The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

Taking Stock of Middle East Policy On Oct. 21-22 the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations ( www.ncusar. org ) held its annual policymakers con- ference, “U.S.-Arab Relations: Going Where?” Among the participants was veteran diplomat Chas Freeman, who gave a rousing address to open the con- ference, in which he criticized U.S. military interventions in the Middle East and Washington’s approach to Is- raeli-Palestinian peace talks. “For Israel, the so-called ‘peace process’ provides cover for more land grabs,” Freeman said. “For the Pales- tinian Authority, it earns international aid tomake up for the lack of legitimacy at home. For the United States, it gives the illusion of activism on behalf of peace while avoiding the politically costly decisions necessary actually to produce it.” Michael Corbin, deputy assistant secretary of State for Iraq, offered an upbeat assessment of that troubled country’s progress toward becoming a fully functioning independent state. “When I look at where we were in 2006 and I look at where we are in 2010, I have to say that we are in a process where Iraqis have abandoned civil war, where they’re seeking to bal- ance relations with their neighbors, where they’ve chosen politics [rather than violence].” In a panel on U.S.-Iran relations, Flynt Leverett, director of the Iran Project at the New America Founda- tion ( www.newamerica.net ), de- scribed the rise of Iranian power in the region as not only an “inevitable” product of strategic mistakes the U.S. made by invading Afghanistan and Iraq, but also a result of Iran’s ability to pick the winners: groups like Hamas and Hezbollah that “represent unavoidable constituencies with legiti- mate grievances.” —Mohammad Alhinnawi, Editorial Intern China Watch, One Decade On Highlights from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Com- mission’s latest annual report, issued on Nov. 17, include the following allega- tions: Beijing continues to pursue an “in- digenous innovation” policy to pro- mote favored industries and limit im- ports, using such tactics as currency manipulation, strategic purchases of U.S. Treasury securities and curbs on exports of rare earth elements (crucial for telecommunications). China’s growing air and missile power, which benefits from improving commercial aviation manufacturing ca- pabilities, is enhancing the country’s capability to strike U.S. bases and allies throughout Asia. Meanwhile, mali- cious computer activity emanating from the People’s Republic of China is becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous. For instance, the Pentagon recently confirmed that state-owned China Telecom hijacked message traffic in- tended for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ office, and other U.S. government, military and corporate sites, during an 18-minute period on April 8, 2010. The 316-page report also warns that Beijing’s revised state secrets laws may conflict with U.S. disclosure require- ments and put U.S. investments in 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 C YBERNOTES W e would like a nonviolent, peaceful revolution, [by which] I mean a great change for the better. I don’t quite know how [the authorities] will inter- pret the word. … My attitude is, do as much as I can while I’m free. And if I’m arrested I’ll still do as much as I can. — Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, from a Nov. 15 interview by BBC News World Affairs Editor John Simpson follow- ing her release from house arrest in Rangoon; www.bbc.co.uk/news/