ADC
Update:
Ziad Asali: "America must restore its Middle East
credibility"
April
16, 2003
Zaid
Asali is the ADC National President
The following op-ed, by Dr. Ziad J. Asali, appears in Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper.
America must restore its Middle East credibility
by Ziad J. Asali
As tension mounts in the Arab world over the Iraq war, it is
imperative to act quickly to repair the political and
diplomatic damage to US-Arab relations and our reputation in
the Middle East.
As it stands, American foreign policy seems to many Arabs to
be little more than a laundry list of states, organizations
and ideas we don’t like. Yet the most crucial aspects of
our foreign policy, above all the “war on terror,”
require the cooperation of Arab and Muslim governments and
societies. We must demonstrate, and soon, that the American
agenda has something positive to offer the people of the
Middle East.
Traditionally, the United States has been admired, for its
liberties and democratic values, by a solid majority in the
Arab world. Over the years, this has been worn down by
support for despotic regimes and opposition to democratic
reforms.
But the principal cause of mistrust of the United States in
the Arab world is the plight of the Palestinian people. For
decades, Arabs have watched American support for Israel
steadily increase, as the condition of the Palestinians
became increasingly dire.
Numerous false starts toward peace and an end to the
occupation have only increased cynicism about American
intentions to the Palestinians in particular and the Arabs
in general.
This effect has become particularly pronounced over the past
two other half years, during the latest Palestinian uprising
against Israeli rule in the Occupied Territories. The
development of pan-Arab satellite news stations,
particularly Al-Jazeera, has proven decisive.
Millions across the region have been subjected to daily
images of unarmed Palestinians being killed by Israeli
occupation forces, homes being demolished, land
expropriated, civilian areas bombed, and a slow but
inexorable process of grinding impoverishment of an entire
people.
The United States is perceived as Israel’s unconditional
supporter, as the patron who supplies money and weapons and
the protector who defends against international criticism
and intervention.
In recent years, Arabs have witnessed an Israeli policy of
national humiliation directly against the Palestinian
people, and they have taken it personally. This is why anger
has boiled over even in states like Kuwait, where United
States was wildly popular a few years ago.
Palestine has become, for better or worse, a synecdoche for
the entire Arab experience. Every aspect of international
relations is viewed through this lens, including our war in
Iraq. An American occupation of Iraq, however benign it may
be, will be seen by many as an extension of Israel’s
occupation of Palestinian lands. This is a catastrophe for
our foreign policy and our relations with hundreds of
millions of Arabs, and countless more Muslims besides, that
our country simply cannot afford.
At the same time, the Israeli public has been faced with
suicide bombings and other atrocities by Palestinian
extremist groups, which have played on its deepest
existential fears. These tactics swept Israel’s right-wing
extremists to power, and united the country behind the
illusion of an imminent military victory over the
Palestinian rebellion.
Both Palestinians and Israelis have turned away from the
peace process. For Palestinians, the Oslo process years were
set of empty promises dragging on while they watched their
country being sliced away like a salami for more and more
settlements. For Israelis, the peace process is now seen as
a prelude to uncontrolled violence.
The Palestinians see their violent resistance as
necessitated by Israel’s violent occupation. Israel sees
its violent occupation as necessitated by the
Palestinians’ violent resistance.
External intervention is absolutely required to break this
Gordian knot. Only the United States has the influence with
both parties to make that break.
The contours of a lasting settlement are: 1. Palestine
alongside Israel, with borders defined by UN Resolutions 242
and 338; 2. A shared Jerusalem that fulfills the political
aspirations of two peoples and the three monotheistic
religions; 3. A fair and lasting solution of the refugee
problem that is in accordance with international legality;
4. An end to occupation and settlements; 5. Peace with the
Arab world based on exchange of land for peace and open
borders for all; 6. A Marshal Plan to rebuild Palestine and
peace.
This vision of a lasting peace has received public support
in one form or another from the United States, the United
Nations, the Arab League, and the majority of the
Palestinian and Israeli peoples.
It is the key to peace and stability in the Middle East, and
for demonstrating to the Arab and Muslim worlds that
American foreign policy has something truly positive to
offer.
We have a vital, one should probably say overwhelming,
national interest in insisting on the realization of the
only viable option for peace in the Middle East.
================================
ADC
4201 Connecticut Ave, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20008, U.S.A.
Tel: (202) 244-2990
Fax: (202) 244-3196
