Middle East Crisis: U.S. fails to defend its Interests
Muqtedar Khan
The crisis in the Middle East is rapidly reaching dangerous proportions. Unless someone or somebody injects a heavy dose of sanity into the region's affairs immediately, it is likely to escalate into a wider conflict that will make Iraq look like a picnic. The only player perhaps capable of playing this role is the U.S. But thanks to a lame duck President, whose credibility at home and abroad is embarrassing, the world's only super power - the natural guarantor of global order - remains like its leader, ineffective and directionless on the global stage.
The U.S. has most to lose if things go out of hand. Its key interests in the region are OIL; Oil, Israel, and Liberalism and they are all in jeopardy. Oil is already at a record high, over $77 at the moment due to fears of disruption in case of a wider war. Israel has never been more insecure. Its two biggest enemies, Hamas and Hizbollah are effectively in control in the North and South and are shooting rockets at it from the North and the South.
U.S. attempts to promote democracy and liberalism in the region had made both Hamas and Hezbollah legitimate political forces creating hopes of positive transformation in the two players. Now its own ally, Israel has undermined Palestinian democracy with its military campaign in Gaza and by attacking Lebanon and pounding it mercilessly it is weakening the forces of democracy and strengthening support for Hezbollah.
Israel could have easily engaged in a prisoner exchange with Hamas and Hezbollah as it has done several times in the past, and most recently in 2004, and the matter would have ended there. But Israel's overwhelming response to the capture of its soldiers, at a time when Iraq is on the brink of a civil war and the Iranian nuclear crisis is at its zenith, is undermining all the key pillars of American national interests in the region. However, I do not blame Israel for this crisis, it is doing what it thinks it must to pursue its security and its interests. I am wondering whether the U.S. is doing everything it should in the region to defend its interests.
All players in the region are pursuing self-interest. The ability of Hamas and Hezbollah to attack the invincible military of Israel and score successes, killing and capturing soldiers, and shooting rockets as deep inside Israel as Haifa, must have sent a chill down Israel's spine. It is reacting with overwhelming force out of fear. Israel's future depends on its ability to terrorize the Arab World through superior military power and it thinks that by punishing innocent Palestinians and Lebanese civilians it can restore that fear and deter future attacks.
Hezbollah, which is under pressure from within Lebanon and the international community to demilitarize has once again succeeded in presenting itself as the only defense that Lebanon has against Israel. Israel's killing of dozens of Lebanese civilians and bombing of Beirut will merely increase support for Hezbollah, attract more recruits and funding, and increase hatred for Israel. Right now, even the Christians in Lebanon must hate Israel, as their tourism industry suffers because of this new war that Israel is waging against Lebanon.
Iran, thanks to America's foolhardy adventure in Iraq, is rapidly emerging as a regional power, more capable of shaping the political and geopolitical realties in the Middle East than even the U.S. It is protecting itself from America's pressure on the nuclear issue by creating a dangerous diversion. Already it has succeeded in dividing the G-8, with France and Russia condemning Israel for excessive force while the U.S. justified it.
What is the U.S. doing at the moment? First of all by justifying Israel's excessive use of force the U.S. has immediately distanced itself from the very powers it was seeking solidarity with - EU and Russia. America's weak response and support of Israel has probably done billions of dollars worth of damage to the public diplomacy campaign that every one thinks is so vital to win the war on terror.
Muslims all across the world are watching a nuclear power supported, armed and funded by the U.S., bombard and kill dozens of innocent civilians, destroy the economy and infrastructure of Palestine and Lebanon, kidnap dozens of elected Palestinian leaders, bomb their homes even when there are children present, and all U.S. does is provide political cover for Israel in the U.N. security council and on the world stage. Al Qaeda must be running out of enrollment forms.
The escalation in the region is not in U.S. interest. It strengthens anti-Americanism worldwide and fuels radicalism in the Arab and Muslim world. It also reverses hard earned gains in the region such as fledgling democracies in Palestine and Lebanon. It is a shame that in moments of crisis American leadership does not take decisive steps to safeguard its own interests. The U.S. does not have to abandon Israel to defend its other interests in the region, all it has to do is use its enormous leverage to ensure that Israel's policies are moderate and prudent and safeguard both Israeli and American interests.
Muqtedar Khan is Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware and a Nonresdient Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. His website is www.ijtihad.org.
www.ijtihad.org
Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Associate Professor and Director of Islamic Studies at university of Delaware. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
"US interests" are not those of the American public at large. The term has been, and is now, generally used to describe investments made by American corporations and citizens overseas. When a President says he will protect American interests overseas, he is not talking about a Peace Corp member digging a water well somewhere in Africa. He is talking about Exxon-Mobil's oil wells in Kuwait. To wit, this administration is dedicated to delivering the entire planet to its corporate sponsors, if possible.
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GitarChris (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 142 comments) on Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 at 5:11:47 AM
Israel is using weapons supplied by the United States to target Palestinian & Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in violation of the US Arms Export Control Act and the Geneva Conventions.
Israel's human rights violations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon are being committed with US weapons financed by US tax dollars!
The Israeli air force fighter squadrons are composed of Lockheed Martin F-16I Fighting Falcons and Boeing F-15Is, which fire US-manufactured AMRAAM, Sidewinder, and Sparrow missiles. From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel at least $1.062 billion of spare parts, engines, and missiles for its F-15 and F-16 fighter planes.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to the Israeli navy more than $572 million worth of patrol boat, ship, and submarine components and spare parts, torpedoes, and sonar equipment.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel more than $348 million worth of tanks, components, and spare parts.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel $69,163 worth of M-109 spare parts and 155mm artillery shells.
Israel's summer of killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is a clear reminder that Israel remains the occupying power of the Gaza Strip despite last year's "unilateral disengagement". Living under military occupation, the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are "protected persons" under the terms of the Geneva Conventions. Israel's targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and constitutes war crimes.
In addition, by using US-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities, Israel is violating the terms of the US Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act. The Arms Export Control Act restricts the use of US weapons to legitimate self-defense and internal policing; US weapons cannot be used to attack civilians in offensive operations. The Foreign Assistance Act prohibits US aid of any kind to a country with a pattern of gross human rights violations.
SILENCE IS COMPLICITY
"In the long run, there is no justice without FREEDOM. There can be no human rights without LIBERTY. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we stand with you."
-President George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address
Please send a Fax and make a phone call to remind President Bush of that promise:
WHITE HOUSE COMMENTS LINE: 202-456-1111
WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD: 202-456-1414
WHITE HOUSE FAX: 202-456-2461
SILENCE IS COMPLICITY!!!
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Eileen Fleming (172 articles, 101 quicklinks, 274 diaries, 650 comments [16 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 at 7:30:14 AM
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