By: Bill Stewart
The arrest of Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich, and the jaw-dropping charges against him, have rightly grabbed the headlines. The attempted sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat is stunning in concept, never mind its attempted execution. Political corruption in the Land of Lincoln is an old story, but Blagojevich has raised it to a new level. The governor’s grandiosity approaches the delusional, calling into question his overall stability. This story is far from over.
Yet there are greater issues for the world and President Elect Barack Obama. Shocking as the charges are against Blagojevich, all of us must deal with a potential bailout of the automobile industry, which teeters on the brink of collapse. The economy is already in the tank. No matter how much we may feel Detroit should pay for its egregious mistakes, would a failed auto industry push us into an outright depression? This is a matter far more important than the personal corruption of Gov (and Mrs.?)Blagojevich, and the stories, both titillating and appalling, that surround them.
Beyond the economy, there are formidable challenges overseas. Some, like Iraq, were created by President George Bush and his administration, which have had their own problems with grandiosity. It will be up to a new President Obama to bring this sorry chapter to a close. But others have historical roots that affect the course of events even today, especially in the Middle East and South Asia. They offer Obama a unique chance to reset the course of history. He has the intelligence, the judgment, and the stamina to profoundly alter the course of events in the Middle East and South Asia, if he chooses to do so.
No one who has an ounce of common sense and a week’s experience in the Middle East doubts that the Israel-Palestine dispute is the mother of all disputes in the region. It feeds the fantasies of political and religious fanatics alike, and is the raison d’etre of many terrorist groups. This is not to say that this historic struggle is the root cause of all the problems in the Middle East; it isn’t. It is not the sole cause of poverty and dictatorship in the Arab world. But the rightwing Israeli view that the Holy Land is theirs because God gave it to them, never to be given up, and the conservative Arab view that Jews stole the land of Palestine from its rightful owners and all of it must be returned, regardless of the cost, lies at the heart of the Arab-Israeli struggle.
Thoughtful Israelis and Palestinians – and there are many – know these views are false and want to move beyond them. This is where a potent and considered US role is essential if we are to move beyond the powerful prejudices of the present. It can be done, but it must be done with patience and persistence. It will mean an almost complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem (which is already Arab). It may mean an American or NATO military presence to assure both sides. It will mean courting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to bring them into any agreement. Ignore the argument that Hamas is a terrorist organization. So was the PLO, in the view of many, but that did not stop Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat from sitting down together in the White House. What needs to be done can be done, but it requires an effective US role. A solution will not mean the immediate end of Middle East terrorism. But it will spell the beginning of the end.
The new nexus of terrorism is in South Asia, in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. It will not be brought to an end unless we deal with the core problem: the Indo-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir. All Pakistanis believe that Kashmir, a largely Muslim state, rightfully belongs to Pakistan. Indians think it belongs to India, but without the same ferocity of feeling. The Pakistani army, a virtual shadow government that intimidates the elected civil government, believes its power and prestige lies in its ability to confront India over Kashmir. Its main interest is in confrontation with India, not ridding Pakistan and the border areas with Afghanistan of terrorists (many of whom the Pakistani army covertly supports). As in the Middle East, thoughtful Pakistanis and Indians know this quarrel must be brought to an end if their countries are to enjoy any form of peace and prosperity. Religious fanatics in Pakistan must be denied their source of discontent. Kashmir is not going to be turned over to Pakistan. But in the interests of a peaceful settlement, India might well consider some form of joint sovereignty, in which India retains essential control, but with a token Pakistani civil and military presence. Would that satisfy everybody? Almost certainly not, but it would give both countries a much needed new beginning.
Difficult? Of course. Impossible? I don’t think so. Solving these problems is an historic mission for Obama. In any event, Blagojevich pales by comparison.