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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'Neither evil nor a blessing'
By Nadia Abou El-Magd
In a seminar held at the Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute last week to discuss the latest developments in Kosovo, US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer seized the opportunity to defend US foreign policy, which is often criticised for the use of double standards in dealing with Arabs and Muslims.
The main topic of discussion, between the ambassador and his audience, which was largely made up of journalists, was the crisis in the Balkans, but the Middle East peace process and Iraq featured prominently.
"Those who saw only evil in US policy before Kosovo, or who now see only a blessing, probably have been extremists on both regards," he said.
Kurtzer emphasised that the "US is trying to pursue a relatively straightforward policy" in the Middle East, in the Gulf and now in the Balkans. "I want, and I hope, to convey that we are not swinging back and forth. We are not trying to appease Muslims in Kosovo in order to gain something in the Middle East. We are not fighting for Muslims in Kosovo simply to get a good name for ourselves," Kurtzer added.
Kurtzer described the US as an "honest broker" and "full partner" in the Middle East peace process, declaring that its policy had achieved "some successes" and had encountered "some setbacks."
Responding to a question from Al-Ahram Weekly, Kurtzer said: "We are not doing what we are doing in Kosovo to defend Muslims. We are doing what we are doing to achieve a peaceful settlement and it happens to be that the Muslims are the party now that needs that defence."
Discussing US involvement in both Iraq and Kosovo, Kurtzer urged people "to stand back and react and think rationally instead of emotionally."
"What we've tried to do in Iraq as well as in Kosovo is find an appropriate strategy to deal with that danger that creates the humanitarian problem. In both cases, it is not the reaction of the international community or the United States or the United Kingdom in Iraq that created the problem," Kurtzer added.
The ambassador was responding to frequent criticism that US policy is responsible for the suffering of the Iraqi people and the continuation of the UN-imposed sanctions, which were imposed in 1991. NATO, now in the sixth week of military strikes against Serbs, has also been criticised for its dealing with hundreds of thousands of Albanian refugees, who fled Kosovo after the strikes started.
Kurtzer emphasised that there are no plans to permanently resettle the refugees outside Kosovo, a concern that has been voiced by many observers and aid agencies.
"NATO's short-term plan is to deal with the humanitarian crisis. The long-term plan is that the refugees go back home to where they belong -- in Kosovo," said Kurtzer.
Responding to another question from the Weekly, which referred to comparisons made by many observers between the Albanian refugees and the Palestinians who fled their homeland in 1948 and have not been allowed to return, Kurtzer said: "Can you say that perhaps we've learned from the experience of other refugee situations? Maybe."
While defending NATO strikes, Kurtzer said he did not know for sure if they would be sufficient, without ground troops, to defeat Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
"If anyone expected that the air campaign was going to be short and neat, I think that was a wrong expectation. It may take some time for Mr Milosevic to make the right decision," said Kurtzer. "Can the air campaign succeed? And would it be unnecessary to move to a ground campaign? The answer is I don't know."
Kurtzer said there is no consensus among the 19 NATO member states regarding the use of ground troops. "NATO will continue to act where there is a consensus: to maintain the air campaign and try to increase the military pressure to degrade the Serbs' military capabilities until Milosevic accepts the political settlement. The debate on tactics doesn't obscure the fact that there is agreement on strategy," said Kurtzer.
He said NATO believes the situation in Kosovo was becoming a threat to international peace. NATO also believes its actions, although lacking authorisation by the United Nations, are consistent with the provisions of the UN Charter, which allows regional organisations to act in the event of a threat to regional peace. "We think that it is in our national interest to settle the last remaining vestige of the Balkans. Kosovo will remain an irritant in Europe that could cause instability in surrounding areas," he said.
Kurtzer was keen for the US not to be portrayed as the leader or spokesman of NATO, and emphasised that his country is not the "world's policeman" in a uni-polar world order.
"Nobody has to be next and the US is not the world's policeman. But the US will act, and did act, when and if, our vital interests or our people are attacked," he said.
Kurtzer was responding to a question on why the US attacked Libya in 1986 and Sudan last year. "We want to be left alone and they can be left alone," he said
He said air strikes against Iraq and the Serbs took place because both leaderships threaten the world community.
"I didn't say we acted in Iraq for fundamentally humanitarian reasons and I disagree with saying that we acted for economic reasons. The US has acted for national and international strategic reasons," said Kurtzer.
