Geopolitics

[acharya]

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

‘Gulf of mistrust in Arab-US relations must be breached’

HOUSTON: <span style='color:red'>A gulf of suspicion and misunderstanding in Arab-US relations</span> must be breached in order to avoid further tensions, several senior US and Arab officials said Monday at a forum in Houston, Texas.

“One of the biggest problems that we are facing in this part of the world - in the United States - is a lack of knowledge of what is happening on the other side,” Abdullah Zainal Alireza, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state, told the US-Arab Economic Forum.

“Ignorance of facts will contribute to further schism that is going to occur unless we rectify what is happening.”

Alireza noted that one source of mistrust was the way the US could hail elections in Iraq while refusing to acknowledge the democratically elected Hamas government in Palestine.

“Having an election without having the rule of law, having respect for human rights that in itself is not a democracy,” he said, referring to the situation in Iraq.

“The time has come when we have to weigh in to what we really want. Do we want a strong man - democratically elected - who will do what we want him to do or do we want a democratically elected government that will do what is best for the people?”

Karen Hughes, the US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy in charge of improving the US image abroad, acknowledged that Americans held unwarranted suspicions and mistrust of Arabs.

“The Dubai ports matter hit a deep nerve of worry among our population about American security in a post-9/11 world,” said Hughes, referring to the US Congress’s opposition to a Dubai company’s bid to take over operations at six US ports.

“Yet as we work to secure our country, as we work to protect our people I believe it is just as much in our vital national security interest that America remains an open and welcoming country.”

Hughes, a close confidante of US President George W Bush, said the US government needed to do a better job of highlighting the benefits of foreign investment and was working to educate the public about the common values shared with the Arab and Muslim world.

“President Bush knows that global commerce is a crucial part of public diplomacy and building a greater understanding,” she said. “President Bush knows that trade brings jobs and makes for a more prosperous and peaceful world.” AFP