Obsequious subordinates seen at first in Arab country (3-3)
I believe the answer is:
yes-men
'obsequious subordinates' is the definition.
'seen at first in arab country' is the wordplay.
'at first' suggests taking the first letters.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'arab country' becomes 'yemen' (Yemen is a Middle Eastern country).
The initial letter of 'seen' is 's'.
's' put inside 'yemen' is 'YES-MEN'.
(Other definitions for yes-men that I've seen before include "lackeys" , "Toadies" , "Sycophants" .)