October 11, 2006
The Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities for U. S. Policy
Daniel Kurtzer
Former Ambassador to Egypt and Israel,
Faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University
Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the 65th Year
President Giordmaine called the Old Guard to order at 10:15 a.m. for the fifth meeting of the fall season, 2006. John Marks led the invocation. Eugene Haring, Esq., read the minutes for the meeting of October 4th, giving a meticulous precis of Peter Kann’s reflections on Press Freedom and Responsibility.
The President drew our attention to the new and improved Old Guard handbook, and requested members to collect their copy from George Hansen.
Rosemary O’Brien introduced a guest, Robert Hopkins; Lucien Yokana introduced his wife Ann Yokana as a visitor; and Betsy Belshaw was introduced as a visitor by her husband, Mellick Belshaw.
Phil Cruickshank made an appeal for help in identifying faces as yet without names in the enlarged copy of last spring’s group photograph, on display at the back of the room, and noted that four copies of the photo, ordered last spring but as yet uncollected, remained in his possession. He would appreciate being able to place them in the proper hands.
Next week’s program, Charles Maxwell on the “Energy Outlook,” was announced.
David Dodge introduced the day’s speaker, Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel and now on the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School. The 125 members present were then held riveted by a highly topical address, The Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy. Ambassador Kurtzer’s thirty years in the Foreign Service all centered on the Middle East, and his experience in intelligence as well as his own part in such key initiatives as the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, combined to give him that voice of authority and practical wisdom that we all crave to hear in relation to this most challenging region. The Ambassador warned us that as a seasoned diplomat he is apt to “approach every problem with an open mouth,” but the informed candor of his speech drew only our rapt attention.
Sketching several endemic problems of the region, Dr. Kurtzer cited resistance to globalization and hence economic growth; an almost total failure to use the enormous oil- and gas-generated wealth of the region to improve quality of life or to alter the economic and political landscape; a virtually universal lack of Arab interest in moving their societies toward any form of representative government; the specter of terrorism, perhaps now more diplomatically termed “Islamic militancy”; and the continuing persistence of regional conflict–by no means confined to the running sore of Arab/Israeli relations.
Despite ever-increasing oil revenues, there are very few examples of nations using their wealth to “join” the global family. Nor has our own huge investment in “democratization” borne fruit. Our experience in Iraq is only the most blatant demonstration that the “imposition” of democracy does not work.
Dr. Kurtzer spiced his account with personal experiences, such as his ambassadorial reception for publicly influential Egyptians to hear Tom Friedman. Friedman had just published The Lexus and the Olive Tree, but his exhortation to Arab nations to find their own niche in the global economy fell on deaf ears as the guests continually steered the discussion into the well-worn channels of conflict between East and West, Muslim and Christian.
Dr. Kurtzer does retain a guarded optimism that change may be possible, but only if we can abandon the notion that outsiders can provide the prescriptions. In fact, Arab intellectuals’ own analysis of their societies identify the same three “deficits” that we would: lack of freedom, knowledge, and women’s empowerment. Although we might pounce on these perceptions as evidence of a field ready for democracy to take root, Dr. Kurtzer remains convinced that any future movement toward a more open and democratic Middle East can evolve only from analysis and reformation from within the nations of that region. There is a desperate need for a period of peace, some respite from violence, if such self-examination and reassessment are to come about.
US policy has remained largely unchanged over half a century: perhaps it is time for a reassessment on our part too. The speaker proposed some challenging questions in a number of critical areas, hinting that opportunities may exist if we were to change some of the premises of current policy.
–Is it time to scale back the enormous volume of our aid to Israel and Egypt?
–Why are we not talking with Iran and Syria?
–Can we not make more use of diplomacy and less of threats?
–How can we focus more resources on counter-insurgency/intelligence and less on simply killing terrorists?
–Why do we have no national energy policy?
–Why would Iran not see the world as a dangerous place, in view of the significant US military and naval presence on its borders?
On Iraq, Dr. Kurtzer was unequivocal: withdrawal now is the “least bad” option simply to staunch the bloodletting, since there is no foreseeable option that can come even close to producing the outcome that we say we seek. We should leave immediately, drawing down troops while simultaneously intensifying diplomacy over the next six to twelve months.
