January 19, 2011
Tunis to Tel Aviv to Tehran:
The US and Today’s Middle East
L. Carl Brown
Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs Emeritus, Princeton University
Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the 69th Year
The meeting was called to order at 10:15 AM by President Bob Varrin.Tom Fulmer led the invocation. Three guests were introduced: Charles Ascher by Luke Finlay; Michael Curtis, by Herb Abelson; and Micaella de Lingarolles, by Scott McVay. Claire Jacobus read the minutes of the previous meeting. Jack Reilly announced that Herb Abelson had attained Emeritus status. The speaker and program for next week’s meeting were announced.
Jock McFarlane introduced the speaker, Emeritus Professor Carl Brown, an Old Guard member, who had graciously replaced the ailing scheduled speaker on very short notice. Prof. Brown is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and he earned his doctorate at Harvard. He is an historian, a lifelong student of the countries and cultures of the Middle East. He is Director of the interactive Middle Eastern Studies Program at Princeton. He’s also a member of and advisor to the Princeton Middle East Society. His talk was entitled “Tunisia to Tel Aviv to Tehran.”
The first half of Dr. Brown’s talk was about Tunisia, a favorite subject of his, dating back to the writing of his doctoral thesis. Tunisia, he said, is a fascinating country with a complicated history and a unique geo- graphical situation. It’s the northernmost country of Africa, not far from Sicily and Italy. Originally populated by Berber Arabs, its history goes back to settlement by Phoenicians in the tenth century B.C., to Carthage which rivaled Rome as a Mediterranean power, and to successive occupation by Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans. Under the Ottomans, Tunisia had a measure of independence. But after the French invaded from Algeria in 1881, Tunisia became a French protectorate.
In the Second World War, Tunisia was an important battleground. Most us remember Operation Torch, when Americans landed in North Africa in 1942, drove eastward and eventually met with British forces coming from Egypt and Libya; and after a series of hard-fought battles, the Allied Forces finally defeated Field Marshall Rommel’s German-Italian forces who were forced to surrender in May 1943.
After the War, in 1956, the Tunisian Republic was established. Its first president was the charismatic nationalist Habib Bourguiba, for whom Prof. Brown had great admiration. Bourguiba led the modernization of his country. He gave increased rights and privileges to women, and resisted the Islamization of his country. He knew that Tunisia needed to stay away from religious fundamentalism. He developed good relationships with members of the European Union, especially France, as well as with other Arabic nations. He was a moderating voice in the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict. [Under Bourguiba,Tunisia was a member of the Arab League and the African Union.] The economy became more diversified, based on a meld of agriculture, mining, manufacturing (clothing, footwear, and machinery), and tourism. And although Islam was the official religion and 99 % of the people were Muslim, Tunisia has had a secular culture in which other religions are tolerated.
Bourguiba was regarded at one time as the most effective of third world leaders. He guided his country through the difficult but essential process of de-colonization. But, unfortunately, he didn’t know when to stop; he hung on too long. But eventually, after 31 years in power, Bourguiba was declared incompetent and removed in a bloodless coup, in 1987. [Prof. Brown recalled what Marc Antony said after the death of Julius Caesar: “You all did love him once, not without cause.”]
Bourguiba’s successor as President was his Prime Minister Zenedine Ben Ali, who ruled for more than 23 years, from 1987 until January 2011. Ben Ali initially promised to maintain Bourguiba’s reforms, but his regime gradually became corrupt, authoritarian, and repressive. With decline in the Tunisian economy, and the awakening of a more informed public, Ben Ali became progressively more unpopular, until he was forced out in a bloodless revolution two weeks ago, and Ben Ali had to seek asylum in Saudi Arabia.
Prof. Brown went on to consider what will be the impact of the current Tunisian revolution on other states in the region, what does it say about American actions in the past, and what guidance can the situation provide for our role in the future. As to the first question, it remains to be seen. But we can anticipate that the increasingly informed populations of the region will be progressively less tolerant of authoritarian regimes.
With regard to American actions in the Middle East in the past, Prof. Brown was unequivocal in condemning our invasion of Iraq; the results of our military intervention in Iraq were “abysmal,” he said. He added, “An activist overthrow of a regime is not a good or useful way to proceed.” Going on, although he had no doubt that Iran is seeking a nuclear capability, he said that a military action there would be counter-productive, and very bad. He emphasized the need for a prudent approach, and for recognizing the limits to what we can do.
Dr. Brown then discussed the effects of America’s unequivocal support of Israel. He said that our commitment to the security of Israel is iron-clad and no longer subject to debate. But, he emphasized, the perception of our support of Israel is an important factor in the opposition to the United States. Our unyielding pro-Israel position undermines our efforts to be influential in the region, he said.
He closed by focusing on the continuing and unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He stated that the state of Israel needs to work for a separate Palestinian state, and to end their “occupation” of Palestinian territory. The need for this is “a matter of demographics,” he said. Within Israel, there are 6.1 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs, but in “Greater Israel,” including Gaza and the West Bank, there are another 4 million Arabs. So within the next few years, Greater Israel will have a Jewish minority. Dr. Brown felt that the Israelis need to end their settlements policy, and move towards the recognition of a Palestinian state. But he noted the seeming inability of the Obama administration to move events in that direction. So no easy solutions seem to be in sight.
