President George W. Bush’s visit to the Middle East last week was his longest and most ambitious trip to the region. But aside from photo-ops of the president being warmly received in the palaces of his Arab allies, the trip produced nothing to signal any hope of peace and democracy.
Bush is still reviled on the streets of most Arab cities. The leftist Beirut daily As-Safir set the tone when it wrote that “the red carpets which will be extended for Bush are soaked with the blood of his Arab victims.” And Bush missed what might be his last opportunity to salvage some respect in the Arab world by failing to revive his administration’s historic promise to support democracy over political expediency.
In June 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the world that America would no longer tolerate repressive regimes in the name of keeping political stability. “For 60 years, my country, the United States , pursued stability at the expense of democracy in . . . the Middle East —and we achieved neither,” she said at the American University in Cairo . “Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people.”
It was a few months after Iraqis had shown extraordinary courage turning out in droves to vote in the parliamentary elections of January 2005. In Lebanon , a popular revolt had succeeded in dislodging years of Syrian military and political domination. It was a ripe moment for the United States to encourage change in a region ruled by kings and despots.
But things fell apart in late 2005 and into 2006 when a small group of Egyptian judges challenged the undemocratic regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The United States stood by silently while Mubarak crushed public protests. The Arab world understood, correctly, that Washington had given up on democracy.
Last week Bush reinforced that message. In a speech in the United Arab Emirates intended to highlight his administration’s progress in promoting a “freedom agenda” for the region, he emphasized the danger that Iran poses but failed to criticize any U.S. allies for suppressing dissent.
In his first, and probably last, major speech as president on Arab soil, Bush might have pledged to use his last year in office to make real progress in nurturing democracy. Instead, he tried to put a positive spin on the administration’s track record. That’s what National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley tried to do when he briefed reporters on Jan. 3. Asked to give an assessment of political freedoms in the region, Hadley cited the first ever multiparty presidential elections held in Egypt in September 2005 as one example of progress.
Yet, Hadley neglected to mention that three months after those elections, the first runner-up, democracy activist Ayman Nour, was sentenced to five years in prison. The ailing Nour is still languishing in prison, despite international pressure to commute his sentence.
It’s these types of omissions that lead people in the Middle East to distrust the United States and spin endless conspiracy theories about American motives.
After continuing to support repressive Arab regimes as they crack down on dissidents and roll back small reforms, the Bush administration still has an opportunity to show the Arab and Muslim worlds that it can do better. The president can start by changing course on a crisis that people in the Middle East are watching with keen interest: Pakistan .
The message is not lost on anyone in the Arab world who sees Bush unwavering in his support of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, even after he imposed emergency rule, sacked judges who challenged him, muzzled the media and rounded up thousands of political opponents.
When the United States continues supporting autocrats like Musharraf and Mubarak, against the will of their own people, then it loses much of its leverage to demand reform from other repressive regimes like Iran and Syria . Bush must assure the region that America will not try to impose democracy selectively and by force, as it did in Iraq . U.S. policy must be consistent in demanding that all countries in the region— U.S. allies and foes—should guarantee political freedoms.
Unfortunately the president made clear on this trip that his administration will continue to pursue stability at the expense of democracy—and achieve neither.
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