The recent Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, has reinvigorated longstanding US ambitions for a subcontracted "Middle Eastern", "Arab" or "Muslim" Nato to serve US regional security interests.
Some pro-American and pro-Israeli analysts have misconstrued the agreement as an alliance against Israel, while others see it as a sign that the Saudis are seeking new security guarantors in light of US failures to fully protect the kingdom and its Arab neighbours.
The Mecca Agreement, however, is merely the latest iteration of a US policy dating back to early in the Cold War to preserve existing pro-western regimes, their US sponsor, and their unspoken ally, Israel.
Its real targets, unsurprisingly, are the enemies of the US and Israel.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the agreement at once, declaring himself "very happy" that the three countries had "recently, and finally, signed" it.
