ALGERIAN PATRIOTS - ENGLISH

One constant has emerged in Middle Eastern conflicts since the early 2000s: war is not always waged by those who fund it — but it is often paid for by the same players. From the 2011 war against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya to the current tensions with Iran, several Gulf powers — particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have played the role of silent financiers of wars carried out by others, primarily the United States and its allies. The Libyan Precedent: A NATO War Funded by the Gulf In 2011, the military campaign against Gaddafi, launched under a UN mandate and led by NATO, was heavily financed by Gulf monarchies. Qatar took an active role on the ground, supporting armed rebel groups, while the UAE and Saudi Arabia provided discreet diplomatic and logistical support. Although the war was framed as a humanitarian intervention in response to repression, it clearly served geopolitical aims: to eliminate a non-aligned leader, reshape the regional balance of power, a...

Since President Donald Trump’s official visit to Riyadh in 2017, U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East has undergone a profound transformation. This shift marked a clear departure from the Obama administration’s approach, which emphasized dialogue with “moderate” Islamist actors in the wake of the Arab Spring. Instead, the Trump doctrine favored a partnership with traditional Gulf monarchies, prioritizing economic growth and authoritarian stability over political reform and ideological pluralism. This article seeks to examine the implications of this paradigmatic shift, exploring the emergence of what may be termed “investment Islam” as a replacement for “political Islam”. It analyzes the resulting transformations in regional power dynamics, evaluates the reliability of emerging narratives, and offers a critical perspective on the new U.S.-led framework for Middle Eastern order. 1. From Obama’s “Moderate Islam” to Trump’s “Profit-Driven Islam” The Obama administration’s Middle Eas...