A Vision of the a˜New Middle East

Monday, 31 July 2006
By Sabria S Jawahar
The Saudi Gazette

SINCE US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the time has come for a new Mideast, political analysts have been competing in an attempt to draw a picture of what it might look like. Yet, there were few differences in the conclusions that analysts from both the West and East have reached. It seems that there is an agreement on the fact that this “new Middle East” will be nothing but small pieces of weak Arab countries. Those countries are supposed to be completely dependent on the United States, especially with the increasing violent confrontations and political turmoil in the region from sectarian wars.
That vision about the new Middle East, however, did not come out of vacuum. Actually when Ms. Rice was talking about “birth pangs” of a new Middle East, she was announcing the launching of the American-Israeli project: “A clean break: A new strategy for securing the realm.”
This project is not a top secret any more. It is well-known to all those who are interested in the American foreign policy in the region.
My vision, however, of the new Middle East is completely different from that of Ms. Rice. And I anticipate a strong likelihood that the US and Israel will become increasingly isolated. At the same time, Arab countries will be united under the umbrella of fighting one brutal enemy. It seems to me that the policy makers in the US were misguided by the designers of that project, all of whom misread the map of the region and the nature of its people. Arabs unite during times of crises.
I can see a Middle East that has lost its fairytale magic and fantasy. A Middle East that is facing the fact that it is in “a make or break situation.” I see a new generation of Arab youths for whom life and death have become inconsequential following the loss of houses, schools and hospitals.
I also see a new generation that perceives the West as a monster and a shedder of blood. The spark of anger can easily be seen glittering into the eyes of the children who witnessed their loved ones being killed in cold blood by the Israeli army, under the cover of the Bush administration.
When I look intensely at that picture of the region’s future, I wonder: Do Americans and Israelis expect those children to stretch a hand of peace again after seeing the decapitated hands of their parents, relatives and friends lying on the ground?
I also wonder about the day when Palestinian and Lebanese children pay back the gift of their Israeli counterparts. To me, Lebanese children will never forget the picture of the Israeli children writing their messages of “peace” on the artillery shells that were prepared to kill more Lebanese and destroy their houses.
Despite this gloomy picture, I completely agree with Ms. Rice. These are “the birth pangs” and a new Middle East will be born soon. But unfortunately, this Middle East will be completely different from the one that she and her administration have in mind.
It is true that it will be born out of the pain and in an atmosphere where the coldness of death and oppression being the only things around. But the pain and suffering will form the main force that will wake up the sleeping giant. A new generation will be born under the rain of the Israeli fire. That generation, thanks to the United States, will be more creative and less dependent on the West and its alleged protection. It will use its limited resources to destroy and confront the most advanced tanks and fighting planes that America supplies to Israel.
The best thing about this generation, Ms. Rice, will be its ability to survive and to kill in cold blood, thanks to the American lessons of democracy and civilization. The models that have been shown in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and finally Lebanon will teach Arab youths that they have no choice but to fight. Now, after having this alternative scenario, do you still want to create a “new Middle East”?
When people choose war, governments will never be able to stop them. Patience cannot last forever.
Note: for more information about “a clean Break” visit http://www.iasps.org/strat1.htm