State Department Representative Discusses U.S. Foreign Policy

On Jan. 30 the al-Hewar Center in Vienna, VA, gave a concerned audience the opportunity to question Jon Alterman, special assistant to the assistant secretary of state on the Near East, regarding Bush administration foreign policy.

President George W. Bush had discussed America’s war on terrorism in his State of the Union address broadcast days earlier. Of the 50-some organizations on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations, three of the four singled out in Bush’s address were Arab—Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. The president also took a moment to celebrate improved relations with three countries—Russia, China and India—all non-Arab. The implications of Bush’s speech were not lost on Alterman’s audience.

Alterman opened on a note of hope. “I am deeply convinced that we all share a similar vision for the Middle East,” he said. Recognizing that the region isn’t where it needs to be, or where it should be, he asked, “How do we go from where we are, using the tools available to the U.S., to where we want to be?” He then described the State Department’s plan to improve diplomatic relations with Middle East governments.

Alterman defined the Arab-Israeli conflict as the greatest source of diplomatic difficulty. As Arab countries demand an end to Israeli aggression, he said, the U.S. demands an end to Palestinian aggression. Conflicting interpretations of the conflict make diplomatic relations between the two regions difficult, he observed, and in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict near impossible. Yet, he maintained, a conflict of interpretation does not exclude the ability to understand the other’s perspective.

According to Alterman, Washington understands the Arab argument and, more importantly, has taken it into account. Along with the demand for a 100 percent effort to end the violence, it has expressed its desire for a Palestinian state. “The U.S. government had never spoken so clearly before about where this is going,” he said, “and this is an opportunity we need to grab.”

At the same time, Alterman said he understood the need to engage Arab Americans in order to better understand the Arab perspective of the conflict. “There has never been so much attention paid to Arab public opinion in the U.S. as there is now,” he told the audience. “You can be sure that tomorrow when I go to work, I’m going to tell people what you said.”

The first question put to Alterman was, “How do we define terrorism?” Alterman replied that, although he was unsure of the legal definition, most evidence used to define terrorism was not open to the public. “My own sense is that a lot of these decisions are made for the right reasons,” he said, “and these reasons are not apparent to those without access to the same information.”

In response to a point Alterman had made earlier—namely, that slow economic development in Israel, and the regressive economic trend in the occupied territories required a remedy before any stable solution could work—one person raised the question of U.S. aid to Israel. Noting that when the U.S. gives Israel $3 billion in aid and supplies it with weapons to destroy Palestinian infrastructure, the questioner argued that the U.S. destabilizes the Palestinian economy while promoting Israel’s. Economic stability is being undermined by U.S. aid, the questioner charged, as the balance of power becomes even more lopsided. After circling around the issue, Alterman said, “U.S. relations with Israel are not going as well as many think.”

When asked about the U.S. veto of U.N. resolutions calling for international monitors, Alterman explained that there was no sense in putting U.N. soldiers in the line of fire. One person stood up and recited a passage from the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz where, in a recent Knesset meeting, Sharon defended Israeli tactics despite U.S. disfavor by saying, “We control America and they know it.” Alterman said he was unaware of the comment.

“AIPAC does not make U.S. policy but no policy decisions are made without factoring in AIPAC opinion,” one audience member maintained. She claimed to know a handful of government officials, all of whom said, off the record, that AIPAC could make or break a person. None of them would challenge AIPAC’s agenda in order not to jeopardize their careers, she said. Her comments brought the audience to their feet, and filled the room with applause. Alterman said he did not agree with her remarks.

Wrapping up the discussion, Alterman concluded, “Your comments reflect that you think no one in the State Department is aware of Palestinian suffering.” He assured the audience that this was not the case. “We read, we are aware, and we understand,” he said. “We need to build a partnership with you on this.” The evening’s conversation demonstrated that Alterman and the State Department have a long way to go to reach a comfortable partnership with Arab Americans.

—Kristel Halter

American Muslims Launch New Charity KINDER-USA

A new American Muslim charity, Kids in Need of Development, Education and Relief (KINDER-USA), was launched in February. Its goal is a simple one: To alleviate the suffering of children and their families, regardless of ethnicity or religious beliefs. KINDER-USA will provide greatly needed emergency relief to those living in refugee camps. It also will initiate educational, rehabilitation and health programs, including programs to alleviate psychological suffering due to the horrors of conflict, war, or natural disaster.

The primary focus of KINDER-USA, a legally registered U.S. charity soon to receive tax-exempt status, is “the forgotten children of Palestine,” and the first target area for aid is occupied Gaza.

The objective of its emergency operation in Gaza is to provide food and household items to cover the basic requirements of poor and vulnerable Gazans, refugees and non-refugees alike. Many of these people have lost their homes, their belongings and their sources of income. Hardest hit have been children and their mothers, always the most vulnerable.

For more information call 1 (888) 451-8908 or (972) 422-9000 or contact Dalell Mohamed at <dalelld@yahoo.com> or Riad Abdelkarim at <RiadZuhdi@aol.com>. Watch for their Web site at <www.kinder-usa.org>. Contributions may be sent to: KINDER-USA, #264, 6757 Arapahoe Rd, Suite. 711, Dallas, TX 75248-4005.

—Delinda C. Hanley