Perhaps the Ambassador’s most encouraging word was to confirm that the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group under James Baker, of which he is a member, is preparing a range of policy options and initiatives to present to President Bush.
President Giordmaine cut short the vigorous question and answer session at 11:30 AM sharp.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Fleming
The President drew our attention to the new and improved Old Guard handbook, and requested members to collect their copy from George Hansen.
Rosemary O’Brien introduced a guest, Robert Hopkins; Lucien Yokana introduced his wife Ann Yokana as a visitor; and Betsy Belshaw was introduced as a visitor by her husband, Mellick Belshaw.
Phil Cruickshank made an appeal for help in identifying faces as yet without names in the enlarged copy of last spring’s group photograph, on display at the back of the room, and noted that four copies of the photo, ordered last spring but as yet uncollected, remained in his possession. He would appreciate being able to place them in the proper hands.
Next week’s program, Charles Maxwell on the “Energy Outlook,” was announced.
David Dodge introduced the day’s speaker, Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel and now on the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School. The 125 members present were then held riveted by a highly topical address, The Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy. Ambassador Kurtzer’s thirty years in the Foreign Service all centered on the Middle East, and his experience in intelligence as well as his own part in such key initiatives as the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, combined to give him that voice of authority and practical wisdom that we all crave to hear in relation to this most challenging region. The Ambassador warned us that as a seasoned diplomat he is apt to “approach every problem with an open mouth,” but the informed candor of his speech drew only our rapt attention.
Sketching several endemic problems of the region, Dr. Kurtzer cited resistance to globalization and hence economic growth; an almost total failure to use the enormous oil- and gas-generated wealth of the region to improve quality of life or to alter the economic and political landscape; a virtually universal lack of Arab interest in moving their societies toward any form of representative government; the specter of terrorism, perhaps now more diplomatically termed “Islamic militancy”; and the continuing persistence of regional conflict–by no means confined to the running sore of Arab/Israeli relations.
Despite ever-increasing oil revenues, there are very few examples of nations using their wealth to “join” the global family. Nor has our own huge investment in “democratization” borne fruit. Our experience in Iraq is only the most blatant demonstration that the “imposition” of democracy does not work.
Dr. Kurtzer spiced his account with personal experiences, such as his ambassadorial reception for publicly influential Egyptians to hear Tom Friedman. Friedman had just published The Lexus and the Olive Tree, but his exhortation to Arab nations to find their own niche in the global economy fell on deaf ears as the guests continually steered the discussion into the well-worn channels of conflict between East and West, Muslim and Christian.
Dr. Kurtzer does retain a guarded optimism that change may be possible, but only if we can abandon the notion that outsiders can provide the prescriptions. In fact, Arab intellectuals’ own analysis of their societies identify the same three “deficits” that we would: lack of freedom, knowledge, and women’s empowerment. Although we might pounce on these perceptions as evidence of a field ready for democracy to take root, Dr. Kurtzer remains convinced that any future movement toward a more open and democratic Middle East can evolve only from analysis and reformation from within the nations of that region. There is a desperate need for a period of peace, some respite from violence, if such self-examination and reassessment are to come about.
US policy has remained largely unchanged over half a century: perhaps it is time for a reassessment on our part too. The speaker proposed some challenging questions in a number of critical areas, hinting that opportunities may exist if we were to change some of the premises of current policy.
–Is it time to scale back the enormous volume of our aid to Israel and Egypt?
–Why are we not talking with Iran and Syria?
–Can we not make more use of diplomacy and less of threats?
–How can we focus more resources on counter-insurgency/intelligence and less on simply killing terrorists?
–Why do we have no national energy policy?
–Why would Iran not see the world as a dangerous place, in view of the significant US military and naval presence on its borders?
On Iraq, Dr. Kurtzer was unequivocal: withdrawal now is the “least bad” option simply to staunch the bloodletting, since there is no foreseeable option that can come even close to producing the outcome that we say we seek. We should leave immediately, drawing down troops while simultaneously intensifying diplomacy over the next six to twelve months.
Perhaps the Ambassador’s most encouraging word was to confirm that the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group under James Baker, of which he is a member, is preparing a range of policy options and initiatives to present to President Bush.
President Giordmaine cut short the vigorous question and answer session at 11:30 AM sharp.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Fleming