DAVID PRINTY
Healthcare Advisor
1:27 PM 12/01/2016
President Obama has positioned the Middle East for an extensive and destructive period of great consequence which has the potential for world-wide impact far beyond the current refugee and terror crisis. The images of bloodied children in Syria and Yemen are grave examples of a selfish lack of respect for the Middle Eastern people, their culture and religions. Another example is Obama not recognizing that Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, believes he is in the actual lineage of the Prophet Mohammad. Hosseini Khamenei’s theological position makes him (in his opinion) the religious leader over the entire Muslim world! Can you imagine how the peaceful countries of the Gulf Cooperative Council view this dangerous situation? Obama’s apparent disregard for the value of the people in Muslim majority countries and their sectarian residents has placed all our allies in the Middle East in grave danger.
The cornerstone of Obama’s dangerous and politically driven strategy was laid in secret by Secretary Clinton’s State Department in Muscat Oman. Obama’s personal goal of a Nuclear Treaty with Iran kicked-off the cash flow from Arab counties to the Clinton Foundation and speaking agreements for Bill Clinton. This action was added to Obama’s determination to remove all US military support for “keeping the peace” after the hard-won success of the troop surge. The announcement of the date for the departure of all US Troops is an example of Obama’s total disregard for the welfare of Iraqi citizens and peace in the greater Gulf Region. The impact of the Arab Spring magnified the lack of a coherent strategy in the Obama/Clinton Administration. The support of the Muslim Brotherhood by Obama discredited the US standing with Allies and helped divide many GCC partners, resulting in the recalling their Ambassadors to Qatar. The Arab world knew the danger of Obama’s actions and thought they could influence President Obama through Hillary and Bill Clinton. No one should blame our Arab friends from doing all they could to protect their people from Obama’s naïve actions.
One early prosecutor of Obama’s plan was the late Richard Holbrooke. Holbrook worked to redirect GCC humanitarian funding so that those funds would line up with Obama’s desire to exit Iraq and Afghanistan. One example outlines the UAE’s generous heart to improve healthcare for the people of Afghanistan. Holbrooke made it very clear on a visit to Abu Dhabi that Obama did not want any US organization to make a further commitment to the Afghan conflict. Note: The UAE proceeded on their own to deliver care in the Helmand Province at great danger to their military healthcare staff. UAE produced a documentary film covering this commitment to the Afghan people.
President Obama’s and Mrs. Clinton’s most egregious disregard for the people of the Middle East was the Iranian Nuclear Treaty. European leaders are complicit, but Obama, Clinton and Kerry persuaded them to think only of their personal political standings and not the affected people living on or near the borders of Iran. In the face of Iran’s criminal actions in Yemen, and by Iran supplying Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists with weapons, including missiles, Obama caved to Iranian demands for hard currency which in turn was traded for American lives for a worthless signature of by Iran.
All these US actions took place just as the Gulf Cooperative Council countries were developing expanded opportunities for their citizens in the areas of improvements in education, healthcare and promising careers for their young men and women. The United Arab Emirates provided a real example of respect for all their citizens by sending a flight of F-16s, led by a female pilot, against ISIS after the public, fiery torture of a Jordanian pilot in 2014. Saudi Arabia and the UAE answered the call of the legitimate government of Yemen by sending troops and aerial attacks to push back Iranian-supported and directed rebels. The UAE martyrs shocked the souls of the UAE people but did not deter their commitment to free the Yemeni people from the Houthi insurgency.
If Obama had been a respectful student of the Quran and taken time to listen to our friends in the Middle East, he would have known that Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei had no intention to honor any agreement with non-Muslims, given his perceived role as an apostle of the Prophet Mohammed. Khamenei’s interpretation of the Quran supports his every action and emboldens his aggressive behaviors.
It is time to bring the suffering of millions to an end. The citizens of the Middle East have every right to live in peace and harmony. It is time for the United States of America to be a reliable and trusted partner to the Gulf Cooperative Council Countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Israel, to crush ISIS and contain the Iranian regime’s destructive ambitions.
David Printy is a healthcare executive who lived in the Middle East from 2006-2014, leading and advising in the delivery of health care in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. He currently advises Arab Gulf Region and India based Private Equity and healthcare organizations.
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