do not let the arab initiative die
The most momentous declaration that came out of the Arab world was the Arab
Initiative which was re-adopted by the Arab League in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in
March 2007. It would be tragic to allow the Initiative to die the way it
withered and died in Beirut, Lebanon, when it was first introduced by Saudi
Arabia in March of 2002. The Arab Initiative offers the only hope for a
comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace and has the potential to extinguish many of the horrific fires and extremism that have engulfed the Middle East to the detriment of America and its allies in the region.
The continued benign neglect of the Initiative by the United States and Israel
will send dangerous message to the Arab world that neither country is interested
in ending the debilitating 60-year conflict. As such, it will be left to the
extremist Islamic groups--the terrorists, the Jihadis, and the Takfiries--to
highjack the political agenda and make today's turmoil and bloodshed seem a
mini-rehearsal of the ominous days to come.
Essentially, the Initiative calls on Israel to agree to full withdrawal from the
occupied territories; to arrive at a just solution to the Palestinian refugee
problem, based on UN General Assembly Resolution 194, and to accept a
Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as the capital.
Having spoken about the Initiative with scores of Arab and Israeli officials, I
feel strongly that the demands made by the Initiative can be fully reconciled
with Israel's core requirements for peace which are: 1) ensuring Israel's
national security and territorial integrity, 2) sustaining Israel's Jewish
national identity, 3) securing the unity of Jerusalem as Israel's capital while
accommodating the Palestinians, and 4) establishing normal relations with the
entire Arab world.
Why is the Arab Initiative so critical to the future stability of the Middle
East?
First, timing: The Iraq war continues to rage with no end in sight, Iran has
ambitions to become the region's hegemon armed with nuclear weapons, there is a
major Sunni-Shiite conflict in Iraq threatening to engulf the entire region, and
extreme Muslim radicalism and terrorist groups are gaining popular support and
pose a clear and present danger to the United States and its allies, especially
Israel and the Sunni Arab states in the region.
Second, unlike any other peace proposal, including the Road Map, the Geneva
Initiative, the Clinton\Barak peace plan, this Initiative is an Arab one and
represents the entire Arab body politic. This is particularly important because
the Arab streets today are openly antagonistic toward the United States and
Israel. Both intuitively and psychologically, the Arab communities will relate
far more positively to an initiative by their own governments and it will
engender wide public support.
Third, since there are many extremist Arab groups, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad,
and Hezbollah, that oppose the peace process, only the collective Arab political
will can rein in by any means these groups. Moreover, without such a collective
effort, it will be impossible to successfully combat terrorism unless the
communities that support such terrorists groups are alienated from their
leadership. Here too, only the Arab states working in concert can bring about
the communal socio-economic and political change, in combination with force if
necessary, to achieve that objective.
Fourth, the Arab Initiative is comprehensive in that it covers all outstanding
conflicting issues between Israel and the Arab states. To achieve a
comprehensive peace, the conflict between Israel and Syria over the Golan
Heights must also be settled. Syria is a critical player, and the efforts by the
Bush administration to isolate or marginalize it have done nothing but further
aggravate the security conditions in Northern Israel, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Moreover, luring Syria back into the Arab Sunni fold will suck out much of the
wind that fans the Sunni-Shiite conflict.
Fifth, since Iran has thrived and continues to thrive on Arab discontent with
the United States and Israel, any major progress made on the Arab Initiative
will erode Tehran's influence in the region and offer Iranian moderates a
greater say in the affairs of their state. Distancing Syria from Iran will also
force Tehran to limit its outreach to the Mediterranean, reassess its regional
ambitions, and dramatically limit its sway with Hezbollah, Hamas, and other
extremist groups.
To be sure, the Arab states have decided to reintroduce the Initiative because
of their heightened vulnerability emanating from the convergence of events
resulting from the war in Iraq and its explosive regional potential. They see an
end to the Arab-Israeli conflict as a precondition to effectively addressing
many of the problems that have plagued the Middle East, stabilizing the region,
and securing their regimes. But the Arab leaders, other than those from Egypt
and Jordan, which are at peace with Israel, (assigned by the Arab League to
pursue the Initiative with Israel), must not sit on their hands and wait. They
too must reach out to Israel and demonstrate that their Initiative is genuine
and are ready to engage the Israelis on any level while remaining true to the
Initiative's principles.
Many opportunities have been missed in the Middle East resulting in as many
tragedies. Is it any wonder why 60 years later we are still mired in the same
senseless bloody and debilitating conflict? I submit that no greater tragedy
will befall the Middle East if the Arab Initiative is allowed to die, except
this time there will be no chance of it being resurrected.
