P2JW143000-0-A00800-1--------XA
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
A8 | Tuesday, May 23, 2017
WORLD NEWS
U.S. Shift Prompts Angst in Iraq, Lebanon
Some lawmakers fear
the administration’s
pivot will undermine
security in the region
President Donald Trump’s
overture to Muslim leaders in
Saudi Arabia has raised concern and anger in Shiite-majority Iraq and among the
By Maria Abi-Habib
in Beirut and
Margherita Stancati
in Riyadh
Christian, Shiite and Sunni
population in Lebanon, two of
America’s most important regional partners in the war on
terror, which maintain good
relations with Shiite Iran.
The president’s speech on
Sunday—which singled out
Tehran and its proxy, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah,
while cementing the U.S. alliance with Sunni power Saudi
Arabia—marked a departure
from the Obama administra-
tion’s efforts to engage Iran
and drew rebukes from Shiite
and Christian lawmakers, as
well as rights activists.
Lebanon stands to be most
affected by the new U.S. policy. Hezbollah wields significant political power at home
and is fighting in Syria to keep
ally Bashar al-Assad in power.
Mr. Trump’s approach could
end up alienating the government and its army, which the
U.S. considers one of the most
adept in the region in the fight
against Sunni terror groups al
Qaeda and Islamic State.
Lebanese politicians expressed concern their government would be drawn further
into the bitter regional power
struggle between Iran and its
allies and the Saudis and
theirs. Although Hezbollah has
government positions and a
powerful militia, the rest of
the government and national
military try to remain neutral
in regional affairs.
“We seek friendship with
everyone, but not at the stake
of our own nation,” said Alain
Sectarian Divides
Percentage of Muslim population that is Shiite
Iran
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Iraq
Lebanon
Yemen
Kuwait
Syria
Turkey
Saudi Arabia
U.A.E.
Oman
0%
25
50
75
100
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Source: Pew Research Center (2009)
Aoun, a Christian Lebanese
member of parliament. “We’re
worried. If U.S. and Iranian relations deteriorate dramatically, it will definitely sweep
up Lebanon.”
In Iraq, which has close ties
to both Iran and the U.S., law-
makers were angered by Mr.
Trump’s comments, which they
said would undermine their
country’s security by threatening Iran’s. Iraqi forces are currently fighting alongside American troops against Islamic State.
Iraqi lawmakers called for
the Saudi ambassador to be
summoned and rebuked for
the Riyadh conference that Mr.
Trump addressed on Sunday.
Parliamentarian Mohamed alSaihood on Monday called the
forum a “sectarian summit”
aimed against Shiites.
Mr. Trump’s speech glossed
over the Gulf’s past role in
spreading religious extremism
and played down U.S. interests
in protecting human rights in
the region.
Newly re-elected Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani responded defiantly on Monday.
He stood by Hezbollah. He also
said the path to peace in the
region was through dialogue,
but warned at the same time
that Iran would strike back if
struck first.
Sectarian rivalries are already helping to fuel multiple
wars in the Middle East. And
Saudi Arabia has a history of
interference in its neighbors’
affairs and stoking sectarian
tensions—notably in its current war against the Iranlinked Houthis in Yemen.
“The region needs less Saudi
and less Iran. Otherwise it’ll be
two models of governance, two
geopolitical contenders that
can deploy religion as a
weapon if and when needed,”
said Emile Hokayem, a senior
fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Secular citizens of the region and human-rights activists
also said they were dismayed
by Mr. Trump’s speech, which
signaled the U.S. wouldn’t push
for the Gulf to improve its human-rights record. Humanrights concerns were a point of
contention between the Obama
administration and America’s
traditional allies in the region.
“The speech oversimplified
the problems in the region or
ignored others altogether.
Trump didn’t talk about governance or the responsibility
of states to their citizens, issues which have fueled extremism,” Mr. Hokayem said.
—Ghassan Adnan
in Baghdad
and Asa Fitch in Dubai
contributed to this article.
Western Wall Visit Highlights
American-Israeli Differences
JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
BY RORY JONES
AND CAROL E. LEE
From left, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, national
security adviser H.R. McMaster and economic adviser Gary Cohn at the Western Wall on Monday.
© 2017 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ5501
JERUSALEM—President
Donald Trump became the
first serving U.S. leader to
visit the Western Wall, a
shrine holy to Jews that has
emerged as a source of discord
between the U.S. and Israel.
The disagreement between
the two allies over sovereign
claims to the wall touches on a
sensitive subject—not only for
Israel but for other Middle
East nations, including Jordan,
Egypt and Gulf states.
The wall lies in territory Israel captured from Jordan in
the 1967 Six-Day War, land
that Israel considers its own
and that Palestinians want as
part of a hoped-for future capital. The White House has refused to acknowledge that the
wall is in Israeli territory, instead saying it is located in
Jerusalem.
Israeli media last week reported that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu requested
to join Mr. Trump at the Western Wall, but was told by U.S.
officials that the wall wasn’t
in Israeli territory.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office then
issued a statement saying it
was shocked by the reported
U.S. comments. The State Department responded by questioning the accuracy of Israeli
media reports that outlined a
bitter argument between Israeli and U.S. officials.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday again refused
to say the wall is inside Israel.
Mr. Trump was accompanied to the wall by a Jewish
rabbi. Wearing a kippah head
covering, he placed his right
hand on the wall and rocked
back and forth, seemingly in
prayer. The president then left
a personal note in the crevices
of the wall, a common gesture.
In the current climate, Mr.
Trump’s visit to the wall
walked a fine line. The U.S.
leader showed he supports the
Jewish connection to Jerusalem while not endorsing Israel’s claim to the holy site.