The Foreign Service Journal, November 2007

ready to work closely with us in pro- moting it abroad. Nowhere has the utility of consul- tative processes been more convinc- ingly demonstrated than in Europe, where a democratic common political culture respectful of human rights has spread across a continent. A club of democracies like the G-8 may not be able to manage the world’s econo- my, but regular meetings at the sum- mit of such a grouping could have a major impact on the world’s political evolution if they focused on harmo- nizing and promoting global stan- dards for the rule of law and parlia- mentary democracy. The ground- work for such an effort is already in place. Finding common ground with Europe and Japan will also be key to curing our deficit of leadership with respect to global climate change. China is about to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest emitter of green- house gases. The prerequisite for per- suading Beijing to behave responsibly is to join the other industrial democra- cies in behaving responsibly ourselves. Only then can we insist that China and other newly industrializing nations do likewise. Focus on the Middle East I have been talking about how to reassert our leadership on the global level. But, in the end, we face the paradox that the world, though global- ized to an unprecedented degree, is made up of a series of regions in which regional powers increasingly call the shots. And all diplomacy, like all politics, is local. We face perplex- ing choices in every region of the world. But the policies that have brought discredit upon us center on one region, the Middle East. To restore our reputation, we must correct these mistakes. And the problem of terror- ism that now bedevils us has its origins in the same region. To end this ter- rorism, we must address the issues that give rise to it. Principal among these is the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation that recently marked its 40th anniversary and shows no sign of ending. Arab identi- fication with Palestinian suffering, once variable in its intensity, is now total. American identification with Israeli policy has also become total. Those in the region and beyond it who detest Israeli behavior, which is to say almost everyone, now naturally extend their loathing to Americans. This has had the effect of universalizing anti- Americanism, legitimizing radical Islamism and gaining Iran a foothold among Sunni as well as Shiite Arabs. For its part, Israel no longer even pretends to seek peace with the Palestinians; it strives instead to pacify them. Palestinian retaliation against this policy is as likely to be directed against Israel’s American backers as against Israel itself. Under the cir- cumstances, such retaliation — what- ever form it takes —will have the sup- port or at least the sympathy of most people in the region and many outside it. This makes the long-term escala- tion of terrorism against the United States a certainty, not a matter of con- jecture. The Palestine problem cannot be solved by the use of force; it requires much more than the diplomacy-free foreign policy we have practiced since 9/11. Israel is not only not managing this problem; it is severely aggravating it. Denial born of political correctness will not cure this fact. Israel has shown, not surprisingly, that if we offer nothing but unquestioning sup- port and political protection for what- ever it does, it will feel no incentive to pay attention to either our interests or our advice. Hamas is showing that if we offer it nothing but unreasoning hostility and condemnation, it will only stiffen its position and seek allies among our enemies. In both cases, we forfeit our influence for no gain. There will be no negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, no peace and no reconciliation between them — nor any reduction in terror- ism — until we have the courage to act on our interests. These are not the same as those of any party in the region, including Israel. We must talk with all parties, whatever we think of them or their means of struggle. Refusal to reason with those whose actions threaten injury to oneself, one’s friends and one’s interests is foolish, feckless and self-defeating. That is why it is past time for an active and honest discussion with both Israel and the government Palestinians have elected, which — in an irony that escapes few abroad — is the only democratically elected government in the Arab world. But to restore our reputation in the region and the world, given all that has happened, and to eliminate ter- rorism against Americans, it is no longer enough just to go through the motions of trying to make peace between Israelis and Arabs. We must succeed in actually doing so. There is no more urgent task for American diplomacy. 48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 We face perplexing choices in every region of the world. But the policies that have brought discredit upon us center on one region, the Middle East.