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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'A valid fear'
By Thomas GorguissianThe phenomenon of "anti-Americanism" has become increasingly visible in the Arab world since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September. The anger expressed in demonstrations and in the media throughout the Arab world has been noted in the United States -- especially in policy-making circles. Moreover, the attack on the destroyer USS Cole off Aden, in which 17 American sailors were killed, has served to remind Americans that their country can be a target as both the country's presence and biased policies in the Middle East are resented by Arabs.
The standing of the US in the Arab world dropped further following the failure of this summer's Camp David peace talks. Not only did US President Bill Clinton blame Palestinians and President Yasser Arafat for the dismal outcome of the meetings, but he praised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for offering what he described as unprecedented compromises.
The situation is bad and could get worse; this is the general sense in Washington. Many expect that the Middle East will be the first challenge in the coming presidency. Last week, in a panel discussion about foreign policy priorities for the next US president organised by The Brookings Institute, one of the questions raised was: "What foreign policy issue could leap up and bite the next president when he least expects it?"
Lee Hamilton, former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said "I think it would be the Middle East because of the possibility that the conflict there could easily spread and get out of control, threatening the stability of Egypt and the stability of Jordan, the Gulf and the American stock market, oil prices and our access to oil." He added that every president he has ever known has always used the word vital when talking about the Middle East. "And vital means vital. It means that, if we don't have stability in the Gulf -- we're in trouble not six months from now, we're in trouble six hours from now," he added.
Congressman Hamilton, who is director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "what drove the leaders to meet in Sharm Al-Sheikh [on 16 October] was a fear that the conflict could widen and have a profound impact not just on Palestine or Palestinian areas and Israel, but on Egypt, the Gulf and Jordan. That was the fundamental fear that drove the leaders to Sharm Al-Sheikh -- and it was a valid fear."
Commenting on the uprising and the anger in the Arab world, Congressman Hamilton noted that one of the things that has been obvious in the Middle East conflict is the way in which the Arab world has expressed its very strong disapproval of the United States' role in the region. "It [this disapproval] has undercut, not destroyed, but certainly weakened our ability to act as a mediator," he added.
Once described as an honest broker, Washington's credibility is under attack. "I think anti-Americanism in the Middle East is clearly tied to US support for Israel and people's resentment of the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians," Richard Haass, the Director of Foreign Policy Studies at The Brookings Institute told the Weekly. He added that the best course of action for Washington to deal with anti-Americanism is to promote a resumption of the Middle East peace process. "I'm not terribly optimistic. And as a result, I am quite concerned about anti-Americanism, because if the peace process doesn't move forward, anti-Americanism will grow, fairly or not, maybe not, but it will grow all the same," he warned.
He added that anti-American sentiments will, in turn, make it more difficult for the US to promote peace and to work with Arab governments, including the Egyptian government, on a whole range of issues. "So I see that the momentum in the Middle East is very dangerous for the United States, for the peace process and possibly for some of these [Middle East] governments," he concluded.
Asked how the US should respond to the growing anti-Americanism in the region, Jon Alterman, Middle East and Arab media expert at the US Institute of Peace, told the Weekly, "The American government appears to believe that anti-Americanism is endemic in the Arab world, and that there's no use trying to win over Arab public opinion because Arab public opinion can't be won over."
He added that he has argued before that the US government should make a much greater effort to explain its policies in the Arab world.
Related stories:
Intifada in focus
States of emergency
Producing the body (count)
Tempered anger at the summit
Composing the consensus
The electronic Intifada
Horror in your sitting room
Variations on a theme
The big freeze
Solidarity days
'A valid fear'
Meet the press
The earth speaks Arabic
Also see Focus on Intifada 19 - 25 October 2000© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
