then conclude, the summit. (It's difficult to imagine next year's meeting, planned for Cairo, proceeding as smoothly.) A declaration read out at the end of the summit said only that the members of the Arab League would “pledge to work decisively to put a final end to divisions”. No one state, however, was called upon to take any specific measures in pursuit of this goal. Notably, and disappointingly for the Palestinians, there was no mention of the Israeli siege of Gaza, indeed, no expressed support at all for the Palestinians. It seemed, as Al Arabiya News commented, what mattered was "that the summit succeeds, not that the Arab states achieve anything".