الدور العماني في تعزيز الأخلاق بين التنظير والتطبيق

الدورُ العُماني في تعزيز الأخلاق بين التنظير والتطبيق

it allowed the US access to Omani air bases and ports to support its operations in the Persian Gulf، at a time when the Iran hostage crisis was ongoing. It was the first formal agreement of its kind between the US and a Persian Gulf state، and showcased Sultan Qaboos's ability to find an equilibrium between his country's security interests and those of the other Gulf states—and sundry Arab and non-Arab nations.

To preserve the balance between the need to secure his country's position in a neighbourhood long beset by instability، strife and rivalry، on the one hand، and staying true to his core principles of tolerance and constructive engagement on the other، Sultan Qaboos took unfailing care to choose a cautious، measured approach. This did not keep him، however، from taking a lone stand when these principles risked being compromised، not shying away from adopting unpopular positions among the Arab nations، such as calling for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks and being the first Arab nation to welcome an Israeli Prime Minister-Yitzhak Rabin to Muscat. He resisted being drawn as a contestant into regional conflicts، preferring instead to mediate solutions to these conflicts and cultivate ties to many different leaders and factions. In a telling show of how skilfully he could steer a non-partisan course in its region، he took no sides in the nearly ^-year-long Iran- Iraq war in the `^^*s، maintaining Oman's ties to Iran، the Arab states and the West. In 19^)، Oman became one of the founding members of the Gulf Cooperation Council، an intergovernmental alliance that comprises Bahrain، Kuwait، Oman، Qatar، Saudi Arabia، and the United Arab Emirates.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 199•، Oman kept his country's diplomatic ties to both Baghdad and Kuwait، and only when Sultan Qaboos's efforts to resolve the crisis failed، his country joined the UN-led liberation effort، signalling that he would be ready to go against an Arab nation to uphold the rule of law: ethics، in other words، trumped blind alignment.

1822