Is Saudi Arabia's alliance with Turkey and Pakistan just keeping rivals inside the tent pissing out?
I've noted that Saudi Arabia is in a precarious position:
Arab states in the Middle East can't be sleeping as well at night as they look around and see rival Moslem powers ringing the Middle East vying for the loyalties of Arab Moslems.
Rival non-Arab powers like Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan ring the Arab Gulf region. And Israel, of course.
Not to mention internal threats from a Shia minority and Sunni Islamists who want the Saudi government to be more overtly and aggressively Islamist.
Saudi Arabia is wealthy but militarily weak. It has "target" written all over it. Lots of high-tech weapons. But without hired contractors could the planes fly or fight? Yes, Egypt is potentially a sword to help the Saudis. But Egypt is broke and needs lots of subsidies to have an impact on the balance.
Which makes me wonder a couple things. Is Saudi Arabia's alliance this year with Pakistan (already an ally) and Turkey an effort to get rivals outside the Saudi tent to come inside to isolate Iran rather than risk an alignment of non-Arab states against Saudi Arabia?
And is this alliance a means to stiff-arm Saudi normalization of relations with Israel or a means to enable restored relations and joining the Abraham Accords by highlighting a Moslem counter-weight?
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NOTE: Map from here.
