Asia Times: America's crumbling coalition


	February 26, 2002	atimes.com

WAR ON TERROR

COMMENTARY
America's crumbling coalition
By Mushahid Hussain

ISLAMABAD - The United States' war on terrorism, together with Israel's brutal suppression of the Palestinian intifidah, is now apparently becoming counterproductive, as recent major recent developments testify.

First, the just-concluded dialogue between the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union (EU) last week marks the first serious discussion between the Muslim world and the West in a context where many Muslims fear that the "war against terrorism" could be transformed into a general campaign against Muslims.

Second, the virtually monolithic Western view on terrorism, more so after the September 11 events, is giving way to two separate strands in Western perceptions and policies. There is, on the one hand, a more strident, even aggressive US approach that views the application of military force as the panacea to problems that are being lumped together under the label of "terrorism, extremism and weapons of mass destruction". On the other hand, if the US line is somewhat confrontational, seeking to "sort out enemies" under a conducive global context where Pax Americana reigns supreme, the European perspective has an accent on conciliation, underpinned by a dialogue, debate and discussion on issues.

These two strands mean a European distancing from any US use of force against newly designated "enemies" in President George W Bush's "axis of evil".

Pursuant to that speech, the United States has expressed its determination to convert its "war against terrorism" into a war against America's enemies, warning "timid" Muslim governments to fall in line or face Washington's wrath. This Bush doctrine does not differentiate between "moderate" and "extremist" Muslims. Instead, it creates a newer, narrower interpretation of the "either you are with us or against us" ultimatum that was used to cobble a broad coalition against terrorism after September 11.

And its focus would be mainly on the Muslim world, with a Middle East policy now largely Israel-driven. As the The Financial Times said on February 4, the Bush speech "reads like a blueprint for American foreign policy designed by Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister".

Conversely, the Europeans have publicly dissented from the US line, with reservations expressed by France, Germany, Spain and even Britain, a fact evident during the February 12-13 OIC-EU dialogue on "Civilization and Harmony" at Istanbul.

With 72 countries in attendance, this maiden conference of its kind had a threefold significance.

First, this is the first political dialogue between Muslim countries and the West and it helps negate the perceptions of those in the West, essentially a hawkish strand, that would find comfort in a "clash of civilizations" becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy in the aftermath of September 11. The fact that the need for such a dialogue was felt, and it took place, is itself a major event.

Second, this dialogue helped develop an informal consensus among participants representing nearly 2 billion people that future peace and stability in the Muslim world and positive relations between Muslims and the West are inextricably linked to the resolution of the Palestinian question - by establishing an independent Palestinian state.

The EU foreign-policy chief, Javier Solana, told the Istanbul gathering that a "two-states solution is the only solution that can bring peace [in the Middle East]. It's the only possible way to move ahead and we are determined to work in this direction". He added that the "three immediate priorities" for the EU and OIC should be ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the elimination of terrorism and restoration of peace in Afghanistan.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al Thani, whose country currently is OIC chair, spoke of the sentiments of Muslims when he told the conference that "the desire to rid themselves of foreign domination can in no way be described as terrorism". He added, "'The Western concept of terrorism reveals an effort to confine it to the product of the other, and by the 'other' we mean specifically Arabs and Muslims."

Third, the conference marked the first cleavage in the coalition against terrorism, with the Europeans now publicly distancing themselves from the Bush "axis of evil" formulation that is viewed with concern as a prelude for unilateral US military action against Iraq. The conference concluded with a resolution that reaffirms this concern, which is common among Muslims and Europeans since it called for "fighting terrorism within the framework of the United Nations in conformity with its Charter and its resolutions".

Coupled with the cleavage in the Western view of terrorism and the EU-OIC convergence has come probably the most significant initiative to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in a decade - probably since October 1991, when Arab states and Israel met at Madrid for an abortive peace conference following the Gulf War.

In an interview with the New York Times on February 17, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah proposed an Arab olive branch to Israel of "full normalization of relations" with Arab states in return for Israel's "full withdrawal from all the occupied territories, in accordance with UN resolutions, including in Jerusalem". Coming from Saudi Arabia, which enjoys a unique place as the spiritual home of Islam's holiest sites, this initiative has tremendous significance, and underlines the Arab determination to resolve the Palestinian with realism based on principle.

In the same interview, Crown Prince Abdullah said, "Any attack on Iraq or Iran should not be contemplated at all", since such an action "would not serve the interests of America, the region or the world". The Arab League promptly endorsed this initiative, as did Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Moderate Muslim leaders like Crown Prince Abdullah apart, the EU also rejects the US "go-it-alone" approach regarding terrorism, viewing with skepticism all-out US support to Israel against the Palestinians. Europe's views were made public even before the conference by Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who told the German daily Die Welt last week that "a world with 6 billion people will not be led into a peaceful future by the mightiest power alone".

"'The international coalition against terror is not the foundation to carry out just anything against anybody, and particularly on one's own. All the European foreign ministers see it that way," it reported.

The most significant conclusion of the conference was summed up by the host and chairman, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, who said: "After September 11, terrorism was being defined on religious and cultural lines ... Now there is the realization that terrorism has no religion."

This confluence of European and Islamic opinion could be crucial in determining the direction of the "war against terrorism", by putting pressure on the United States to rethink its one-sided approach on terrorism as well as its tilt toward Israel.

(Inter Press Service)