Middle East Affairs

Changing Course and A Common Word: Two Important Initiatives for Bridging with the Muslim World

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:56:50 -0500

MEI was honored to host Abdallah Schleifer, Tom Dine and Rob Fersh for a discussion of two worthy initiatives that bridge the U.S. with the Muslim world—the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project (USME) and the dialogue among Muslim and Christian religious leaders involved in A Common Word.

Prophets and Princes – Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:50:02 -0400

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MEI is honored to host Mark Weston, to discuss his new book, “Prophets and Princes – Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present.”

About the Book:

Saudi Arabia is easy to criticize. It is the birthplace of Osama bin Laden and fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers. Saudi women are not permitted to drive, work with men, or travel without a man’s permission. Prior to 9/11, the Saudis sent millions of dollars abroad to schools that taught Muslim extremism and to charities that turned out to be fronts for al-Qaeda. Yet the country is the economic and spiritual center of the Middle East, the source of one fourth of the world’s oil, and the cradle of Islam.

In “Prophets and Princes” Mark Weston, a scholar who has lived in Saudi Arabia, writes that despite its serious shortcomings, the Saudi kingdom is still America’s most important ally in the Middle East. The country is a voice for moderation toward Israel and on the price of oil, and it is starting to make the economic and cultural changes necessary to adjust to modern realities.

Most books on Saudi Arabia focus on current events and give short shrift to the long history that is the key to understanding the Saudis. “Prophets and Princes” begins with the birth of Muhammad in 570, but almost half of the book is a revealing portrait of Saudi Arabia today. Drawing on interviews with many Saudi men and women, Weston portrays a complex society in which sixty percent of Saudi Arabia’s university students are women, and citizens who seek a constitutional monarchy can petition the king without fear of reprisal.

"Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States"

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:25:03 -0400

MEI is honored to host Aamir Rehman, to discuss his book, "Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States"

"The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation"

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:12:42 -0400

MEI is honored to host Marwan Muasher, former Foreign Minister of Jordan, to discuss his new book, "The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation."

Book Description:

Marwan Muasher, a prominent Jordanian diplomat, has been instrumental in shaping Middle East peace efforts for nearly twenty years. He served as Jordan’s first ambassador to Israel and was also ambassador to the United States, spokesperson at peace talks in Madrid and Washington, minister of foreign affairs, and deputy prime minister in charge of reform. Here he recounts the behind-the-scenes details of diplomatic ventures over the past two decades, including such recent undertakings as the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East Road Map.

Muasher’s insights into internal Arab politics and the successes and failures of the Arab Center are uniquely informed and deeply felt. He assesses how the middle road approach to reform is faring and explains why current tactics used by the West to deal with Islamic groups are doomed to failure. He examines why the Arab Center has made so little progress and which Arab, Israeli, and American policies need rethinking. Part memoir and part analysis, this book reveals the human side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is essential reading for all who share the hope that moderate, pragmatic Arab voices will be heard in today’s vitriolic debates over how to achieve an enduring peace in the Middle East.

Developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:16:50 -0400

MEI is honored to host Osama Al-Kurdi, distinguished member of the Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council)of Saudi Arabia since 2001, to discuss "Developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

The Situation in Iran

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 16:01:17 -0400

Middle East Institute is honored to host Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi to discuss the "Situation in Iran."

Ebrahim Yazdi lives in Tehran with his wife, and presently serves as Secretary-General of the Freedom Movement of Iran.

The Situation on the Ground in Iraq

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 13:06:41 -0400

Middle East Institute is honored to host Michael Ware, to discuss the "Situtation on the Ground in Iraq." Ware is a CNN correspondent based in the international news network’s Baghdad bureau.

Ware joined CNN in June 2006 and quickly established himself as one of the foremost on air experts on Iraq, providing in-depth analysis and reports across all CNN networks.

Since joining CNN, Ware has also reported from Lebanon where he was involved in the network’s coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah crisis in the summer of 2006.

How We Missed the Story; Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:04:18 -0500

Roy Gutman, a former senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (2002-2003), is an award-winning journalist who has reported on international affairs for more than three decades. He is currently foreign editor at the McClatchy Washington bureau. His new book, "How We Missed the Story; Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan," is a narrative that exposes how and why the U.S. government, the United Nations, and the Western media "missed the story" in the leadup to 9/11.

Iraq's Three Wars: Is the U.S. Irrelevant to Them?

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:47:28 -0500

For three decades, Mr. Cole has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context, and his most recent book is Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). He also writes on current events, and his articles on contemporary Sunni radicalism include "Muslim Religious Extremism in Egypt" in Middle East Historiographies (University of Washington Press, 2006) and "The Taliban, Women, and the Hegelian Private Sphere," Social Research (Fall 2003). He has authored several recent journal articles on Shi`ite movements in present-day Iraq, as well as an extended essay, "The Ayatollahs and Democracy in Iraq." (Amsterdam University Press, 2006). These works were foreshadowed by an earlier book, Sacred Space and Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi`ite Islam (IB Tauris 2002), as well as in his monographs, edited books and articles of the 1980s and 1990s.

