We could spend all night arguing about the political situation in Iraq and never agree on a single point. This is inevitable when there is a wide gulf in expectations, when we can’t even agree on the measure of success or failure or how to tell right from wrong. However I don’t think that we will differ much when measuring Arab failings outside the political arena, in the economic field for example.
Without getting bogged down in the reasons, it is easy to ascertain the appalling economic failure in Iraq. We can all agree for example that a monthly salary of $10 for a worker in Iraq is a scandal that must be corrected. An Iraqi worker’s salary is lower than his counterpart’s in Jordan where the monthly salary reaches approximately $300; astounding when one reflects that Jordan’s economy is dependent on Iraq’s. Jordan’s success and hand Iraq’s failure cannot be blamed on the employee or on the market but only on the political system that is first and foremost responsible for the economy.
Raising the Iraqi worker’s monthly salary from $10 to $300 is a challenge before the Iraqis as well as the American governor, who is directly responsible for what happens and what will happen in Iraq.
With that in mind, what about the project, proposed by the US President several days ago, that called on Arabs to create a free-trade zone between the Americans, Arabs and some neighboring countries?
I believe that the Arab reaction to that will pretty much be suspicion and refusal. They will reject the entire proposal. They will depict it as imperialist and Zionist. Americans should know by now the nature of Arab political thinking. It is afflicted by suspicion.
They should deal with it as though it were an illness and handle it with care. Arab demands are usually extremely small, but their doubts are big. It would have been better for the Americans to put the proposal differently. For example: “Arab countries will enjoy the same exclusive economic treatment as Israel.” Then the Americans should come and meet Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab Union, who carries the banner for opposition, and afterward declare their acceptance of the Arab terms. This bit of theater is the best way of dealing with an Arab mentality that rejects any proposal presented to it as a fait accompli and will only accept it after a bloody battle.
We know that many of the countries of the world may disagree with the US. However, they all want one thing from it and that is special economic status because it is the wealthiest market in the world and has an economy more capable of invigorating any small economy, such as the Arab market, than any other economy in the world.
What is more important for Arabs is to join a free market along with foreign countries that will help create a common market, something Arabs have failed to do. This will be similar to what America has done in Iraq, imposing restraint between opposition groups that detest each other.
The Arab market also needs an American administrator to bring Arabs together, unite them, impose on it common attributes and recharge its economy through its own all-devouring market. It is a shame that we have reached a point where we need a foreign partner.
Regional Arab markets were born handicapped. For example, the Gulf market’s 20-year history has been fraught with clashes over custom tariffs from shoes all the way to oil byproducts.
Merging into a free market with a superpower will give the Arab market a chance to assert itself, and that is important if we are to succeed and prosper. So now that you’ve squandered our political prospects, at least give our common market a chance.
Arab News Opinion 17 May 2003
