Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

On Tuesday March 17, 2009, The Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University hosted a lecture by Edward Djerejian, former U.S. ambassador to Israel. In his lecture, Ambassador Djerejian presented an overview of an American diplomat’s perspective on US policy toward the Arab and Muslim world.

Djerejian is the founding director of the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and is considered a leading expert on Middle Eastern issues and a distinguished diplomat who served eight US presidents.

The lecture was based on his latest book entitled Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador’s Journey through the Middle East, published in September 2008. The book provides strategic guidance to the current US Administration to deal with challenges within the Arab and Islamic World.

According to Djerejian, the Obama Administration faces great challenges in the Middle East and the Muslim world. It has to deal with a number of problematic issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict; the troublesome situations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq; Iran’s growing power; and the conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir.

Djerejian considers the Middle East a region fraught with unresolved issues and argued that the struggle between extremism and moderation was the main issue plaguing the region. “The struggle of ideals will determine the future of the region,” he said.

Citing the conclusions of the UNDP Arab Human Development Report, Djerejian reiterated the structural problems that the region faces. He considers the unresolved conflicts in the region a hindrance to its progress in education, political participation, economic development and human rights.

Djerejian said that he does not consider US Policy in the broader Middle East to be successful. In his book, he calls for a change in American Policy from “conflict management to conflict resolution,” recommending that the US develop and implement a coherent, comprehensive policy instead of a reactive one. “We put out fire, we don’t make a major effort to resolve issues,” he explained.

In order for the US to succeed in the Middle East, Djerejian believes that it must recognize the centrality of the Palestinian issue. He called for building on the negotiations that took place in the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. In his view, its principal position “Land for Peace” still remains a framework for any peace agreement.

Djerejian called for a comprehensive approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict and recommended face-to-face negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Despite current tensions, the Israelis and Palestinians have been involved in extensive talks. He also noted that during the recent Israeli-Syrian negotiations, 80% of the issues discussed were agreed upon and further argued that if the Palestinians and Syrians signed a peace deal, Lebanon would follow suit.

According to the Ambassador, the difficulty does not lie in holding and sustaining negotiations, but in the demonstration of political will to bring those negotiations to final resolutions.

Djerejian opposes unilateral moves such as the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and South Lebanon. The only viable solution, in his opinion, was a two-state solution. He also cautioned against leaving the issue unresolved, stating that extremists feed on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Djerejian called for a strategic dialogue with Syria and Iran to reinforce the goals of the national reconciliation in Iraq as this third major recommendation of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report has been ignored by the US Administration.

Ambassador Djerejian urged the US Administration to engage Iran and listed their common interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He further noted that military action in Iran would be a diplomatic failure.

As for Afghanistan, the diplomat considered the development and rise of Al-Qaeda to be an unintended consequence of US foreign policy. He argued that supporting the government in Kabul would marginalize the warlords and the Taliban.

With regards to Pakistan, Djerejian saw hope in secular parties and regarded them as agents of a new political structure. Similarly, the current US Administration needs to focus on supporting the nuclear state to marginalize extremists.

Having lived in Lebanon for his first foreign assignment in the 1960’s, and having understood the political and social make up of the country, the Ambassador suggested dealing with the Hezbollah issue through politics of reconciliation and integrating it into the political process.

Going forward, Djerejian called for the current US Administration to be aware of the dangers of extremist forces, and to see opportunities for supporting moderate forces in the region. To achieve this, he said, the US and the West have to promote the concept of democracy according to the political culture of each individual country by letting its people decide. At the same time, he warned against extremist parties’ abuse of the democratic system by gaining power through elections and then actively destroying the democratic process.