March 15, 2002
With Friends Like These....
By
Tom Bevan
So far, Vice President Cheney's trip through the Middle East
to drum up support for stronger action against Iraq has gotten
off to a difficult start. His first two stops, in Jordan and Egypt,
were met with outright rejection of any US military action against
"brotherly Iraq." Instead, King Abdullah II and Hosni
Mubarak demanded that the United States take a leading role in
solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Don't think the trip will get any easier. Cheney started with
Jordan and Egypt because they are two of the so-called "moderate"
Arab nations and supposedly our allies. Egypt receives billions
of dollars in U.S. aid, second only Israel in the region. Just
weeks ago, President Bush submitted his 2003 budget in which he
requested $448 million in foreign aid for Jordan, a 99% increase
from the previous year. Since this money doesn't seem to merit
any special attention to our concerns, perhaps it would be better
spent on Homeland Security.
The Bush administration claims that the public warnings and defiant
rhetoric coming from Jordan and Egypt is merely posturing meant
for domestic consumption and doesn't give a good indication of
their leaders' willingness to work with the United States behind
closed doors. This may be true. Furthermore, we really don't know
exactly what Cheney may (or may not) be asking of Abdullah and
Mubarak.
What is clear, however, is that the continuing duplicity among
Arab nations with respect to their public words and private actions
is a problematic and untenable policy. It is a policy, deemed
politically necessary by Arab rulers and tolerated by American
administrations for more than 20 years, that led to September
11 and continues to breed anti-American hatred and contempt.
The answer, we are told, lies in pressuring Israel to resolve
the Palestinian issue. Conventional wisdom holds that America's
standing in the Arab world and ability to prosecute the War on
Terror would be greatly increased by resolving the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. There is scant evidence, however, that U.S. success
in mediating a solution to the conflict will result in any real
benefit in our relations with Arab nations.
It registers as a disconnect that America will use its influence
to promote peace and security in the Middle East, but there is
little effort on the part of Middle Eastern leaders to help provide
for America's security by sending a message to Saddam Hussein.
At the very least, Arab rulers should have the courage to publicly
acknowledge America's concerns and support reinstating unrestricted
U.N. arms inspections.
In the six months since September 11, America has received little
help from the Arab world in fighting the War on Terror. Even more
disturbing is that Arab leaders continue to indulge anti-American
sentiment through public proclamations and state-controlled media.
Undoing 20 years of damage to our image in the Arab world will
be difficult. And it will require courageous leadership, not public
pandering, from friendly countries like Jordan and Egypt.
Tom
Bevan writes for RealClearPolitics.
