VIENNA, 28 August 2007 — Upheaval in the Middle East and Islamic civilization could cause another world war, the US ambassador to the United Nations was quoted as saying in an Austrian newspaper interview published yesterday. Zalmay Khalilzad told the daily Die Presse the Middle East was now so disordered that it had the potential to inflame the world as Europe did during the first half of the 20th century.
“The (Middle East) is going through a very difficult transformation phase. That has strengthened extremism and creates a breeding ground for terrorism,” he said in remarks translated by Reuters into English from the published German. “Europe was just as dysfunctional for a while. And some of its wars became world wars. Now the problems of the Middle East and Islamic civilization have the same potential to engulf the world,” he was quoted as saying.
Khalilzad, interviewed by Die Presse while attending a foreign policy seminar in the Austrian Alps, said the Islamic world would eventually join the international mainstream but this would take some time. Khalilzad was also quoted as saying Iraq would need foreign forces for security for a long time to come. “Iraq will not be in a position to stand on its own feet for a longer period,” he said in an interview.
Meanwhile, the UN nuclear watchdog chief said in remarks published yesterday a planned multibillion-dollar US military aid package aimed to bolster Middle East allies will do nothing to improve their security or stability.
Washington announced on July 30 it would funnel military aid worth more than $43 billion to Egypt, Israel and other Gulf states over 10 years to help protect them against Iran and fears of spillover from militant chaos in Iraq.
Mohamed El-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been probing suspicions of an illicit nuclear bomb program in Iran, was quoted by Austrian weekly magazine Profil as saying Washington’s military aid was misguided.
