In the coming months, the Democrat and Republican parties will expose to the American people their agenda of leadership for the next four years. The upcoming election will be closely followed not only by the American people, but by a far greater number of people abroad. In the Middle East, the stakes tied to this American election have never been higher. Across the region, Arab viewers will be waiting to see what the presidential candidates have to say on the burning issues of the Middle East.
With George W. Bush toning down his rhetoric of war and speaking of becoming a “peace president”, there is renewed hope that the presidential candidates will choose resolving conflicts as their priority. As we have witnessed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, it is far easier to start wars than to build peace.
Arabs are worried that in the crucial debates about the Middle East, domestic interests and playing to Jewish and conservative voters will define the agenda — and hence also future policy. Arabs are increasingly distrusting and apprehensive about American foreign policy. It is more than time to overcome our differences and work together toward peace rather than maneuvering to score points.
In the Middle East we have already reached the eleventh hour — although the necessary steps and solutions to resolving the conflicts of the Middle East are clear to all. As an Arab, I call upon the American electorate to push for imposing an Arab-Israeli peace, along the lines of the UN Resolutions, previous negotiations and the Road Map which have been adopted by an international consensus.
We Arabs are weary and exhausted. Our energies have been depleted by unending conflict. They ought rather to be set to development, education and stability for our region.
If for no other reason, Americans should consider the strategic importance of building a peaceful Middle East. With two thirds of the world’s oil reserves, and in a context of rising oil prices, the implications for world economic stability could not be any clearer. The $5 rise in the price of the barrel over the past 3 years has already cost the world economy hundreds of billions of dollars in security premiums.
In the case of lasting insecurity, or even an accident in the Gulf region, the cost to the world economy could amount to trillions. Peace and stability in the Middle East is necessary not only for the people of the region, but also for world economic stability.
I suggest that, since the Middle East and the future of the Arab world are such crucial and hotly debated issues in the US election, US networks and debates should invite Middle Eastern experts to hear about the region and possible solutions firsthand (or come to the Middle East if invitees are not allowed to enter the United States due to visa restrictions).
We have heard enough neoconservative American experts, and we have seen where they have taken America. Perhaps it is time to listen to some other experts, to consider some alternatives, and to attain a greater understanding of the region.
The world has always been predominantly favorable to American power. With the advent of George W. Bush’s administration in 2000, it was hoped that the strong presence of officials with a good knowledge of the Middle East would spell a new era of peace and understanding in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the unspeakable actions of 19 misguided terrorists on 9/11 clouded this optimism.
Saudi Arabia has done much to work toward repairing these rifts and leading in the fight against terrorism. We have been a leading partner in the war against terror and have been exonerated now of any implication in the events of 9/11 by the recent 9/11 Commission Report. More members of Al-Qaeda have been captured, detained or killed in Saudi Arabia than in any other country.
I call upon responsible Americans and their presidential candidates to look past narrow domestic interests and make peace their new priority. The world is looking at America and is eager for its wisdom and leadership. We hope that the American election campaign will serve as a guidepost of hope rather than a source of disappointment and anger.
(Hassan Yassin is a Saudi businessman. He is based in Jeddah.)
