What Washington should do is to back those building for democracy and expanding the margin of freedom in the region, Grossman

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

CAIRO, March 25 (IslamOnline.net) – The idea of imposing democracy on the Middle East proved wrong, the U.S. State Department said in a report a copy of which was sent to IslamOnline.net.

The report was made by U.S. Undersecretary of State for political affairs Marc Gorssman, who visited 10 Arab countries to discuss the "Greater Middle East" democracy initiative with government officials and opposition leaders.

What Washington should do is to back those building for democracy and expanding the margin of freedom in the region, read the report, released on Tuesday, March 23.

The initiative calls for pushing Arab and South Asian governments into adopting major political reforms in return for enticing political and economic benefits.

But the master plan was greeted with wide consternation among Arab leaders hoping that reforms would rather come "from within".

Grossman conceded that the idea of imposing reforms on the "Greater Middle East" proved wrong.

He had earlier told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 5 after the Middle East tour that the Bush administration's efforts to support freedom and democracy in the region will be driven by ideas originating within the countries of the region.

"We tried our very best to say that, from our perspective, there are things that were very important. First, that the best ideas will come from the region. That this is not about the United States or Europe or anyone else imposing reform on people. The best ideas will come from the region," he had said.

Washington realized the region is diverse and its people "will pursue reform and change at a pace that is good for them and their societies", he added.

Practical Partnership

Grossman called on the U.S. and the EU rather to set up partnerships with the what he called reformists in the Middle East via practical ways.

These ways include enhancing peoples to better hold elections and increase the role of women and support legislatures in the region, read his report.

It referred to the Middle East Partnership Initiative, which the U.S. official had said is designated to work with governments and with civil society in very practical ways to promote further democracy and freedom.

Grossman had spent the first week of March listening to and consulting with government and community leaders in a number of countries including Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan before arriving in Brussels to discuss regional issues with members of the North Atlantic Council.

Cooperation

The report gave no mention whether Washington, which sees democracy and economic liberalization as the answer to the poverty and repression that fuel "Arab extremism" in the region, would still launch the initiative at the Group of Eight summit of leading industrial nations in June.   

Such gatherings as the NATO Summit in Istanbul as well as at the G-8 meeting in the United States and the U.S.-E.U. Summit in Dublin, should be used to present new initiatives and speed up the pace of freedom and reforms in the region, Grossman said in the report.

Serious Trend

The U.S. under secretary said that his trip revealed a serious effort among Arabs to make reforms in various fields, noting that the Alexandria conference was a case in point.

The conference, began in the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city on March 12, was attended by 100 Arab intellectuals all probing the introduction of political, economic, social and cultural reforms.

But observers said the agenda came much similar to the details of the U.S. initiative, which calls for encouraging democracy, bringing up an educated society in return for enticing economic chances.

Grossman’s report said that reform is no longer questionable in the region, but he noted that discussions rather focus on the pace and means by which it could be realized.

But it warned against using hurdles down the road of Middle East peace process to justify blocking democratic and economic reforms.

Support for reform in the region is "not a substitute in any way for our interest in the Middle East peace process," Grossman said in the March 6 conference. 

However, "you can't wait until there is complete peace in order to promote reform. So it's not a substitute, but it's not an excuse for doing nothing either," he added.