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.

Polls Show Israelis and Palestinians Want Two-State Solution

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

A series of recently released poll results suggest there may be peace in the Middle East in the near future. Nader Said, the General Director for Arab World for Research and Development, shared during a briefing that 78% of Israelis and 74% of Palestinians are willing to accept a two-state solution. He also stated that 95% of Israelis and 92% of Palestinians are willing to accept negotiated peace.

James Zogby, Founder and President of the Arab-American Institute said Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans agree “on almost every issue, to the degree whereby [their] attitudes are within the margin of error of each other on almost all questions.”

Zogby also stated that the most troubling information he gathered was the partisan split in American opinion over the Arab-Israeli conflict: 70% of Obama supporters in the most recent Presidential election believe the President should “get tough on [Jewish] settlements [in the West Bank]”, whereas 71% of McCain supporters believe the President should not.

Jim Gerstein, Principal at Gerstein Agne, said that in a July 2008 poll, Jewish-Americans were asked what the two most important issues they would be voting on were. Only 8% cited the Arab-Israeli conflict as one of the two most important issues. In addition, 72% of Jewish-Americans approve of President Obama’s approach to the conflict.