Mush’ab Muqoddas
Translator Staff at the Political Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo 2012 – 2018
Professor of Intelligence Philosophy, Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono, revealed that the intelligence services of major powers not only work for their own interests, but also for the interests of large corporations with mutually reinforcing interests.
One example is the coup against Mohamed Mosadeq in Iran, which nationalized several companies, including British Petroleum, disrupting the interests of conglomerates in Western Europe while simultaneously strengthening the Shah's monarchy. Coup after coup supported by foreign intelligence in various countries, especially in Latin America, continues to occur, including Haiti, simply because it doesn't want to fight Cuba.
Support strategies for military juntas have changed. In 2011, support for opposition groups and armed militias as proxies colored modern human history, a trend we still witness. Radical and misunderstood religious narratives have even succeeded in attracting foreign terrorist fighters from various countries, including Indonesia. To this day, all countries are confused about how to repatriate them from Syria and Iraq, the countries they fantasize about in the End Times.
Political pressure on regimes in the Middle East prompted Egypt, after overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood regime, to diversify its foreign relations, eliminating its reliance solely on the United States. Russia was approached, as was China. Several major projects of President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi received support from Russia and China, including the New Suez Canal and the New Capital City near the Badr district in eastern Cairo province.
Egypt's efforts were then imitated by a number of Arab countries, which felt threatened by narratives of democratization and human rights enforcement, as well as narratives of establishing a Caliphate. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and even Qatar began strengthening relations and cooperation with Russia and China, not only militarily but also economically. China then strengthened its landmark project, the One Belt One Road, connecting all regions of the world to facilitate and reduce trade connectivity between countries.
Yet, as we know, the United States was a strong ally of the Arab countries that defended its regimes. The Arab Spring, supported by the United States, transformed the good relations that had existed even before the end of World War II.
Al-Azhar cleric Sheikh Abdul Wahab Khalaf emphasized that after World War II and the formation of the United Nations, relations between nations were interdependent and sought mutual benefits to meet each other's needs and interests. Therefore, they must operate harmoniously and with mutual respect to avoid conflict. This contrasts with the past, when nations dominated territories to strengthen their civilizations by destroying the civilizations of those they controlled.
The increasingly untrustworthy attitudes and actions of the United States and other Western nations have prompted many countries to form new alliances, such as the BRICS, an economic alliance seeking to become independent from Western nations. This has resulted in the inclusion of many countries considered enemies by the United States, such as Iran. Several Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, have also joined BRICS. Indonesia has even joined BRICS.
Geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics have further developed after the United States implemented reciprocal tariffs, even with its allies in the political, economic, and military sectors. Even Australia, which is part of the AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) military alliance, is subject to tariffs of 10 percent and 50 percent on steel and aluminum products. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump prefers to meet face-to-face, sidestepping multilateral relations and various economic communities or alliances. His goal is to further strengthen US influence and interests.
For example, when the Indonesian government delegation lobbied for a reduction in reciprocal tariffs, it turned out that the US not only had an interest in a number of export commodities but also felt disadvantaged by QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard), a form of economic sovereignty towards a self-reliant Indonesia.
