The Root of the Problem

Today I attended a presentation on the situation in the Middle East, terrorism and the post-bin Laden world.  There were two speakers, both professional military men; both knew a great deal about the region and terrorism – one specialized in tactical thinking and the other strategic thinking.  Neither could say exactly what Al-Qaeda will do or even what the nature of the organization will be now that bin Laden is dead, but both agreed that Al-Qaeda was not dead.  They thought the United States faces serious challenges in developing strategies to deal with terrorism in general and with the changing political landscape around the region.

The most senior man and the strategic thinker said entire Middle East is more complicated in this the time of the Arab Spring than in the previous decade when Al-Qaeda’s influence and following grew rapidly. Al-Qaeda offered people a weapon for fighting evil, the evil of the United States and indirectly the evil of Israel.  Al-Qaeda framed the issue in terms of defending Islam.   The current unrest is not related to the defense of Islam and while the U. S. and Israel are still seen as contributing factors to the social problems, they are not the root cause.  The new movements are not rooted in Islamic fundamentalism, nor looking to Islam as the solution to the world’s problems – today’s moments are the result of  social problems rooted in living conditions of individual citizens.  This generation of discontents wants to be full participants in the 21st century.  In this new century, they want to have the same opportunities as people in Europe, China or America; they want jobs and they want political rights; they want futures. The speaker made the point several times; the majority of people in the Arab world feel marginalized economically and politically. They are ready to demonstrate and to fight to end that and if Al-Qaeda or any other organization is going to be a significant player it will have to offer a new future for the living and not mythical virgins in heaven.

Afterward I went back to my office and my normal schedule, which usually includes reading the international press; the Middle East is incomprehensible to me right now – there is no objective reporting any place where there is fighting. I can’t tell what is going in Syria, Yemen or Libya; for certain there is fighting, but who is fighting and for what they are fighting I can’t tell.   Is there an identifiable group or party in those countries fighting for those basic rights that characterized the first few battles in the Arab Spring?  I can’t tell.  However, I did see something that reinforced the view I had heard that morning – that underneath, at the root their are common people who are simply tiered of being marginalized and oppressed and are demanding or will demand in the future full human rights – economic and political. That storyline came from UK Guardian – a group of six amateurs videos from Israel and Palestine.  I don’t pretend to have the knowledge or the skills to advice the Israelis, but I am as certain as the general who spoke in the morning that it is impossible to marginalize and oppress people forever.  Just as the United States is going to be forced to rethink its policies and strategies in the Middle East, I beleive it is time for Israel to rethink its polices toward Palestinians.