The Saudi researcher, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Thunayan, confirmed that the Nelson Center for Security, Military and Strategic Studies – which he recently opened in the British capital, London – will work on preparing objective research, studying and analyzing current and future security and military issues and their implications for the security of the Gulf and the Middle East. He lacks the Arab security establishment, praising the Saudi security successes in the fight against terrorism… Let's go into the details:
• At the beginning of the Qatari crisis, she appeared on the BBC with an ambiguous and unclear stance.. Now that the crisis is entering its fifth month, what is your position on it? How do you see the future with it?
A: My position was and still is clear on the Qatari crisis. That the Qatari regime tried to play the role of the brawler in the region, and assumed a role greater than its size over the past two decades, at a time when the Kingdom was practicing a policy of restraint, taking into account the fraternal relations and ties of kinship between the two peoples, but after Qatar persisted, the Kingdom could not continue In its tolerant approach, it was necessary to deliver a firm message to the Qatari regime to stop its destructive policies in the region, otherwise it must bear the consequences of that.
As for the BBC interview, my opinion was clear. As I was only talking about the professional side of the media and not about the political, economic or social side, and the interview was mainly about the subject of the commitment of the parties in dealing with the media dealing with the beginnings of the crisis, as some media outlets dealing with the crisis were not committed to professional rules, and it was not in a satisfactory manner. It is hoped.
• The Nelson Center for Security and Strategic Studies was recently established in London.. Why Britain? Why wasn't he in Saudi Arabia, for example?
•• Activating the role of research and studies centers, or what is known in the West as think tanks, has become one of the requirements of political, economic, media, academic, social and developmental necessities. As the best way to deliver specialized knowledge.
The establishment of the Nelson Center for Security and Strategic Studies and its adoption of the city of London in the United Kingdom as a major center for several considerations, including the fact that the United Kingdom is the original home of think tanks in the modern era; For example, the establishment of the Royal Institute for Defense Studies dates back to 1831, and today the number of think tanks in Britain is nearly three hundred centers in various fields and has an effective global influence, especially with regard to economic and social development, public policy, defense, security and foreign affairs, and thus Britain is the third country in The world in terms of the number of such centers after the United States and China. This feature allows us to forge strong relationships with these centers, attract distinguished scientific and research competencies, and get acquainted closely with different experiences, expertise, viewpoints and opinions, and transfer them to our Arab world.
Despite the transfer of the international decision-making center from London to Washington after the demise of the British Empire, London still maintains many historical, political, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world in general and strong security and economic relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in particular, in addition to being a global center. chief in the field of business and finance; Today, it has the fifth strongest economy in the world, and it is a permanent member of the Security Council.
The other matter is the importance of the geographical location, as Britain is in Europe and close to the Arab region. It also possesses advanced military and technological industries, especially in the field of combating terrorism and information security, and is an advanced training center in all fields.
Collaboration challenges
• How do you see the future of Gulf-British relations?
Last December 2016, the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Britain agreed to launch a strategic partnership to enhance closer relations in all fields, including political, defense, security, trade, cultural and social, and to develop collective solutions to regional issues to achieve common interests in stability and prosperity. .
British relations with the Gulf countries go back more than 200 years, and today, with the start of the United Kingdom’s exit procedures from the European Union, working with the Gulf countries will be one of the priorities of the British government for trade and economic relations, as it will work more closely with the business sector in order to encourage activity economy and raise it to greater levels.
We may recall that Theresa May was the first British prime minister to attend the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council when its 37th session was held on December 6, 2016 in Manama, and at that time she declared her country's support and commitment to the security and stability of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and her intention to make London the capital of Islamic investment, and she said : «Gulf security now is our security, and therefore we are investing there, and it is not only about military force; We must work together to respond to various threats, and therefore we will reach new cooperation agreements to prevent extremism and tackle terrorism.
From the foregoing, it seems that the Gulf-British relations are heading towards more cooperation, especially in light of the challenges facing the GCC countries as well as the United Kingdom.
• The Middle East region is unstable in security and is witnessing multiple disturbances in this regard.. As a security or military expert, how do you read what is happening now in this region?
•• The state of security instability in the Middle East is no longer a regional matter only after it intersected and intertwined with international interests. It seemed that many countries in the region, which gained their independence since the middle of the last century, were unable to fulfill the brilliant promises they made to their people, and were unable to face any of the major challenges, which resulted in weakness and deterioration in systems and institutions. This led to the production of societies and governments that were unable to perform their functions. basic, upgrading and progress, thus resulting in the creation of new conflicts. A fleeting glimpse of the radical changes in the local and regional political scenes in the region is enough to make you realize the extent of the danger that the countries of the region face after some security challenges have reached their peak. And when we talk about security threats, we do not mean only military threats and acts of violence and terrorism, but we mean all elements of national security for the region, including intellectual, political, economic, food and water security. With regard to the Arab Gulf states, the dangers and security challenges they face are very serious, requiring formulating a special role for them and working to strengthen the policy of dialogue and cooperation.
political interests
• Why did London choose the headquarters of the Nelson Center?
•• One of the advantages of the city of London is that it is a center of attraction for the elite of professional cadres, so that it was awarded the title of the capital of talent in 2013. This city, which has an estimated population of nearly 9 million people, includes thousands of highly qualified cadres not only from within the United Kingdom, but also from all over the world. London also hosts dozens of British, European and American universities and colleges, in addition to a large number of research centers and scientific and professional societies. All of this provides a suitable environment for distinguished competencies, which the Center is keen to attract and benefit from.
• What do you think is lacking in the Arab security establishment at the present time? How can Arab security cooperation be strengthened in reality rather than in theory?
•• Arab security institutions in general need a restructuring that includes a set of policies and programs that lead to the development of the security facility to become more capable of performing its duties. Perhaps here we can cite the Kingdom's pioneering experience aimed at developing the security sectors in accordance with the latest administrative regulations to be at the highest levels of readiness to keep abreast of developments and developments, and to face all security challenges with a high level of flexibility, readiness and the ability to move quickly to face any emergency.
The most prominent lack of security institutions in a large number of Arab countries includes poor professionalism in general, lack of separation between security services and political interests, and poor training and familiarity with modern technologies at the organizational and technological level.
In short, we can say that developing the capacity of Arab security institutions requires, at this stage, permanent reliance on a scientific basis based on benefiting from expertise and specializations, studying previous plans and benefiting from previous experiences with regard to human, material, organizational and legislative components.
As for strengthening Arab security cooperation, it lies in strengthening and developing the competencies of security institutions, as previously mentioned. The second, and more important, is the separation between the security agencies and the political interests of states.
Prepared by: Ali Makki