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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Unnecessary advances
US Defence Secretary William Cohen is not going to help the cause of peace in the Middle East by acting as if major progress has already been made and the time has come to start considering post-peace arrangements, including joint military exercises between the Arab countries and Israel. Israel continues to occupy Arab land in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Its huge arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, aimed at the Arab countries, is another threat. If Israel fails to meet the Arabs' demands and allay their concerns, it will not be possible to normalise ties fully, let alone establish genuine co-operation.This is the lesson the past three years have taught us. Some policy-makers in Washington, who once criticised Egypt for allegedly obstructing regional cooperation and sabotaging Israel's attempts to normalise ties, later admitted the credibility of the Egyptian view, especially after the Wye River negotiations, where President Clinton himself experienced former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's propensity to make promises, only to break them a few hours later.
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa was unequivocal when he stated on Monday that any talk of military cooperation between Egypt and Israel "is not up for discussion" at this stage. He also confirmed that Egypt's agreement to host the Bright Star military exercises had nothing to do with US plans to topple the government of Iraq. At a time when Egypt is seeking to build better ties with Iran, consistently favouring dialogue over confrontation as a means of solving differences, Cohen's advice that Cairo acquire Patriot missiles to counter possible Iranian threats can only be unnecessary, or at best untimely.
The United States, instead of seeking to dictate the agenda of sovereign states, should listen to its close regional allies and trust their assessment of the situation. The statements made by Secretary Cohen during his tour this week, and his incapacity to see beyond the Israeli point of view, can do nothing to bring the region closer to its goals of peace and stability.
