U.S. will respect us if we are strong

Towards the end of the Gulf conflict I met many American generals, admirals and diplomats who visited Dubai during this period. Often we would discuss the problems affecting our region, particularly the situation in Palestine.

In almost every conversation on this subject I had with these American leaders, they almost all agreed that there was a great deal of truth and justification in the Arab claims for the land of Palestine.

But coming from a country that respects free speech and appreciates strength and honesty they would always ask me. "Why, do Arab leaders and diplomats always damage your case by using inflammatory rhetoric, exaggeration and half truths when they come to Washington to protest Israeli aggression?"

They go on. "Your representatives lack credibility and they often cannot agree among themselves what needs to be done." It seems to us Americans that every Arab country is pursuing its own aims at the expense of the others."

"Your inability to unite and argue your case succinctly with one voice makes you seem weak, feeble and untrustworthy. When the representatives and supporters of Israel come to Washington, they seem strong because they speak with one voice and act in harmony to achieve their political objectives. They are able to communicate with American leaders and the American public in language they understand, couching their demands in reasoned argument and promoting them in a professional way,"

They would go on. "Why do you expect America or other western nations to act against Israel by imposing sanctions or penalties that could harm our economies and our citizens or actively support the Palestinians if none of the Arab states is prepared to do this themselves."

They would add, "If you cannot stand together in a common cause with fellow Arabs why should we?"

The point I wish to make by my preamble, is the need for our governments to change their app-roach to America if we truly want to change America's attitudes and policy towards Palestine and its people. If we are going to change the American administration's, and the American people's perception of Arab people we must rise above our self interest, become strong by acting together and be prepared to suffer some hardship for the sake of Palestine.

While America admires stren-gth and honesty it will always pursue and guard its own interests, therefore, it suits America to see our Arab states weak and Israel strong. It enables them to profit from our disunity and fear of Israel. They sell us everything from weapons to soap powder all for the benefit of U.S. business and ultimately the American people.

It is even rumoured that the Bush administration has in the White House, a map showing the Middle East as a series of colour coded blocs which divide the region into areas of American influence, and control. With the countries labelled friendly or unfriendly, susceptible or not susceptible to pressure, dependant on American aid or independent.

It serves as an illustration for President Bush of his administration's foreign policy agenda for the Middle East. On this map all the states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council have been labelled "friendly" to America.

This really means those that can be "persuaded" or "pressured" to take no positive action or comply with American wishes even when U.S. actively works against their interests in the region, thus neutralising and isolating the GCC states from other Arab states.

Tough action

To make America pay attention we need to stop talking tough and begin acting tough. Rather than piously wringing our hands and doing nothing, we should immediately reinstate the Israeli boycott office give it sweeping powers to enable it to ban all products, including weapons, and to expel from all Arab countries existing American products and services from companies that do any business with Israel.

Not only should we re-impose sanctions we should sever diplomatic ties and revoke landing rights. We should also withdraw from the UN en masse as it is clear that it has become yet another arena for America to project its power in. We must reassess the value of using an oil embargo on America and Europe. We need to do all this in order to change America's attitude toward us.

It is pointless going along as we are now if we really want to see some form of peaceful resolution of the conflict in Palestine and stability in our region. We have tried being reasonable; we have tried being accommodating. We have loudly condemned, but we have done little.

Why? Because every Arab government worries about its 'relationship' with America and America has been successful on playing on our fears.

Nothing has worked, no one listens, all we seem is weak and divided, and as we all know the weak are easy to bully. It is only in by being strong, and fearlessly charting our own course for our region while at the same time standing up for our own regional interests that we will make America change its policies towards us.

Evidence that such a policy will achieve this comes from a report entitled Economic Sanctions – An Emerging Business Menace from the Economics, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defence University, Washington DC.

The report has an analysis of the use sanctions by the U.S. on other countries. There is a clearly stated concern of how much such sanctions affect U.S. business interests, in terms of direct costs, such as the loss of direct sales, and indirect costs such as increased production costs because of a reduction of demand and a higher retail sales price.

Not only are there direct and indirect costs there is also the loss of future potential as technology advances bringing new products and creating new markets. The current cost to American business of America's embargo's is estimated in the report, to be running at $15b to $19b a year with the loss of over 200,000 jobs.

Sanctions also deprive American families of almost $1b in higher wages annually. If this is what is happening currently, just think how much it would cost American business if it were to lose the entire Middle East as a market.

The Americans would soon force their government to change its policy toward us. But this can only happen if we unite and demonstrate our resolution.

It is time for our governments to plot a more positive course. We must unite, speak and act with one voice, we must take action, our governments should not be afraid to implement strategies and policies that could impose some hardship on their people in the short term.

For their people will support them as a recent survey of attitudes to the Palestinian crisis has shown.

In it, 85 per cent of all people in the Arab world see the plight of the Palestinians as the most important issue affecting their lives. Unity of action by Arab governments can only instill a sense of pride in their people for having the courage to stand up and be strong. So let us stand together and earn the world's respect.