|
ROUND THE WORLD
40-Nation Peace Conference
A NEW BEGINNING IN MIDDLE EAST?
By Dr. Chintamani Mahapatra
(School of International Studies, JNU)
New Delhi, December 03, 2007
Representatives from more than 40 countries
have agreed to meet at Annapolis, Maryland, from November 27
for three days to restart a peace process in Middle East that
has been stalled for years.
Given more than 60 years of protracted conflict between the
Arabs and Israelis and the failure of several mini and large
conferences and diplomatic efforts, it is foolish to put too
much hope on the outcome of the Annapolis meet. But the
general prediction around the world that it would produce
absolutely nothing is depressing pessimism.
The Annapolis peace talks and its outcome will be examined and
analyzed in weeks to come, but it is safe to argue now that it
is a new beginning for two reasons. First, the Bush
Administration is seriously contemplating bringing about a
Palestinian State. And after lots of rhetoric on this issue,
the Annapolis Conference is the first international effort in
that direction. While the agenda is not focused on the
creation of a Palestinian State, the meeting is the beginning
of a process that aims at establishment of a sovereign
homeland for the Palestinian people.
Secondly, this diplomatic initiative of the Bush
Administration is significant in view of the number of
participants attending this Conference. Even India has been
invited to this peace Conference and the Prime Minister’s
Special Envoy for West Asia Ambassador Garekhan has gone there
to attend this grand multi-lateral effort for bringing peace
to the Middle East. Never before have representatives from so
many countries participated in a Conference for addressing the
issues of the perennially bleeding Middle East.
It is easy to dismiss the significance of this Conference by
arguing that such conferences hardly resolve long-standing
conflicts. There are others who see in this American
initiative an attempt by President Bush to enhance his public
image at home and score higher points in the public opinion
polls. It is argued that the Annapolis Conference is an
election year stunt.
It is true that election campaign for Presidential nominations
has begun in full swing in the United States. But so far it is
an intra-party affair. Contestants for party nominations are
debating with one another and the issues of the Middle East
are dominating the debates.
But it should be noted that George Bush will be completing his
two terms in office and thus will not be a candidate for the
forthcoming November 2008 Presidential election. Attraction of
office thus is not a point for consideration. Is he just
seeking to score points in the opinion poll? This is also a
weak contention.
What is more important for George Bush is the legacy he is
going to leave behind when he relinquishes his office on
January 20 2009. There are a few achievements of his
Administration which have not adequately been appreciated.
First of all, he sternly dealt with the perpetrators of the
9/11 terrorist attacks on the US and made Osama bin Laden run
for his life. Dismantled the terrorist financing networks and
training facilities in a number of countries and overthrew the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Secondly, the Bush Administration was successful in exposing
the deadly nuclear black market and turning the father of the
Pakistani nuclear bomb into an international criminal.
Thirdly, he along with his allies was able to persuade Libya
to abandon its nuclear ambition and join the mainstream
international community.
Fourthly, the Bush Administration through multi-lateral
diplomacy successfully persuaded North Korea to dismantle its
nuclear weapons, close down its nuclear weapon facilities and
denuclearize the volatile Korean Peninsula.
Last but not the least, the Bush Administration had an
important role to play in encouraging a peace process in South
Asia and in substantially improving relations with India, thus
marking a paradigm shift in the US approach to South Asia.
However, the failures and lack-luster performances of the Bush
Administration are so significant and telling that unless
something is done during the next 14 months, the Bush legacy
would never be rated high by future historians.
It is a weakness on the part of every occupant of the American
White House to leave something great for future historians.
George Bush is no exception. The inability of the United
States to restore order in Afghanistan, let alone
reconstruction and nation-building, after more than six years
of militarily intervening in that country is a distinct black
spot on the Bush Administration’s report card.
Perhaps, worse than even Afghanistan is the condition in Iraq.
President Bush apparently sent US troops to Iraq to liberate
the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial rule. But more
than four years after removing the Saddam regime from power,
the US has neither been able to bring political stability or
economic improvements.
The standard of living of the people has deteriorated beyond
imagination. Reconstruction and nation-building is far from
satisfactory and the State of Iraq faces a possible
disintegration into three different states along the sectarian
divide.
Further, Israel, America’s most trusted and most powerful
ally, failed to prevail in the last Lebanese War. The
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the HAMAS in the Palestinian
territory have proven to be hard nuts to crack.
Against the backdrop of all these developments, the Bush
Administration is blamed for making the US the most hated in
the region. The public diplomacy of the Administration has not
been able to win the hearts and minds of the people in the
Middle Eastern streets.
The Bush White House nonetheless has realized that a positive
movement towards restarting a Middle East peace process with
the stated goal of a Palestinian Homeland could address one of
the central causes of Islamic radicalism and terrorism. A
sincere effort towards this objective, moreover, could go a
long way in reducing anti-Americanism in the Muslim World.
Thus the Annapolis Conference’s significance should not be
underestimated. It is a multi-lateral effort by the Bush
Administration --- so widely condemned for its unilateralism.
Where the Conference is at fault, however, is keeping the
Iranians out of it. Like Libya and North Korea, Iran needs to
be engaged and not isolated. ---- INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com |
