As U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins her tour
of the Middle East today, she will have a firsthand
glimpse of a region that has become immersed in turmoil. And the stark
realities on the ground - such as the nonstop bloodshed in Iraq,
a defiant Iran
insisting on its legal right to enrich uranium, and Syrian President Bashar Assad waging an undeclared
power struggle against the United States
in Iraq and Lebanon
- will no doubt complicate her efforts to promote America's
objectives in the region. Also in the backdrop will be the anti-Western fury
that has been stirred by the publication of offensive caricatures of the
Prophet Mohammad, new images of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and footage of British troops brutally beating Iraqi
teenagers. Add to this Israel's
recent decision to enact a series of harsh sanctions against the Palestinian
people - measures that many view as the equivalent of ethnic cleansing.
Very few people would want to be in Rice's shoes right now.
All of the rubble of American policy over the past decade is at her feet and
piling up quickly. The central thrust of the Bush administration policy in the
region has been to promote the right of people to live in free and democratic
societies. But while promoting democracy and freedom is a worthwhile goal, this
policy begins to unravel at the first sign of hypocrisy. How can America
be committed to freedom and simultaneously remain quiet about Israel's
continued illegal occupation of Palestinian territories? How can the U.S.
promote human rights and at the same time allow the torture of Arab prisoners,
many of whom have been held in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay
for years without charge or trial? How can Washington
support democracy while encouraging Arab states to sanction the democratically
elected government of the Palestinian people? Contradictory policies such as
these only play into the hands of extremists.
These are dangerous and unpredictable times in the Middle
East, and an imaginative, trusted and capable U.S.
secretary of state is needed to help steer the region toward peace and
stability. Fortunately, Rice is all of these things. But the secretary of state
cannot come to the region and hope to counter turmoil with a policy so full of
contradictions.
2/20/06
Source: The Daily Star
Return to: Condoleezza Rice
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