Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition has been praised as a historic organisation which not only benefits a military purpose but also takes the ideological war against those who use terror in the expression of Islam. The takeoff of Saudi Arabia’s new Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) was practically neglected in the West as much of the emphasis was on the current turmoil in the Middle East.
However, for the countries concerned– and particularly the three dominant participants of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan — the initiative was considered an effective event that could alter the course of the region. The IMCTC is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) brainchild. The first hint of its appearance came in March 2016 with the region’s largest-ever military exercise, Northern Thunder. Hosted by KSA, more than 300,000 soldiers took part and over 2,000 fighter aircraft took part in Northern Thunder.
In early 2017, the concept of an Islamic NATO was floated by Riyadh, based on the harmony of the Muslim ‘ummah’ – a fraternity of Islamic communities – which would guarantee that their destiny lay their own hands rather than depending on the West. The IMCTC is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s brainchild
The IMCTC drives the ‘ummah’ unity narrative, some major Muslim nations are ignoring the coalition, such as Iran, Iraq and Syria, causing fears that it is only an anti-Shia ‘Sunni bloc’. These fears were heightened by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation announcement in Riyadh – later abandoned– over the power of Iran’s proxy Hezbollah.
The commander of the coalition, General Raheel Sharif — who quit in 2016 after serving as the powerful army chief of Pakistan, the coalition’s most extensive and only nuclear-armed force – rejects this anti-Iran narrative.‘This coalition is against terrorism. It is not against any country, sect or religion, he expressed in Riyadh. As he laid out the main purposes of the coalition — fighting terrorism tactically as a military force, targeting terror financing and opposing the psychological warfare by the radicals – Sharif was obvious about the IMCTC’s mission,
Groups have different strengths. For example, the Jordanians are prominent in urban counterterrorism. The Pakistanis are well versed in working in rural, less developed areas. Using the resources of militaries which have sufficiently– such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE – to help out countries with less, such as those in Africa, will optimise the partnership. Of course, intelligence sharing will be the fundamental building block of operational capacity, and will also translate into more significant gains, like ending the war in Afghanistan.
However, despite the reassurances, with Qatar being denied trade access routes by the Saudis, Egyptians and Emiratis, and as Yemen descends even further in a cycle of violence, the region can ill-afford another major division.
Saudi Arabia feels secure, or at least it should, when its branches are all right. ‘Saudi security’ is based on an old strategy that withstood the differences of times, leaders and the world around it; a strategy that always requires a strong Pakistan in the east, and a powerful and durable Egypt in the west, while maintaining good and unique relations with both countries so that it could safely advance with its foreign relations
With the IMCTC, the Saudis, with the support of Egypt, Pakistan and others, have taken the first step towards fulfilling Trump’s demand that they rely more on themselves than on the West.
Among the IMCTC’s first steps, Nigeria and Somalia was delivered capacity-building support, movement and even troops in a quest to stabilise the wider Middle East. The IMCTC has stated its aims to ‘take Islam back’ from non-state, radical actors by defeating them at their own game. The presence of senior Islamic clergy at the IMCTC launch reinforces this intention.
