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To Rebuild U.S.-Muslim World Relations, Obama Is Not Enough
President Obama has moved rapidly to mend the frayed relationship between the United States and the Muslim world, spawning a new if guarded optimism in predominantly Muslim societies. According to a BBC World Service Poll, 51% of Turks, 58% of Egyptians, and 64% of Indonesians believe that President Obama will improve America's relations with the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, President Obama cannot repair this important relationship alone. To promote U.S. interests -- including a stable, prosperous, and secure Middle East -- our country must also build a dense network of personal relationships and partnerships between Americans and Muslims globally.
Such relationships are not a feel-good extra. As America learned during the Cold War, advancing national security interests requires a grand strategy that encompasses military force, diplomacy, economic statecraft -- and also public diplomacy.
The president has already taken steps to redefine America's relationship with the world's Muslim community. His inaugural address called for America to "seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." In his first week in office, he signed an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, met with military leaders to underscore his intention to withdraw troops from Iraq, and appointed George Mitchell as a special envoy to work toward a Middle East peace agreement. He granted his first official interview to the Arab television station Al-Arabiya, where he observed that "the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world."
President Obama's political instincts are right: a change in America's approach toward the Muslim world -- one that seeks to build common ground with faithful majorities while marginalizing fanatics -- will ultimately be the most successful strategy to diminish support for Al Qaeda and likeminded terrorist networks, find solutions to persistent conflicts, and enhance global prosperity. The president has bipartisan Congressional backing. His commitment was echoed by both Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar in recent Senate hearings on U.S.-Muslim World engagement,
This task will not be easy. A new relationship between Americans and the Muslim world must start by overcoming high levels of anger, distrust, and misunderstanding. In a Gallup poll of Muslims worldwide, a majority cited a sense of humiliation and a perceived lack of understanding from the West as key factors in shaping negative attitudes toward the United States. A majority of Americans surveyed answered either "nothing" or "I don't know" when asked what they admired most about Muslims and Islam.
President Obama has a vital role to play in forging this new relationship, but he needs to harness the energies of U.S. businesses, universities, charitable institutions, non-governmental organizations, faith groups, and private citizens if he is to sustain it. We will need to see more educational and professional exchanges, sister cities programs, jointly produced media products, co-developed cultural activities, joint scientific research projects, co-developed social networking sites, co-produced fundraisers for humanitarian causes, co-written textbooks. Such engagement contributes to mutual trust and tangible partnerships that solve real problems concerning education, employment, energy, and commerce.
Our experience suggests that such engagement is not only possible but also mutually rewarding. At the annual U.S.-Islamic World Forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the State of Qatar, we pair science and technology leaders, arts and cultural leaders, and faith leaders from the United States and the Muslim world to discuss how they might work together.
To more fully engage the private sector, not just in the Muslim world but globally, a recent Brookings study recommends the creation of a new public-private organization called the USA World Trust. The Trust would support the kind of people-to-people engagement that will present a more positive image of America, contribute to an environment of mutual respect and understanding, promote shared values and their champions, counter extremist ideologies, and support our government's public diplomacy efforts. These activities contribute to an environment in which advancing national interests is both easier and more successful.
President Obama has demonstrated a strong personal commitment to strengthening relations between the United States and the Muslim world, in support of common security, political, economic, and social interests. He needs an army, of civilians, behind him.
Stephen R. Grand directs the Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Saban Fellow Kristin M. Lord recently published the Brookings report "Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century."
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Thank you for posting .. . There is so much we can do and we should do to have closer ties with the Arab countries. But I also think the biggest major stumbling block -- which should not deter other efforts -- is American policy towards israel . . .we cannot continue supporting a country that has no respect for rule of law . . . israel breaks international law every day . . . and the West stands idly by . . . the Palestinians are suffering . . . israel is trying to conflate the figures on the dead from Operation Cast Lead . . America has to join Amnesty International in asking for an independent enquiry . . . America has to cut the phone line to the Pentagon for arms for israel . . . the debris of American shells riddled the ground in Gaza . . . America's policy towards israel has to change radically and not by words but by deeds.
I have been to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. I love the people. They are wonderful kind human beings . . . I hope to visit Jordan, Syria, Turkey, would love to visit Iran . . .I have one thing to add: I have found as a female . . I am more respected for my intelligence in the Middle Eastern countries I have visited than I at home . . . there are so many myths that need to be dispelled . .
they do not vote in our country so i don't care what they think
It's the policy not the public relations that are the problem.
It looks like you guys do not know what are the differences between religion and national identity.
So, before you post your thoughts PLEASE visit:
http://www.wikipedia.org/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html
and learn some stuff.
Obama can infact do most of it himself, if he chose to
But its about policy not about building "a dense network of personal relationships"
The first step would be to start putting pressure on Israel to stop its war crimes
The second would be to stop instigating civil wars in muslim countries and to stop interfering with their governemnts
The third would be to stop waging economic warfare on muslim countries
Short of doing any of those three things Obama will not have any success
The 22 countries of the Arab League have a combined GDP roughly that of the mighty Benelux...Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. This woeful economic performance is not the fault of Israel, or US meddling but rather the result of widespread corruption, unsustainable population growth, poor education and oppression of women.
I know this guy :)
AIPAC's attack dog, who thinks (actually strategy) as long as there is chaos in the ME, "WE" will get our 3.6 bilions each and every year.
Right !
Cause and effect are always tricky to determine
What is unquestionable is that certain policies if the United States (stated above) are wrong and you aren't going to fool the muslim world into not thinking they are not wrong
look at israel's GDP if not for foreing aid ... it wouldn't be able to support itself . . that is why it steals . . . wages war.. breaks international law and lies . . from Lebanon it wanted water .. . from the Palestinians land . . . israel is a rogue state
well said indyleftist
The auhor indeed forgets that according to Islam, there is Daar-al Islam and Daar-al Arb. The first, the house of peace constituted of the Islamic people and the second one, the house of war, where all infidels are. Only moderate Muslims can actually engage in grassroots diplomacy with other peoples and unfortunately, they don't seem very popular in most of the Arab world.
This sounds like a great idea; assuming of course that you can discern which Muslims are peace loving/open minded and which ones want to kill Westerners because they're not Muslim
Seriously, trying to figure out who's who in the Muslim world is often very difficult; I think even for Muslims.
tjboyo, let's compare the deaths caused by westernern christians and their proxies in the last 100 years with those caused by Muslims:
World War II- Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million, inculding 6 million Jews.
Korea: 1.5 million
First Indochina War (1945-54): 400 000
Algeria (1954-62): 537 000
Vietnam: approximately 3 million
Iraq-1.2 million
Gaza-1,300.
Also, millions maimed and injured
I am not even counting thousands dead in smaller conflicts
Deaths caused by muslims? a few thousands
I guess all the death and destruction during the Ottoman Empire, the Caliphates, the Iran-Iraq war, the Conflicts in Afghanistan, between India and Pakistan, and the fact that most deaths in the current Iraq war are caused by infighting does not figure in babtistj's History book. You should try to get your money back.
Nothing short of dhimmitude will be good enough. You just can't make some people happy.
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