If JASTA had not been vetoed

If American President Barack Obama had not vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), relations between the US and its historical allies would have been put through their most difficult test. If this vetoed decision does not last, the American crisis will renew not just with Saudi Arabia but with all countries.

These are the last days of the Obama administration. Its management of international balances for the last eight years has been weak. This is not the opinion of an Arab or Saudi writer, but the product of thorough analyses by people such as Henry Kissinger and other experts.

In the veto message, Obama wrote: “JASTA threatens to create complications in our relationships with even our closest partners. If JASTA were enacted, courts could potentially consider even minimal allegations accusing US allies or partners of complicity in a particular terrorist attack in the US to be sufficient to open the door to litigation and wide-ranging discovery against a foreign country – for example, the country where an individual who later committed a terrorist act travelled from or became radicalized.”

Transformation

Transformation in American relations with their Gulf allies was not only due to the US. Vali Nasr, author of the book “The Dispensable Nation,” says US allies no longer desire to sit, listen and nod in approval whenever the US speaks.

Obama’s openness to historical enemies has influenced America’s balance in the Middle East, the region that specifies fates and where alliances are formed. What is more dangerous is that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton encourages leaving the Middle East and focusing on Asia.

This article was first published in Okaz on Sept. 26, 2016.
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Turki Aldakhil is the General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. He began his career as a print journalist, covering politics and culture for the Saudi newspapers Okaz, Al-Riyadh and Al-Watan. He then moved to pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat and pan-Arab news magazine Al-Majalla. Turki later became a radio correspondent for the French-owned pan-Arab Radio Monte Carlo and MBC FM. He proceeded to Elaph, an online news magazine and Alarabiya.net, the news channel’s online platform. Over a ten-year period, Dakhil’s weekly Al Arabiya talk show “Edaat” (Spotlights) provided an opportunity for proponents of Arab and Islamic social reform to make their case to a mass audience. Turki also owns Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre and Madarek Publishing House in Dubai. He has received several awards and honors, including the America Abroad Media annual award for his role in supporting civil society, human rights and advancing women’s roles in Gulf societies. He tweets @TurkiAldakhil.