Articles
WRMEA, August 2010, Pages 64-65
Waging Peace
Realigning America's Relations in The Middle East
THERE exists a paucity of original, creative thinking among U.S. foreign policymakers. This is the message being propagated by Stephen Kinzer, author of Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future. Kinzer expressed his concerns regarding Washington's outdated approach to Middle East foreign policymaking in a June 14 discussion at the New America Foundation.
Kinzer focused the bulk of his remarks on Washington's inability or unwillingness to adapt to a changed Middle East context. "The U.S.," he said, "is still trying to deal with the Middle East as we [Americans] wish it were." However, he argued, American foreign policy cannot continue to operate on the same assumptions. Hezbollah, Hamas and other organizations that have long been labeled terrorist and thus ignorable by Washington, for instance, are well-integrated parts of a new context that must be acknowledged.
A re-evaluation of our strategic partners, Kinzer explained, is a crucial step for the future of a successful Middle East policy. For years, Washington has expressed a clear preference for Israel and Saudi Arabia. Generally, but not necessarily, he noted, "what Israel and Saudi Arabia want, they get." In Kinzer's opinion, however, those two countries are not the most logical partners for the U.S. as far as long-term strategic interests are concerned. Emphasizing America's flawed short-term approach to policymaking, Kinzer stated that "we should be looking forward to the deep 21st century and attempt to see what is the long-term configuration we want to see in the region."
Iran and Turkey, he elaborated, are actually the most logical partners with which the U.S. could align itself. Iran, for example, has immense influence and similar strategic interests in Iraq and Afghanistan. Being a Shi'i Muslim-majority country like Iraq, sharing the same linguistic heritage as Afghanistan, and bordering both, Iran has the ability to play either the positive facilitator or the spoiler depending on how the U.S. deals with it. For its part, Turkey is economically significant and is one of the few Muslim majority countries with ties to Israel. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, the two non-Arab countries "are the only Muslim-majority states in the Middle East that have moved toward democracy."
In sum, Kinzer argued, "we have much more in common [with Iran and Turkey] than Americans are led to believe." Getting closer to the two nations, he acknowledged, is no small feat—one that will require the same type of creative policies which are so clearly lacking in Washington. Regarding Iran, Kinzer argued that the U.S. must step back from the one-track agenda and expand the focus beyond the nuclear issue. In Kinzer's opinion, making an effort to understand the Iranian perspective would force us to recognize that Washington's current agenda is essentially forcing Iran to "give up the best diplomatic card in its hand from the start."
While widening the basis for conversation is not an absolute guarantee for an opening with Tehran, Kinzer cautioned, a failure to broaden the agenda will ensure an escalation of tensions. Embracing Turkey, while an easier task than rapprochement with Iran, is something the U.S. can benefit greatly from, but "only if we are smart." Turkey is willing to offer its unique position as a healthy democracy, a large economy, and respected member of the Islamic world to help the U.S. understand the region better in terms of strategic interests. The U.S., however, should recognize the potential benefits and not shun Turkey unnecessarily by questioning its motives and designs.
Addressing the notion that such a realignment of U.S. policy in the Middle East is an abandonment of our historic allies, namely Israel, Kinzer rejected the idea that the region is based on zero-sum relationships. "This is not about throwing any country under the bus," he concluded. "It is about restructuring regional relations to best achieve our long term strategic interests—a stable Middle East."
—Andrew Blakely
