Why Saudi Arabia’s “counter-terrorism coalition” is a non-starter?

Tabnak – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Sunday hosted the high-ranking officials of the so-called counter-terrorism coalition, in an effort to show Riyadh’s willingness to combat the international terrorist groups. However, political consideration had once again shadowed the anti-terrorist agenda of the meeting.

Riyadh summit came just days after ISIS terrorist group was totally drove out of the territories under its reign in Iraq and Syria. However, while Iran had a great role in defeating the terrorist group, it was absent at the meeting. Qatar was the other important absent, as its relations with Riyadh has recently come to the lowest-level.

In such circumstances, Saudi Arabia's assertive crown prince on Sunday opened the first high-level meeting of a kingdom-led alliance of Muslim nations against terrorism, vowing that extremists will no longer "tarnish our beautiful religion."

However, as The Independent notes, the alliance doesn't include Iran, Iraq or Syria, while member nation Qatar sent no one to attend the one-day Riyadh gathering amid a diplomatic standoff between Doha and four Arab nations led by the kingdom.

The alliance, initially announced with 34 nations, now includes 41, according the Saudi government. Addressing the defense ministers and other high-ranking officials, Crown Prince Mohammed said Sunday's meeting sends "a strong signal that we are going to work together and coordinate together to support each other."

Mohammed bin Salman, credited with forming an assertive regional policy, also announced that the coalition would mean increased military, political and financial co-operation against terrorism. The alliance comes after years of poor co-ordination amongst member-states, though according to the Financial Times, some fear it will cause deeper rifts between the Saudi kingdom and rival Iran.

DW News writes in an analysis that for the young crown prince, who has consolidated control over the country, the alliance is a way to show himself as the Arab world's leader at a time when the United States' leadership in the region is in question.

However, some critics dismiss the alliance as a propaganda exercise, likening Saudi Arabia's leadership role to having the fox watch over the henhouse. It has been pointed out that Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi ideology ultimately gave birth to violent terrorist groups, including al-Qaida and ISIS.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia this month passed a new counterterrorism law with vague and broad definitions of terrorism, Human Rights Watch said. Under the new legislation, criticism of the king and the crown prince has been criminalized as "terrorism," as well as other nonviolent acts, the human rights organization said.

There is also the question of whether a diverse set of countries can agree on anything, let alone act together and coordinate. Furthermore, alliance members belong to the Sunni-majority or Sunni-led countries, which could deepen the Shiite-Sunni divide across the Middle East.

Notably, the alliance excludes Iran, which has backed the Syrian government's fight against foreign-backed extremist and terrorist groups. Syria is also not a member. It also doesn't include Iraq, which is led by a Shiite government and whose army, alongside popular units, have largely defeated ISIS on the battlefield.

Critics also say the coalition could become a means for Saudi Arabia to implement an even more assertive foreign policy by winning the backing of poorer African and Asian nations with offers of financial and military aid.

All in all, now that ISIS has been largely defeated in Syria and Iraq, the abovementioned important questions remain, as does the question of the alliance's real nature. The Saudis insist it is a work in progress.