Arab Unity Remains a Desert Mirage
Saudi Arabia’s emergency summitry reveals the emptiness of the Gulf’s regional organizations.
Did you hear the one about an Arab NATO?
Photographer: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images
It was meant to be a demonstration of Saudi Arabia’s enormous convening authority in the Islamic world: in a 48-hour period last week, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz hosted a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and emergency meetings of the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Instead, the gatherings in Mecca demonstrated the utter futility of these organizations. The Islamic world is more divided than ever, along fault-lines old and new, and the grandees who answered King Salman’s summons could scarcely be bothered to discuss any of the problems, much less offer solutions.