Reuters publishes article “U.S. Mideast policy: Keeping our friends closer”
Washington, November 5 (AZERTAC). Reuters news agency has published an article headlined “U.S. Mideast policy: Keeping our friends closer”, by Brenda Shaffer, visiting researcher at Georgetown`s Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European studies and the professor at the University of Haifa.
According to Shaffer, it is time for Washington to change the parameters of the debate on its foreign policy toward the greater Middle East. “It is not a choice between human rights and security — rather, the two goals should go hand in hand,” the expert says.
“The United States does not need to lose its longtime allies in the Middle East and beyond in order to promote human rights and democracy. In fact, U.S. allies will be more likely to undertake political reform if they feel that Washington is a close partner,” Shaffer says.
According to her, this vacillation derives from a perceived clash between the goal of promoting democratization and human rights as well as preserving the regimes of U.S. allies in the region.
“This dichotomy is deeply flawed, however. Protection of human rights is not necessarily better under illiberal elected regimes and is most endangered in failed states — which are often the outcome when Washington withdraws its support for a regime.”
Shaffer says: First when Washington is not reasonably certain of the outcome of its intervention, it should not interfere. There is often no clear alternative political force that can govern — as seen in the Syria crisis. By contributing to the downfall of a regime when there is no clear competent replacement, Washington is only helping to create a new failed state.”
“Second, anti-regime activity should not be confused with pro-democracy movements. Internecine war can be a struggle between the “bad” guys and the “worse” guys, or the “bad” guys and the other “bad” guys. Only after offering support for the rebels in Syria, for example, did the U.S. fully understand the extent of the links of these groups to Islamic extremists.”
Shaffer also notes Washington should calculate the role of foreign forces in unfolding political scenarios. “Intervening to support foreign elections can have much less risk and lower costs than military intervention. Washington should not see these interventions as representing popular will.”
“Whether the United-States should promote freedom from religion in the world is a trickier subject, since the U.S. itself hasn’t completely managed to do that, but the example of criticizing Azerbaijani laws against head scarves is somewhat odd and is most likely meant to gain favor in other Muslim countries listening-in, although I don’t see how it will help in that regard.”
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