Experts Debate Causes Of Middle East Extremism

By Samira Sadeque

During a discussion on Thursday, Director of the Middle East Program at Center for Strategic and International Studies Jon Alterman said Middle Easterners believe that the U.S. does not have any interest in doing “what it needs to do” to better its relationship with them.  

“The question is not American capability, but American intention, will, and commitment,” he said, adding that the Middle Easterners view the country’s ability to reach out to be “overwhelming.” 

Amin Tarzi, Director of Middle East Studies at the Marine Corps University, argued that Middle Eastern nations must assume responsibility instead of “hid[ing] behind somebody else’s faults.”

Tarzi also pointed out that for some Middle Eastern countries, maintaining a relationship with the United States is “as vital as their own survival.”

Pollster James Zogby, author of the book, “Arab Voices: What They Are Saying To Us and Why it Matters,” said that in a conversation with a newspaper editor from the Middle East, he got the impression that the region is eagerly awaiting an improved relationship with America. But, said Zogby, they don’t want to feel like a “jilted lover who [has] feelings for America”, but doesn’t sense that America is sincere about changing its policies toward the region.  

“This fuels extremism,” he said, adding that extremists in the Middle East are choosing to pursue violence, convinced that it will give them leverage against the U.S. and the rest of the West.