Pakistan Reaches out to Iran

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:16:49 -0400

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Pakistan only for a day but the issues discussed were much greater and wider than the time he spent in Islamabad. His arrival on October 10 came at a time when Pakistan is wrestling hard with its worst ever internal crises. Pakistan is under siege by militant forces, which are partly traceable. There is lot of confusion about the variance and agendas of these militant groups and importantly, who actually is responsible for the start of this huge mess. Parallel with the civil war situation is worst economic nightmare accompanied by chronic breakdown of electric power. To make matters worse, there is a serious and now persistent shortage of food, surprisingly in an agricultural country. All these facts combined convinced a collective 16 US intelligence agencies to file in their recent report that there is a danger of Pakistan becoming unstable and that the country is “on the edge”.

No big breakthrough was expected from these talks but a foundation has been laid for a future framework of relations. For the last nine years, Musharraf’s regime was hesitant to be seen closer to its western neighbour, as it followed the political, economic and security objectives of the hard liners in the Bush administration. The regional dynamics and their utility was a foregone conclusion for the Musharraf junta and even the Zardari government is slow to demonstrate a noticeable change from previous flawed policies.

The meeting between the Iranian officials and their counterparts was vital for Pakistan’s interests in various fields. Pakistan’s gas reserves are rapidly depleted to meet the needs of the growing population. It is more than an energy or economic problem - rather has become a concern for Pakistan’s national security. As the agenda of these talks suggest, the prime aim was to find ways for the early implementation of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, which has shrunk to Iran-Pakistan (IP) project. India dragged itself, raising objections under one pretext or the other. In reality, India started to show its lack of interest under the pressure of the U.S., with which a civilian-nuclear cooperation deal was signed in 2005.

The gas project was conceived in 1993 and was to carry 1.1-3.4 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) from Pars field in Iran to Pakistan. It was agreed that Iran would bear the cost from Pars gas field to Jiwani to the Iran-Pakistan border. Pakistan will be responsible for its sides of the pipeline. This delay has already raised the cost of the project from $4.16 to $8.16 billion. If completed on time, this project will not only ease the energy crisis for household consumption but will help immensely with industrial development. For an immediate remedy to ease power shortage, at least in areas adjoining the common borders, the Iranian minister said to double the providing of electricity to Pakistan, i.e., from 1000MW (already agreed) to 2000 MW and to provide power generation units.

Pakistan was quick to request deferred payments to the Iranians on oil imports. The Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi remarked: “The Iranian foreign minister has assured us that Tehran will consider our request. If that is done and Pakistan gets this facility it would help stabilize the situation and ease the balance of payments”. Given the history of Musharraf’s not so friendly attitude towards Iran, this highly favorable request might have been bit difficult for the Iranians to digest. But then, both the countries can hope for a new beginning in the post-Musharraf era.

Ignoring Pakistan’s historic close ties with Iran and China, Musharraf’s junta pursued policies that were detrimental to the security interests of Pakistan’s otherwise trusted neighbors. In 2003 there were protests by the local people in Kharan, which borders Iran, against the presence of American combat troops in the Shamsi Airbase. Apart from those, more facilities at Jacobabad, Dalbandin and Pasni were provided. Although these were apparently for Afghanistan operations, it raised eyebrows in Iran and China. Both these countries suspected Pakistan to have become a partner in their “encirclement” by the U.S. Thus Pakistan became a villain in the strategic vision of both Iran and China.

In this regard, it is in Pakistan’s strategic interest to re-adjust the policies of Musharraf. Poorly educated and trained, the commando general had no concept of global-regional political and economic dynamics. Nor did he understand the benefits of dependable and lasting strategic partnerships. His dependence on a single power isolated Pakistan in the region, letting loose the bonds that took many decades to be built. The American troops will eventually leave the area, although Pakistan can continue its friendly relations with the U.S. Both Iran and China are going to stay right on the borders of Pakistan. That is the reason why during the talks, both sides decided to coordinate policies on the situation in Afghanistan and for that purpose the Pakistani Foreign Minister announced a to visit Tehran soon. What a shift in Pakistan’s policy?

It has to be understood that the world in shifting from uni-polar to multiple orders and already a debate to this effect has started in the American academic circles. There are indicators that various regional power centers will emerge in the near future based on economic viability and backed by political strengths. In other words, nations all around the world will be adjusting their preferences – moving within their regional groupings. It will be in Pakistan’s interest to reevaluate its policies in all seriousness and correct its course. A closer cooperation and coordination with Iran and China (without compromising its relations with the Americans) can bail Pakistan out of its chronic economic and strategic troubles.