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| Middle East | |||
| Zogby Attacks US Role in Middle East, or Dog Bites Man. | |||
| 2003-11-18 | |||
| Dr. James J. Zogby Having just returned from a short visit to the Arab region, I find the disconnect between the United States’ Middle East policy debate and realities in the region, has never been greater. Unfortunately, the Koran incites Arab violence against the majority of citizens of the US. The United States is now fully engaged on multiple fronts in the Arab world. In most instances the form that US engagement has taken is both unilateral and confrontational. Each of these new thrusts represents a break from traditional US diplomacy and the victory of the neo-conservative movement in shaping US Middle East policy. "Confrontational"? Like facing off against the beasts who murdered 3,000 Americans, etc, on September 11, 2001.
And that is all bad, Zogby? The formulations underlying these various Middle East entanglements have been based on faulty ideologically derived assumptions. These include notions like: "they hate us because they hate our freedom" (thereby allowing the US to absolve itself from any responsibility in generating alienation and anger in the region); "they attack us because we have been weak and indecisive" (thereby validating the United States’ use of unrelenting force in an effort to force submission); and "once Arabs democratize, Palestine will lose its appeal as a radicalizing theme" (thereby justifying sidelining the peace process). The hate-promotion didn’t begin on the 11th of September 2001. It did escalate from that day of infamy. These have been accepted and have been made operational. In the process, we have not engaged in dialogue or listened to determine the true feelings of the Arab people. Bull-feet! The State Department has been using Zogby, etc polling in Iraq. The CPA website posts some results: http://www.cpa-iraq.org/ Nor have we paid attention to history, even recent history, in an effort to understand how Arabs view their circumstances or see our role in contributing to their current problems. Like supporting the existence of Israel, which is only 9 miles wide at one point.
As of 5 days ago, US troops in the Iraq theater, are conducting "Operation Iron Hammer" against the terrorists who are destabilizing the Sunni Triangle. If the uppity Sunnis don’t settle down, the CPA could bring in Kurds and Shia soldiers. That type of Iraqization could pay a peace dividend, to the majority. While fault clearly can be placed on the shoulders of those who have trumped US diplomacy and forced this change in policy, the Arab side must accept some responsibility for this dismal state of affairs as well. Simply put, the Arab world has not engaged the US debate on terms that would challenge the bizarre assumptions of those who sought to wreak havoc in the region.
Arafat delegitimized Oslo by reviving terror, which was his plan all along. Arabs aren’t the greatest engagers in debate. Similarly, after the Arab League endorsed Crown Prince Abdullah’s striking initiative, little was done to nurture it. It died not because the United States and Israel ignored it but because the Arab side did not launch a campaign to elaborate it and to project the dramatic change it represented. Abdullah plan: tactical recognition of Israel coupled with strategic annihilation of Israel. It can’t wash. Zogby: the Arab League also recognizes the Iraqi Governing Council. We pay attention here. At the same time, while both the Saudis and Syrians have, in different ways, been under attack in the United States they have not responded in a manner proportionate to the challenges they faced. As a result, they have become more, not less, vulnerable to even sharper attacks. "Challenges"? Objectively, they are and have always been aggressors. Like it or not, the real struggle now being waged is not on the many battlefields of the Middle East but it is in the struggle over ideas that will shape the US policy debate in the minds of the American people. If America is the dominant force in the world then the struggle to make change must occur here and must be waged on the political front. Unfortunately, as I write, only 52% of polled Americans accept that the Iraq-Liberation was worth it. If America’s neo-conservatives are wrong then extremists in the Middle East are also wrong. Just as American force cannot impose itself or transform an unwilling and unprepared Middle East, those extremists who advocate force against the United States will also fail with their violence only serving to strengthen negative trends in American policy making. "Those extremists who advocate force against the United States": most Muslim American organizations. A third way must be found. There are Iraqis and other Arabs, for example, who are advocating an alternative path to the current, now failing, U.S. effort at pacification in Iraq. They should be supported and emboldened to bring their ideas into the American political debate. Yeah they want a return to Saddam Hussein’s parasitic dictatorship. Similarly the reform program advocated by Crown Prince Abdullah and Saudi voices for change like those of Prince Al Waleed must be encouraged to bring their ideas forward in a more dramatic and forceful way. Reformist