March 13, 2002
Say That Again?
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
When Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, visited Washington last week he used his White House press conference to stress what was new about the peace overture by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. "This is the first time in the history of the Saudis that they say we are ready to normalize relations with Israel, in case a peace prevails," said Mr. Mubarak. "We should underline this."
Mr. Mubarak emphasized that when the leader of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, says in English, and in Arabic to his own press, that he is ready, in exchange for a total Israeli withdrawal, to have a "full normalization of relations" with the Jewish state — meaning trade, tourism and embassies — that is noteworthy, and is what caused all the buzz.
But will the Arab League adopt Abdullah's formula? Last weekend Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to prepare for the March 27-28 Arab summit, where the Abdullah initiative is to be endorsed. In Cairo the Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, was asked about the Abdullah proposal. He said that in return for Israel withdrawing to pre-1967 lines, and creating a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the Arab League would offer Israel "full peace."
That jarred my ear. Say that again? "Full peace?" Words are important here. "Full peace" is not what Abdullah offered. He said "full normalization of relations," and there is a difference. Ask Hosni Mubarak. Syria could live in "full peace" with Israel and not have any relations. Are the Saudis backpedaling? Not clear.
What's clear is that a fight has started in the Arab League, where Syria is trying to water down Abdullah's initiative, and in Saudi Arabia, where Abdullah made his "normalization" proposal in an interview — without consulting anyone else. This was because, whether Abdullah was out for just better p.r. or a real breakthrough, he knew he had to use a psychological breakthrough word — "normalization" — to get any traction. Having done so, though, he is now seeing conservatives at home and abroad trying to dial down his initiative before it gets to a summit vote. Will Abdullah let them?
The fight now is between three different views: The first is Osama bin Laden's. His view is that there is no place for a Jewish state, or other "infidels," particularly Americans, in the Muslim world.
Second is the view of the Syrians, who want to prove that they can get as much out of Israel as Anwar el-Sadat did, while giving less — like no normalization of relations, trade or tourism.
The third view, the one adopted by Egypt and Jordan, and alluded to by Abdullah, is the notion that the only way you can have peace is if there is a real Israeli withdrawal and a real acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state in the region. That means using the term "normalization" of relations.
This is an important fight, because it's about more than just p.r. or a peace proposal. It's about whose vision is going to dominate Arab politics. If Abdullah lets his message get watered down, it will signal not only that the Palestinians can't make real peace with Israel, but that the Arabs can't either. Therefore, no real acceptance of a Jewish state in the Middle East is possible — even if Israel fulfills all Arab requirements. For the Arab world, that would mean that bin Laden and Syria are in the driver's seat and that the Arab past will continue to bury the Arab future.
That's why the real question before this Arab summit is: Can the Arabs answer bin Laden by positing a different vision? Can the Arab-Muslim world show a willingness to live with pluralism — with a Jewish state in fair boundaries? Or must the area be free of all "infidels"? An Arab League that can't live with a pluralism of people can't live with a pluralism of ideas. If it can't live with a pluralism of ideas, it will never develop and will remain, at some level, alienated from the West and Israel.
Israel will have to do its part, and withdraw on the basis of the 1967 lines. But it's time for the Arab League to get real: Anwar el-Sadat also demanded full withdrawal. The reason he got it, though, was not because of what he demanded, but because of the psychological breakthrough to Israelis that he offered first. The reason Abdullah's remarks tantalized some Israelis was because they offered "full normalization." This needs to be elaborated. If, instead, it's washed out by the Arab League, the whole exercise will be remembered as wasted breath. Stay tuned.
nytimes.com |
