Peace in the Middle East After Yaser Araft

By: Amed Demirhan

Nov 15, 2004

Now that Yaser Arafat is past away the issue of Middle East Peace is being actualized again. More than halve century international community couldn’t create peace between Arab and Israel and after Arafat is not going to be easier. Road to Arab Israeli peace goes through Baghdad and Kabul not West Bank and Gaza.

Firstly, the Palestinian issue is not limited to Palestinian and Israel therefore the solution will not be limited to two of them either. The Arab countries have used Palestinian issue to create and shape Pan-Arabism: This Pan-Arabism in nature is racist, xenophobic, and anti-Semitic (Anti-Jewish) and has its root in earlier Turkish nationalism which is inspired by Pan-Germanism (Turkish Army and Civil servants largely were trained by the Prussian/German Army from 1885 to the end of World War I) and Pan-Slavism (Turkic and Muslim migrants from Russian territory were leading Pan-Turkist intellectuals and publisher in the same period) from Russia of late 19th century and early 20th century. It is romantic and irrational. In fact the current Pan-Islamism or Fascist Islamic Fundamentalism is based on the same sources and concepts. The desire to go back to early Islam is similar to those earlier nationalism to go back to “tribal” life and purity.  This irrational behavior and concepts have hindered Arafat to make peace and by refusing Presidents Clintons Peace proposal created an impossible task for those that will take his place. No Palestinian leader under current condition can sign a peace agreement that Arafat refused. In addition, in contemporary Arab nationalist culture defeatism, failures are praised, glorified not success or victory; Gemal Abdul Nasir, Hafiz El Essad, Saddam Hussein, and Yaser Arafat are best example of this hypothesis.

Secondly, in addition to Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and some other Muslim countries are happy with on going Israel – Palestinian conflict. It gives them more opportunities to indoctrinate their population against “others”= West, and primarily United States. For example many survey made in Turkey from early 1970s to today shows citizens of Turkey perceive United State either the enemy # 1 or one of the enemies of Turkey, despite all economic, military, and political help they get from the United State. Furthermore, the global anti-Semitics groups always have been part of this conflict. This conflict is more global then local.

Why road to the Middle East Peace is going through Baghdad and Kabul? First of all these two countries have been liberated by the United States (President George W. Bush) and both of them are “marching forward for freedom”, it will take some years until these countries become stable democratic federal states. Those who are critical about why Iraq is not stable yet; I have few questions: For example, imagine if you have to change a whole university or a large company’s organizational structure by firing the presidents and every head of department with out pension and benefit and replace them with new people, how long it will take to stabilize the situation? How many of the fired professors/managers without retirement or pension will become postal’ (suicidal)? It is clear many of them and it will take a while until a stable situation is created. Iraq has about one million well trained military, security, and intelligence officer walking around without jobs and pension, indoctrinated with anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism. However, both Iraq and Afghanistan are going in right direction and a successful pluralistic democracy and federalism will strongly moderate the Arab nationalism and keep in check rest of the totalitarian regimes in the region. Only this could open door for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Finally, two most disturbing states for peace: Syria and Iran will be sandwiched among democracies from Afghanistan to Israel and no doubt they will behave better. The flourishing freedom in these countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) will create a pressure for reform and progress on Iran, Syrian dictatorship, and naturally on the other dictatorships, too. Hopefully than Palestinian will understand their best friends and partners are Jewish and Iraqis; peace will prevail. Peace for all of you and happy holy Ramadan.

Amed Demirhan

E-mail: ameddemirhan@hotmail.com

Florida, USA