« A powerless beginnig for Bush II ? | Main | A Much Needed Diplomatic Success for Europe »

March 30, 2005

George Bush, the Europeans and the Middle-East

The former French foreign affairs minister Hubert Védrine launched the debate again on "The Great Middle-East" on the columns of the weekend's edition of French daily Le Monde.

It is too early to say if Mr. Vedrine's opinion represents an increasing number of people in Europe, yet it proves the skepticism the Europeans showed in the beginning of 2004 might change to a different perception of George W. Bush's project of a Great Middle-East.

The starting point of this potential change is the recent events in the Middle-East and especially the Iraqi and Palestinian elections.

The success can become a fiasco if Ariel Sharon doesn't give Mahmoud Abbas other political perspectives than the retreat from Gazza. In Lebanon, the situation is not calm yet while in Iraq, the cooperation between the minorities and the shiite majority will be a condition for stability. So it's too early to say mission accomplished, says Hubert Vedrine.

For the French diplomat, it is relatively easy to organize elections. What is really complicated is to set democracy as a culture. The multiple attempts to modernize the arab world have failed since the 19th century. Why would it work this time? Are Arab societies really willing to change? And most of all, are we (Americans and Europeans) ready to accept the results of democratic elections if they imply the victory of Islamists?

But for the moment, it's the wait and see. If the Americans succeed in bringing a wind of change in the Middle-East, it will be interesting to see how Europeans will react. Hubert Vedrine explains why Americans and Europeans should work together on things that unite them, like stability in the Middle-East while avoiding a new neo-colonial age.

Posted March 30, 2005 04:02 PM

Comments

Post a comment