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Improved U.S.-Arab Relations Hinge on Security, Prosperity

31 October 2007

By Nino Kadar
USINFO Special Correspondent

Washington -- Officials, diplomats and policy advisers gathered in Washington in late October to examine ways to improve relations between the United States and the Arab world.

"We are beneficiaries of Judeo-Christian AND Islamic cultures," said John Duke Anthony at the 16th annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Corporate Cooperation Committee.

Anthony, president of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, cited during his welcoming remarks the historic Ramadan resolution passed by the U.S. Congress recently by a vote of 376 to 0 as one example of progress in mutual understanding.

The resolution declared, "during this time of conflict … the House of Representatives recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world," and went on to say, "the House of Representatives acknowledges the onset of Ramadan and expresses its deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this significant occasion." (See related article.)

Security

Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, addressed the common desire among the nations in the region for stability. The United States provides security assistance in a number of ways as part of "building partner capability," Dempsey said.

The first challenge is getting the U.S. and Arab governments to agree on defining the actual threat to stability, according to the general. The next challenge, he said, is reaching consensus on a course of action to address that threat.

Plans for infrastructure, manpower or equipment must be sustainable, he said, adding that stability in countries like Iraq could be enhanced by looking for "areas of interdependence" among the various groups. Two obvious areas, he said, are "oil revenues and security."

Anthony Cordesman, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed the fundamental shift away from conventional threats to asymmetric warfare such as terrorism and insurgency that exists today. The threat, he said, "spans the spectrum from sabotage to the use of weapons of mass destruction." There is “basically no conventional threat" from this region, he said. Challenges are different in each country, he said, but the key priority for governments in the region is in maintaining "internal stability."

A "fundamental change" is required from governments, he said, in which they shift their attention to counterinsurgency and counterterrorism activities. He noted that governments routinely assign these issues a higher priority than conventional warfare, but their actions often do not reflect this ranking.

To accommodate the change in threat, Cordesman said, the United States and its regional allies need to increase security cooperation as a way to secure peace rather than a preparation for war. The keys for success, according to Cordesman, lie in "maintaining and expanding peace arrangements and helping with issues of inner stability."

For security cooperation to develop fully, he said, policymakers need to develop "common netting, common information systems, integrated secure communications and forces trained to use them."

Economic Development

During a discussion of development dynamics, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for Europe and the Middle East Shaun Donnelly outlined how USTR is working to "promote economic development and liberalization by focusing on the issues of trade and investment."

Donnelly said the Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) initiative, initially introduced in 2003, seeks to create a free trade area in the Middle East based on common standards and to encourage trade "within the region." (See U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Area.)

According to the USTR Web site, "A key element of the initiative is to establish a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013. That vision is beginning to take shape through U.S. free trade agreements with Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and Oman, and Saudi Arabia's entry into the World Trade Organization."

Donnelly said the United States also is working to support accession to the World Trade Organization by Lebanon, Algeria and Yemen. This requires strengthening the rule of law in these countries to, "protect property rights [including intellectual property], and create a foundation for openness and economic growth," he said.

Odeh Aburdene, who runs a private equity consulting firm, said that the Arab world needs more entrepreneurs, risk-taking and innovation to spur economic development.

"Venture capital for this purpose is very limited,” he said, adding that investment in higher education is crucial to moving development forward. "There is a need to create an Arab Harvard," he said.

Aburdene said it is important to develop an "economic culture" in the Arab world, a culture in which education and not "blood ties" is the major key to development and economic growth. He reminded the audience that the prerequisite for economic development is to have lasting "peace and stability."

A "record high" number of corporations from the energy and defense industries attended the 2007 conference. They were joined by representatives of seven Arab embassies and two U.S. government agencies as well as other attendees.

The nonprofit National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, founded in 1983, is dedicated to "improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world" and seeks to strengthen and expand "strategic, economic, political, commercial and defense cooperation ties," and to improve relations between the two societies based on, "acceptance of each other's legitimate needs, concerns, interests and objectives."

Additional information about the conference and the council is available on the organization’s Web site.

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