currents among Syria’s leadership must be strengthened and that country’s fledging public diplomacy effort should be given an enhanced role because it is sorely needed. Don’t kiss Saudi butt, Zogby. The Saudi "reform" movement is close to al-Qaeda. Finally, critical initiatives like the recently negotiated Israeli-Palestinian Geneva Accords and what is called the Ayalon-Nusseibeh agreement, should also be pushed more aggressively since they build on the pre-Sharon peace effort and have the ability to refute the myth that "peace is impossible". Such efforts can strengthen the internal debate in Israel and the United States against the Likud mindset that currently dominates both countries’ policy-making establishments. If an Arab majority didn’t accept the existence of Israel in 1947, they are not about to accept in now. Change can come, but it will require a reassessment of Arab strategy. Passivity won’t work. Neither will force or threats of force-these only play into the hands of those who have the ability to use greater force in return. Neither will change come about by making appeals using concepts like "international legitimacy" that simply have no resonance in the United States. Change will come when Arabs attribute their backwardness and belligerence to the mandates of Islam, and embrace the secular state. If part of America’s trouble in the Arab world is due to the fact that it doesn’t listen to the Arab people and therefore speaks and acts in terms that do not address Arab concerns and realities, the same can be said of why Arabs are in trouble in the United States. Arabs tend to speak in violence. A new Arab strategic approach to the United States must be developed. Its need is immediate. As bad as the current situation may be, it can still get worse. There are political forces in the United States who want the confrontation to expand in order to sharpen the contradictions. Change will not come about by complaining about injustice. Whining is not a strategy. Zogby, you are top-gun in the whine department. A new approach that projects a new vision of the Arab word, real solutions to vexing problems, and the real humanity and aspirations of the Arab people can help change American minds and ultimately change American policy. Unfortunately, a large number of Arabs want to restore an Islamofascist Khalifa. And I can’t think of one positive thing that Zogby has done to advance democracy and liberty. | |||
| Posted by:Anonon |
| #7 didn't know that - thanks OP |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-18 12:20:53 PM |
| #6 All that and what he really means is Israel must die. That's the political debate. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-11-18 11:28:04 AM |
| #5 Frank, Zogby sold out to Gallup about two years ago. They still "pretend" to be independent, but they're practically a department of CNN now. John and Jim aren't that far apart, politically, and whine in pitch. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-11-18 10:26:59 AM |
| #4 er, IIRC the polling company is run by the brother (still? - I didn't know he sold it...) John Zogby. This is Jim Zogby, a noted apologist and, as noted above, a professional whiner about the misunderstood ROPma. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-18 9:00:44 AM |
| #3 Remember that Zogby is NOT "impartial" or "non-partisan", and since he sold his polling company to one of his major competitors has been a constant apologist for the Arab states. The man has NO credibility left, and is rapidly shedding any dignity and claim to intelligence he may have made in the past. A "Zogby Poll" used to mean something positive, now it's seen as just another slanderous party upchuck for the dummycheats. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-11-18 8:53:52 AM |
| #2 "they hate us because they hate our freedom" -I always thought this was a stupid statement as well. But for differing reasons then Zogby. This was a pc statement made by the admin because they didn't have the nutz to say the real reason for fear of pissing off the domestic RoPers. They really hate us because we're infidels, not Muslims, & not in alignment w/their views. They hate us because we're a secular western "Satan" that supports an Israeli state's existence. They also hate us because of their own ethnocentrisms (yes, not a solely American phenomenon) -they look down on our culture and believe they are morally superior, the true people of God. That's the reason. "they attack us because we have been weak and indecisive" -This is a true statement, & they will continue to f*ck w/us if we show weakness & indecision. Zogby falls into the "thinking like a compassionate westerner crap" - I've said numerous times before the one's we're dealing w/don't understand that cultural more of ours. Deal w/people on their level in their terms. If they grudgingly respect brute force, use it. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-18 8:49:16 AM |
| #1 Wonder if Zogy has domestic or imported cheese with all that wine? Sounds like his solution is to"make nice"with those who would murder us in droves. The only way to deal with bullies and thugs is to beat them down,if your friends refuse to help.They are not friends. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-11-18 7:23:38 AM |