We are with Saudi Arabia

“Life and death became equal to us. There is no more Kuwait or Saudi Arabia- they are single country. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should remain together or end together- one will not remain without the other.” Said the late King Fahad bin Abdualziz August 1990.

This article is going to focus on Saudi Arabia without undermining the role played by governments and peoples of other GCC states and other brotherly Arab countries in the just war for the liberation of Kuwait a quarter of a century ago. However the focus here is on the role played by the leadership and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the blood they sacrificed and difficulties they experienced in order to restore the rights of Kuwaitis and to liberate its land.

The reason for focusing on Saudi Arabia is the enormous attacks this great country is currently facing on various fronts. Targeting Saudi means to target all GCC states and the entire Arab world with no exception. These offences against the Kingdom are a similar in scale to the historical Kuwait invasion and have aroused a similar level of passion to that of the Saudi’s regarding the freedom of Kuwait occurring around the 25th anniversary of the Desert Storm Operation to liberate the country from Iraqi occupation. That war was rapidly over and was associated with massive losses and sacrifices in order to rid Kuwait of the occupation.

Late at night on the16th and in the early morning of the 17th of January 1991 the international coalition forces launched the ‘Desert Storm’ operation from the Saudi lands. It was a special night in which Saudi Arabia offered everything to liberate Kuwait rejecting any solution which did not include the liberation of Kuwait and the complete withdrawal of Iraqi troops to the border of before August 2nd 1990 without any conditions.

The Kingdom then faced missile attacks including its capital Riyadh which was attacked by Scud rockets. This never affected its determination and instead it stood firmly against the aggression. The Government and the people of Saudi Arabia received the leadership of Kuwait including the then late Emir of Kuwait- Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah and the crown Sheikh Sa’ad Al Abdullah Al Sabah in addition to groups of civilian Kuwaitis who were forced to leave the country. The Kuwaitis found a warm welcome in their second homeland from their brothers and sisters who opened their homes to them and showed solidarity.

These days Saudi Arabia is facing fierce attacks and enmity including the Western media campaign and attacks on its diplomatic headquarters in Tehran and Mashad city. This is in addition to the Iranian dagger whose head exists in Sa’ada Yemen its handle in Beirut its middle in Baghdad and whose wounds are found in Damascus Aleppo Homs and the entire Syrian lands. It is facing sectarian attacks from Tehran terrorists barking from Raqqa threats from Baghdad and disappointment from Lebanon and all these are supported by Western media campaigns reflecting hidden hypocrisies.

It is not fair to say that Saudi Arabia has angelic polices or it is a utopia but I could say ‘ungrateful’ to anyone think it is hell. I would like to remind Arab nationalists that Saudi is the largest and oldest united Arab state in terms of area; it is the guardian of the main Islamic sites of pilgrimage and a destination for millions looking for decent life. It is time to remind those who critize Saudi Arabia that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not interfere in the internal affairs of others does not sponsor political assassinations or intelligence operations or conspire against anyone or impose a Caliphate on anybody.

Rather it is known for its solid position against any ambitions conspiracies or terrorism deriving its strength from its military political and economic strengths as well as a long history of resistance and deep confidence in its faith and its capacity to remain a castle of steadfastness not only for the GCC region but for the whole Arab nation.

As a Kuwaiti I express my gratitude devotion and magnanimity to Saudi recalling their fateful sacrifices for my country and people. Furthermore I am aware of the common destiny of our region which requires standing united beside the Kingdom in its battle against Iran’s ambitions. Iran is adopting destructive policies such as insisting on interfering in our internal affairs and the recent unveiling of its intelligence network in Kuwait is a good example.

For the misled people I would like to assure them that Saudi Arabia will remain a safe haven for the honest and oppressed the Qibla for prayers the heart of the Arab nation and the origin of Islam. Therefore it is a historical duty to stand beside it and support its right to defend itself.

Recalling the words of the late King Fahad bin AbdulAziz I would like to say: “We will be beside the Kingdom because solidarity with it is solidarity with ourselves and we should remain a united nation to end all the nefarious ambitions of dreamers”.

The writer is an academicand media expert.