We don't know what the US will be facing at the end of 2008. The US should realise that the product of the last few years is disillusion. There is disillusionment about the American engagement in the Middle East. There is disillusion about the Middle East. -- Sir Jeremy Greenstock
Singapore's envoy to the US, Chan Heng Chee felt the US' alliance relationships have frayed due to Iraq. "Alliance relationships are now much harder to manage. Now no one is the designated enemy. Some quarters may say China and terrorism, but there are no takers. It is too simplistic."
THIS REGION HAS TO MAKE CHOICES AND DECISIONS, SAYS OFFICIAL
The Peninsula, Nation, October 25, 2007
DOHA • Clearly, there is growing disillusionment in the US with American policies in the Middle East, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, a former British diplomat, former Special Representative in Iraq and now Director of the Ditchley Foundation, said yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar on 'America and the Middle East after the Bush Presidency' organised by the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar at Sharq Village and Spa, Greenstock said: "We don't know what the US will be facing at the end of 2008. The US should realise that the product of the last few years is disillusion. There is disillusionment about the American engagement in the Middle East. There is disillusion about the Middle East."
He predicted that in the future, Iran will be a large part of the US' decision-making. However, he went on to say: "It is sensible to have a good relationship with the US for what it represents. The US has to make a choice on Israel. Will Israeli security be best served by the US placing it above everything?"
In an era of globalisation, the Middle East is lagging in grabbing opportunities. While the rest of the world has benefited from globalisation, the region will have to play catch-up. "This region has to make choices and decisions. Governments need legitimacy domestically and internationally."
Iran, too, appears confused on its apparent nuclear capability "Iran has not convinced anybody, even its own people, that it knows what it is doing with its apparent nuclear capability," said Greenstock.
Singapore's envoy to the US, Chan Heng Chee felt the US' alliance relationships have frayed due to Iraq. "Alliance relationships are now much harder to manage. Now no one is the designated enemy. Some quarters may say China and terrorism, but there are no takers. It is too simplistic."
Allies and countries in general have a newfound confidence, partly due to sudden wealth. "They do not want to be pressured to take a certain stance or to be taken for granted. Now Russia is back on the scene. But there is now no single axis on which countries line up."