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VIEW: US interests in the Middle East —Muqtedar Khan

Muslims across the world are watching a nuclear power supported, armed and funded by the US bomb and kill dozens of civilians, destroy the economy and infrastructure of Palestine and Lebanon, kidnap dozens of elected Palestinian leaders, bomb their homes without caring for the children, while all the US does is provide it political cover in the UN Security Council. Al Qaeda must be running out of enrolment forms

The crisis in the Middle East is rapidly escalating. Unless somebody immediately injects the region with a heavy dose of sanity, it is likely to become a conflict that will make Iraq look like a picnic. The US is perhaps the only player capable of this role. However, thanks to a lame-duck president, whose credibility at home and abroad is embarrassingly low, the world’s only superpower remains ineffective and directionless.

The US has most to lose if things go out of hand. Its key interests in the region — Oil, Israel and Liberalism (OIL) — are all in jeopardy. Oil prices are already at a record high, over $77 at the moment over fears of disruption in case of a wider war. Israel has never been more insecure: two of its enemies, Hamas and Hizbollah, are shooting rockets at it from the north and the south. Ironically, it was US attempts to promote democracy and liberalism in the region that made Hamas and Hezbollah legitimate political forces and raised hopes of their transformation into non-violent entities. Now its ally, Israel, has undermined the Palestinian democracy with its military campaign in Gaza and by mercilessly pounding Lebanon is weakening the forces of democracy there.

Israel could have agreed to a prisoner exchange. It has done that in the past, most recently in 2004. There the matter would have ended. Its overwhelming response to the capture of its soldiers at a time when Iraq is on the brink of a civil war and the Iranian nuclear crisis at its zenith is undermining key American interests in the region. However, I do not blame Israel: it is doing what its government believes it must to pursue its security and its interests. But is the US doing what it should to defend its interests in the region?

Israel’s overwhelming-force reaction comes out of fear. Given the demonstrated ability of Hamas and Hezbollah to fire rockets deep into its territory (as far as Haifa) and kill and capture its soldiers, there may be a feeling in Israel that it can deter future attacks only by terrorising the Arab world through punishing Palestinians and Lebanese civilians.

For its part, Hezbollah, under pressure from within Lebanon and the international community to demilitarise, has once again succeeded in presenting itself as the only defence Lebanon has against Israel. Israel’s killing of scores of Lebanese civilians and bombing of Beirut will merely increase support for Hezbollah, bring it more recruits and funding, and increase hatred for Israel.

Iran is readily emerging, thanks to the American adventure in Iraq, as a regional power. It may already be more capable of shaping the geopolitical realties in the Middle East than even the US. The dangerous diversion may be calculated to ease the pressure it faces on the nuclear issue. It has already succeeded in dividing the G-8, with France and Russia condemning Israel for excessive force while the US defended it.

But what is the US doing? First, by justifying Israeli actions it has distanced itself from EU and Russia — the powers it was seeking solidarity with. This has also undone billions of dollars worth of public diplomacy efforts that everyone thinks are so vital to winning the war on terror.

Muslims across the world are watching a nuclear power supported, armed and funded by the US bomb and kill dozens of civilians, destroy the economy and infrastructure of Palestine and Lebanon, kidnap dozens of elected Palestinian leaders, bomb their homes without caring for the children, while all the US does is provide it political cover in the UN Security Council. Al Qaeda must be running out of enrolment forms.

The escalation in the region is not in the interest of the US. It strengthens anti-Americanism worldwide and fuels radicalism in the Arab and Muslim world. It also reverses hard-earned gains in the region such as fledgling democracies in Palestine and Lebanon. The US does not have to abandon Israel to defend its other interests in the region. All it has to do is use its enormous leverage to ensure that Israel’s policies are moderate and prudent.

Muqtedar Khan is assistant professor at the University of Delaware and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. His website is www.ijtihad.org

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