US and Middle East
Published in The Daily Star
Sultan Mohammed Zakaria
It is very interesting to note that President Bush, all of a sudden, has started walking anti-clockwise. A hawk who never knew anything besides war and war of words suddenly turns into a peace-broker! This move, however, raises some doubts among the critics. Is this a groundwork for initiating another war in the Middle East? Is this the preparation of Israel and the US for the so-called pre-emptive aerial attack on Iran's nuclear sites? The fear remains high. It would be interesting to examine the following issues.The US in the last several years has been recklessly trying to halt Iran's uranium enriching process, which Iran relentlessly claims to be only for peaceful purpose. On the other hand, Russia is trying the reverse, reinvigorating Iran's efforts in building more nuclear sites including supplying the needed raw uranium. The show came into intensity level during the last two years. The US was looking to use the UN Security Council to go ahead with its Iran venture instead. The Iraq experience barred the US from going unilaterally and pushed them to think that way. But a number of US initiatives supported by the western powers were blocked by two other permanent members of the Security Council -- Russia and China who have great economic interest in Iran. Yet, the US unilaterally imposed more rigid sanctions on Iran and continually considered attacking the Islamic Republic. Now, it is up to the Arab nations to assess the situation. If Annapolis can bring any positive results for the millions of Palestinians and the rest of the Middle East people, that would be a real milestone. But there are many questions that need to be answered before we get a clear picture.
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