Media

January 11, 2007

News Release

Contact:
Stephanie L. Tennyson
703-525-0770
stennyson [at] potomacinstitute.org
www.PotomacInstitute.org

Arlington , VA -- There has never been an American era in the Middle East. Radical extremists are fighting a war of identity and political power against the West. The future does not look promising as radicals gain more strength. These are some of the claims proffered by Yosef Kuperwasser, the Charles and Andrea Bronfman Visiting Fellow at Brookings’ Saban Center for Middle East Policy . Prior to Mr. Kuperwasser’s current appointment at Brookings, he was the head of the Research Department of the Israeli Defense Force's Directorate of Military Intelligence (Aman) for five years, until June 2006. In this capacity he was responsible for preparing Israel's national intelligence assessment.

Mr. Kuperwasser spoke to the group of approximately 50 people, ranging from former diplomats and current foreign embassy employees to other members of the think tank community at a January 10, 2007 seminar at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, titled The Middle East: End of an American Era? The title of the seminar, which was covered by C-SPAN, was provoked by the publication of the article, “The New Middle East,” by Richard Haass, which appeared in the November/December 2006 edition of Foreign Affairs.

The event began with welcome remarks from Potomac’s Chairman and CEO, Michael Swetnam, and initial comments from the event’s co-host, Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Institute’s International Center for Terrorism Studies. Mr. Swetnam thanked the audience for attending the Institute’s event, noting the importance of this type of dialogue, and highlighting the contributions of Potomac’s International Center for Terrorism Studies work. After a brief introduction by the CEO, Dr. Alexander reiterated the value of open discussion. He noted that the seminar was timely due to the President’s impending speech on a new strategy for Iraq, and invited the group to reconsider the assumptions that have been in place since the events of September 11 th. Professor Alexander challenged Mr. Kuperwasser to anticipate what an end to American security and supremacy overseas would mean to the Nation and the world.

Mr. Kuperwasser began by stating that he does not believe there was ever an “American Era” in the Middle East. He noted that the United States has gained and lost strength in the region, but the radicals are increasingly managing to move the power from government to the streets. He said, “The radicals have strengthened their grip on the political vocabulary of the Middle East. There is no other way of speaking than the radical vocabulary. Most governments in the region must use it, even if they oppose the actions of the radicals.” Mr. Kuperwasser commented that we’ve not been able to convince the governments in the region to say terrorism is not a good policy, or that it does not serve their interests well.

He remarked that the M iddle East is looking for where they fit in the global village and are struggling against its rule. Extremists in the region are fighting to build a new world order, based on their claim that the current world order is designed to keep them lagging behind the rest of the world.

An overarching theme of Mr. Kuperwasser’s talk was that of accountability. The radical extremists maintain that since there is a plot against them, they are not accountable for their actions. In addition, the governments of the region do not hold those acting within their sovereign borders accountable.

Mr. Kuperwasser stated that the values of the western world—life, liberty and happiness—are not the values of the radicals. He said, “We speak of democracy, they speak of justice. This is the core of the ongoing problem in the Middle East. We believe give them democracy and they will be happy.” He argued that extremists want to change the rules of warfare—that in their view, the killing of civilians is fine. He also argued that the international community has a double standard for nation states and radical groups, saying that in the last Israel-Hezbollah confrontation, the world watched as Hezbollah launched rockets from residential areas aimed at the civilian population of Israel for 34 days and said nothing. However, when Israel struck back at the terrorist group’s launch sites in Lebanon it was criticized for attacks against civilians.

He noted that there are many in the region that support the United States and its ideals, but they are not as strong or as ready to fight as the radicals. Mr. Kuperwasser said, “We have to consider what cutting off support to them means.” The radicals argue that the West is hollow and is not ready to fight for its interests or ideas; he noted that the radicals are ready to fight, but have only interests not ideas.

Prior to questions from the audience, he summed the four major points of his talk: there was never an American era in the Middle East; radicals are in a war of identity and political power against the West; the future is not promising from where we stand—radicals are gaining more strength; and finally, what we are going to do in the region matters and has an impact on how things will be done in the Middle East. The audience continued to engage Mr. Kuperwasser in various topics, including the threat of nuclear power in the Middle East, the new Pentagon leadership and the implications for the area, and the role of Russia and China in the region.

The International Center for Terrorism Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, and the Homeland Security Policy Institute at The George Washington University were co-sponsors of this event. Please note that these remarks do no necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy research institute. The Institute identifies and aggressively shepherds discussion on key science and technology issues facing our society. From these discussions and forums, we develop meaningful science and technology policy options and ensure their implementation at the intersection of business and government.

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