160 Packard Avenue - Tufts University - Medford, Massachusetts 02155-7082 USA - 617.627.3700
Comments to: FletcherWeb@tufts.edu
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
Ambassador William Rugh speaks on American Middle East policy after
9/11
|
| On Monday (December 2), students, faculty, and special guests
crowded into Cabot Room 702 to hear Ambassador William Rugh speak on
U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. A career diplomat, Ambassador
Rugh was invited to The Fletcher School as part of the Issam M. Fares
Lecture Series sponsored by the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean
Studies at Tufts University. Dr. Rugh, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1992-1995) and Yemen (1984-1987), opened his talk with a discussion of the Arab perception of President George W. Bush’s policies after 9/11. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Rugh said, the Arab world offered expressions of grief and sympathy toward the United States. However, he also pointed out that these feelings soon evaporated. The decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to side with the United States in the War against Terrorism and Bush’s bellicose rhetoric targeting Iran and Iraq quickly inflamed Arab pubic opinion, stated Rugh. The Bush administration’s obsession with Iraq, Rugh argued, has stirred up further anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. In sum, to many Arabs in the Middle East, Bush’s policies seem overtly hostile toward Muslims and exceedingly pro-Israeli. Rugh added that the phenomenon of satellite television in the Middle East has added a new and explosive dynamic to the formation of public opinion in the region. Unlike in the past, the Arab world today is well informed as the plight of the Palestinians and the racist views of extremists such as Jerry Falwell are beamed directly into the living rooms of millions of Arabs. As America’s image in the Middle East deteriorates, a policy debate is raging in Washington D.C. over what to do with Iraq. This debate, said Rugh, is being waged by two opposing camps: the hawks versus the doves. The hawk camp includes Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz, Vice-President Dick Cheney, and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. The dove camp includes Secretary of State Colin Powell, General Anthony Zinni, and Director of Policy Planning Richard Haas. The major issue of contention between the two camps is whether dealing now with Iraq should be a high priority, said Rugh. While the hawks believe that Iraq poses an immediate threat because Saddam Hussein is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, the doves contend that Iraq is not a high priority, and that the U.S. should seek to contain and deter him. Rugh characterized the hawk camp as optimistic and reckless and stressed that containment and deterrence should be used against Saddam as these strategies have worked in the past. Rugh added that the Bush administration should redirect its energies toward resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, conducting anti-terror operations, and rebuilding Afghanistan. Which camp will ultimately prevail? In Rugh’s view, President Bush’s sharp policies toward the Middle East have been popular domestically, and if he maintains this support, the hawks will eventually triumph. |
 |
2002 The Fletcher School, Tufts
University |
|
|
| |