March 1995, pgs. 72-73

Middle East and Peace Activism

By Kurt Holden

CNI Discusses "New Directions For Foreign Aid

Six specialists discussed the role of U.S. foreign assistance in the Middle East and the necessity of shifting from bi-lateral aid to regional projects promoting long-term economic and political cooperation in the region under the sponsorship of the Council for the National Interest. The morning panel discussion was held Feb. 6 in the Hart Senate Office Building. Panelists included attorney Faye Williams, Bruce Bartlett of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, Sheldon Richman of the CATO Institute, Neil Hicks of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Joseph Cirincione of the Campaign for the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and CNI president Eugene Bird.

Coalition Calls for "Rethinking" U.S. Middle East Aid

Washington journalists packed a conference room at the National Press Club Jan. 31 to hear the proposals of a group called the "Coalition to Rethink U.S. Aid to the Middle East."The proposals, described in a booklet entitled "Toward a Safer Future for the Children of Abraham: A proposal for Restructuring U.S. Aid to the Middle East," called for refocusing U.S. foreign aid to concentrate economic assistance on human needs in the region, and for phasing out military aid altogether.

Coalition participants, representing five major Protestant denominations, four relief agencies and two peace groups fielded spirited questions from skeptical American, hostile Israeli and wondering Arab journalists with such skill and determination that one journalist was moved to announce spontaneously to the standing-room-only crowd: "I am from Egypt, which is second only to Israel in the amount of U.S. aid it receives, but I support these proposals. Both countries must be weaned of this debilitating dependence on U.S. aid, which is destroying us all."

The booklet outlining the proposals points out that as a result of the Camp David Accords signed in 1978, assistance to Israel and Egypt now "amounts to $5.1 billion, nearly 40 percent of total U.S. foreign aid." However, the coalition members assert, "the Camp David Accords no longer are an adequate framework for effective U.S. aid to the region." They propose instead that U.S. aid for the Middle East serve four objectives: confidence building for peace and stability; military reductions; sustainable development and open political systems; and regional cooperation and integration.

The report concludes that although "it is in the U.S. interest to contribute financially as well as diplomatically to a smooth transition to sustainable peace and development in the Middle East...this opportunity arises at a time when U.S. foreign aid resources are growing scarcer." For this reason, "restructuring aid to the Middle East must quickly become a policy priority." Copies of the report can be obtained from any of its 11 sponsors, whose addresses are listed below:

Mark Brown, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 122 C St., N.W., #125, Wash. DC 20001; Carol Capps, Church World Service/Lutheran World Relief, 110 Maryland Ave., N.E., Wash DC 20002; Tom Getman, World Vision, 220 "I" St., N.E., Wash. DC 20002; Peter Gubser, American Near East Refugee Aid, 1522 K St., N.W., Wash. DC 20005; Marianne Leach, CARE, Washington Office, 2015 Eye St., N.W., Room 1024, Wash. DC 20006; Nancy Nye, Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St.,N.E. Wash. DC 20002; Walter Owensby, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 110 Maryland Ave., N.E., Wash. DC 20002; Caleb Rossiter, Project on Demilitarization and Democracy, 1601 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 600, Wash. DC 20009; Kathy Selvaggio and Daniel Chelliah, Bread for the World, 1100 Wayne Ave., #1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910; David Weaver, National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A./Church World Service and Witness, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115; and Corinne Whitlatch, Churches for Middle East Peace, 110 Maryland Ave., N.E., #108, Wash. DC 20002.

Pakistan Opposition Spokesman Addresses Washington Groups

Mushahid Hussain, chief spokesman of the Pakistan Muslim League and former special assistant to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke to Washington journalists as the guest of the Foreign Correspondents Association on Jan. 19 and of the American Muslim Council on Jan. 23.

As the former editor of The Muslim, a major English-language daily in Pakistan, and still a syndicated columnist in Pakistan, Hussain dealt with questions concerning regional stability in the Asian subcontinent. He noted that India's explosion of a nuclear device in 1974 has tilted the military balance in its favor in the region. The resulting "big brotherly" attitude, which all of India's neighbors as well as Pakistan see as high-handed and threatening, has injected elements of fear and resentment throughout the area. Major unsolved problems, like the Indian occupation of Kashmir, he said, add a serious element of instability to this dangerous mixture. As an example of the growing resentment of India, he cited its relationship with its neighbor, Bangladesh. Although India helped Bangladesh in its war for independence from Pakistan, he said, relations now between Pakistan and Bangladesh are better than relations between India and Bangladesh.

Asked about the Western preoccupation with Islamic "fundamentalism," Hussain dismissed the role of Islamist parties in Pakistan, which already is an Islamic state. In the most recent election in Pakistan, which Hussain called the freest in the nation's history, such parties received only 2.5 percent of the vote. For historical reasons, he said, he could not envision a situation in which the Islamists would receive more than 5 percent of the vote in future elections.