At the conclusion of Dr. Brown’s talk, there were several provocative questions. In one of them, a member disputed the accuracy of some of Dr. Brown’s statements, particularly with regard to Gaza and the West Bank settlements. Professor Brown conceded the accuracy of some of the members’ statements, but he maintained that it is not in Israel’s interest to continue its efforts to expand its occupation in the disputed territories.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Harvey Rothberg, M D
Jock McFarlane introduced the speaker, Emeritus Professor Carl Brown, an Old Guard member, who had graciously replaced the ailing scheduled speaker on very short notice. Prof. Brown is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and he earned his doctorate at Harvard. He is an historian, a lifelong student of the countries and cultures of the Middle East. He is Director of the interactive Middle Eastern Studies Program at Princeton. He’s also a member of and advisor to the Princeton Middle East Society. His talk was entitled “Tunisia to Tel Aviv to Tehran.”
The first half of Dr. Brown’s talk was about Tunisia, a favorite subject of his, dating back to the writing of his doctoral thesis. Tunisia, he said, is a fascinating country with a complicated history and a unique geo- graphical situation. It’s the northernmost country of Africa, not far from Sicily and Italy. Originally populated by Berber Arabs, its history goes back to settlement by Phoenicians in the tenth century B.C., to Carthage which rivaled Rome as a Mediterranean power, and to successive occupation by Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans. Under the Ottomans, Tunisia had a measure of independence. But after the French invaded from Algeria in 1881, Tunisia became a French protectorate.
In the Second World War, Tunisia was an important battleground. Most us remember Operation Torch, when Americans landed in North Africa in 1942, drove eastward and eventually met with British forces coming from Egypt and Libya; and after a series of hard-fought battles, the Allied Forces finally defeated Field Marshall Rommel’s German-Italian forces who were forced to surrender in May 1943.
After the War, in 1956, the Tunisian Republic was established. Its first president was the charismatic nationalist Habib Bourguiba, for whom Prof. Brown had great admiration. Bourguiba led the modernization of his country. He gave increased rights and privileges to women, and resisted the Islamization of his country. He knew that Tunisia needed to stay away from religious fundamentalism. He developed good relationships with members of the European Union, especially France, as well as with other Arabic nations. He was a moderating voice in the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict. [Under Bourguiba,Tunisia was a member of the Arab League and the African Union.] The economy became more diversified, based on a meld of agriculture, mining, manufacturing (clothing, footwear, and machinery), and tourism. And although Islam was the official religion and 99 % of the people were Muslim, Tunisia has had a secular culture in which other religions are tolerated.
Bourguiba was regarded at one time as the most effective of third world leaders. He guided his country through the difficult but essential process of de-colonization. But, unfortunately, he didn’t know when to stop; he hung on too long. But eventually, after 31 years in power, Bourguiba was declared incompetent and removed in a bloodless coup, in 1987. [Prof. Brown recalled what Marc Antony said after the death of Julius Caesar: “You all did love him once, not without cause.”]
Bourguiba’s successor as President was his Prime Minister Zenedine Ben Ali, who ruled for more than 23 years, from 1987 until January 2011. Ben Ali initially promised to maintain Bourguiba’s reforms, but his regime gradually became corrupt, authoritarian, and repressive. With decline in the Tunisian economy, and the awakening of a more informed public, Ben Ali became progressively more unpopular, until he was forced out in a bloodless revolution two weeks ago, and Ben Ali had to seek asylum in Saudi Arabia.
Prof. Brown went on to consider what will be the impact of the current Tunisian revolution on other states in the region, what does it say about American actions in the past, and what guidance can the situation provide for our role in the future. As to the first question, it remains to be seen. But we can anticipate that the increasingly informed populations of the region will be progressively less tolerant of authoritarian regimes.
With regard to American actions in the Middle East in the past, Prof. Brown was unequivocal in condemning our invasion of Iraq; the results of our military intervention in Iraq were “abysmal,” he said. He added, “An activist overthrow of a regime is not a good or useful way to proceed.” Going on, although he had no doubt that Iran is seeking a nuclear capability, he said that a military action there would be counter-productive, and very bad. He emphasized the need for a prudent approach, and for recognizing the limits to what we can do.
Dr. Brown then discussed the effects of America’s unequivocal support of Israel. He said that our commitment to the security of Israel is iron-clad and no longer subject to debate. But, he emphasized, the perception of our support of Israel is an important factor in the opposition to the United States. Our unyielding pro-Israel position undermines our efforts to be influential in the region, he said.
He closed by focusing on the continuing and unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He stated that the state of Israel needs to work for a separate Palestinian state, and to end their “occupation” of Palestinian territory. The need for this is “a matter of demographics,” he said. Within Israel, there are 6.1 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs, but in “Greater Israel,” including Gaza and the West Bank, there are another 4 million Arabs. So within the next few years, Greater Israel will have a Jewish minority. Dr. Brown felt that the Israelis need to end their settlements policy, and move towards the recognition of a Palestinian state. But he noted the seeming inability of the Obama administration to move events in that direction. So no easy solutions seem to be in sight.
At the conclusion of Dr. Brown’s talk, there were several provocative questions. In one of them, a member disputed the accuracy of some of Dr. Brown’s statements, particularly with regard to Gaza and the West Bank settlements. Professor Brown conceded the accuracy of some of the members’ statements, but he maintained that it is not in Israel’s interest to continue its efforts to expand its occupation in the disputed territories.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Harvey Rothberg, M D