UAE could lead push for peace in Middle East

The UAE has emerged as a major player in the fight against terrorism while remaining an oasis of calm. This has been acknowledged by the United States and Secretary of State John Kerry made a day's stopover in Abu Dhabi on Monday. How can the UAE help in brokering peace in Syria and end the violence there? The strife is turning increasingly sectarian with the upsurge in terrorist activity in the Middle East. Attacks have spread to the streets of Europe. An Arab solution for peace is the need of the hour. This is where the UAE can lead from the front.
It takes cool heads to talk to different players involved in the conflict. The UAE is a soft power, a regional heavyweight and the Middle East needs moderate voices like this country to quell the turmoil fanned by terror groups like Daesh and Al Qaeda. This country can be trusted because of its long history of welcoming people, its culture of co-existence and its model of development. It innovates and moves with the times. Violence cannot go hand in hand with progress and terror groups have been banished from the country.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, often talks of an Arab vision and a shared destiny for the people of the Middle East. He is aware this cannot be achieved without security which the state should provide to its citizens. Syria, Iraq and Yemen are on the brink of collapse. They are almost failed states where the writ of the government does not count. The law does not exist in these badlands and groups like Daesh have filled the vacuum caused by the failure of governments to rule with equity.
So how do you pull these countries from the brink? Aerial bombings alone are not the solution. It needs diplomatic efforts led by voices of reason like the UAE. An Arab solution for Syria that curbs extremist ideology could be the best way forward to neutralise terror groups like Daesh.