WASHINGTON: The cooperation of Arab states — such as Egypt, Syria, and the Gulf countries — will be critical in furthering Middle East peace, bolstering a fledgling Iraq, and counteracting Iran’s regional influence, according to a conference of American and Arab policymakers.
Participants in the 19th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference, held last week in Washington, D.C., centered their discussions around working towards a lasting peace in the region, especially after several alienating decisions made by the US.
“Our military interventions in the greater Middle East have been [both] non-productive and counter-productive,” said Chas W. Freeman, former president of the Middle East Policy Council and a former assistant secretary of defense. “Serious dialogue with our partners, such as Egypt and Turkey … is the key to regaining our prestige.”
Participants at the conference entitled “Arab-US Relations: Going Where?” repeatedly criticized recent US actions in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
“Our efforts to promote a two-state solution have lost all credibility,” said Freeman. “No peace can be made if those who won at the ballot box — Hamas — are not brought in. The chances are excellent there is no possibility of a two-state solution anymore.”
Flynt Leverett, director of the Iran Initiative at the New America Foundation, a Washington-area think tank, was even more critical of the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
“The sad fact of the matter … is that this Cinderella-type ‘if the shoe fits’ diplomacy will never succeed in any of the goals it hopes to,” Leverett said. “We cannot achieve the results we want to achieve without engaging actors we don’t want to engage, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Conference participants said that before engaging Hamas and Hezbollah, the region must counter the growing influence of Iran, a patron of those organizations.
“All of these things [such as Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian talks] are linked,” said Thomas R. Mattair, the executive director of the Middle East Policy Council. “We have to be dealing with all of them at the same time.”
“Iran is gaining influence because of US blunders in the region,” said Leverett. “Our prolonged occupation [in Iraq] has played powerfully to Iran’s advantage.”
Leverett was especially critical of President Obama’s response to the recent nuclear materials compromise agreed to by Iran, and negotiated by Turkey and Brazil.
Leverett said Obama originally prompted Brazil and Turkey to try for the negotiations because the Obama administration assumed the talks would fail. The White House believed that failure would then prompt Turkey and Brazil to join economic sanctions against Iran, according to Leverett.
When Turkey and Brazil emerged with an agreement from those negotiations, the White House claimed they had never been officially sanctioned — at which point Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva produced a multi-page letter from Obama which outlined what the White House hoped the negotiations would achieve. The White House later claimed the letter did not constitute an “official endorsement.”
“This was a cheap trick by the Obama Administration that went bad,” said Leverett. “I’ll be blunt — President Obama lied to President Lula [da Silva].”
“I think the Obama Administration … never really tried engagement with Iran,” Leverett added.
Key to countering Iran will be strengthening the fledgling government of Iraq, according to conference participants. To do so, the support of neighboring Arab states is essential.
Ryan C. Crocker, a former US ambassador to Iraq during the America’s occupation, said Iraq must be a “strategic anchor in this part of the world.”
Crocker predicted the new Iraqi government, once formed, will ask the United States to continue its military presence to a certain extent — even after Obama’s scheduled drawdown date of late 2011.
“I think it’s quite likely that Iraq will ask for an extension of our deployment presence,” Crocker said.
Crocker asked for other Arab states to help the US in revitalizing Iraq.
“To our many Arab friends in the region,” he said. “We know you didn’t like 2003. Guess what — it isn’t 2003 anymore … [and] Iraq isn’t going anywhere.”
“The Iraq story is going to go on,” Crocker added. “Regional cooperation will be important.”
Charles W. Dunne, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, echoed the same sentiment.
“How the region reacts to the events in Iraq … will decide if Iraq will lean more towards Tehran, or instead towards its Arab neighbors,” he said. “Iraq could be a great asset for the US in helping ensure stability in the region.”
When asked by Daily News Egypt, several conference-goers expressed wonder as to why Egypt has not been more closely involved in this regional cooperation.
“Egypt could play a major role,” said Burl Self, a professor of Middle East Studies at George Mason University.
Due to its large size, Self told Daily News Egypt that he felt “Egypt is in the best position to speak with some authority.”
“It’s the only Arab state militarily capable of standing up to Israel,” Self stated.
Rodney C. Glover, a retired colonel in the US Air Force, shared the same frustrations.
“I don’t see [Egypt] out front in Middle East politics,” Glover told Daily News Egypt. “I think they should do more to strong arm the US in solving the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
“I think Egypt could be a major player if they played more hardball with the US,” Glover added. “Egypt can forge a relationship with Turkey and other countries to form a united front against countries like Iran.”
Bruce Fenton, the managing director of Atlantic Financial, said Egypt should play a role in bolstering the region’s economic security.
“Egypt’s been an important player in the region for a long, long time,” Fenton told Daily News Egypt.
“Clearly Iran and Iraq are at the forefront of people’s minds,” Fenton said. “[But] solving the economy — [is] something every country has a stake in and should be a player in.”
Ean Kyler, a scholar on the region, said he was concerned Egypt has not played a larger part.
“It’s kind of worrisome that they have such a limited role,” Kyler told Daily News Egypt.
A delegation from the Egyptian Embassy did attend the conference. However, when contacted, they declined to comment on their specific goals for the proceedings.
Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the recent visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to Egypt underscores the importance Iraq places on Egypt’s role in the coming months.
“The fact that Prime Minister Al-Maliki was in Egypt [on Wednesday] was a very important sign,” Katulis said.
The conference was sponsored by the National Council on US-Arab Relations, along with embassies from a number of Arab states. However, the Egyptian Embassy was not listed as a sponsor.
In addition to running this annual conference, the National Council on US-Arab Relations, while based in Washington, D.C., runs a number of educational programs for both Americans and for members of the Arab world.
“People on the ground, seeing what other people’s lives are like … there is no substitute for this kind of personal engagement,” said Landrum R. Bolling, for whom the conference honored with a lifetime achievement award.
