Ambassador discusses ways to improve political climate

Ambassador discusses ways to improve political climate: The speaker elaborates on how U.S. foreign policy could best be used to curb terrorism threat.

by Romel Lira
The Shorthorn (UT-Arlington)
2/24/2005

Former Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani said that in order for the United States to alleviate the threat of Islamic terrorism, it must first clean up the wreckage left by European colonialism.

The visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace spoke Wednesday at a town-hall style meeting in the University Center Concho Room. The UTA Chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy sponsored the event.

He spoke on Islamic fundamentalism and how the United States’ foreign policy in the Middle East could efficiently deal with the threat of Islamic terrorism.

Breaking down what he believes are current Islamic society factions, he concentrated on the group that is in conflict with American troops in Iraq — the fundamentalists, or as he called them, “revivalists.”

“The revivalists are those who long for the ‘Mythical Golden Age,’ lost in the past,” he said.

He explained that this group is special because it uses “modernity to fight modernity.”

For example, he said revivalists now use computer viruses to attack Western technologies.

“They are unique in that they are running a global Jihad, a vast network of people sharing an idea around the world,” he said.

Haqqani said most revivalists believe that the Islamic civilization’s fall can be directly correlated to the rise of the West and irresponsible European handling of post-colonialism. He believes Europe ignored traditional boundaries established by different Middle Eastern tribes like the Kurds. The Kurds are now divided between Iraq, Turkey and Syria as a result of European interference, he said.

He said the United States faces difficulties because it is being held responsible for what he thinks are past European failures.

“The U.S. is a late-comer to the party and you know what happens when you are late to the party; you are held responsible for the actions of those before you,” he said. “The United States should prepare for a long involvement with the Muslim world.”

Haqqani said that to rectify past grievances, the United States must encourage an environment conducive to political change and provide incentives to increase education in the Middle East.

He claimed that 50 percent of men and 64 percent of women in the Middle East are illiterate.

He said that although Middle Eastern countries are rich in oil cash, the reason they have so much oil to export is because they have no industries that consume it.

“There is an economic crisis in the Middle East,” he said.

Haqqani said apathy is the greatest impediment to democracy and that speaking to students is a way to get people thinking. Political science sophomore Wajiha Rizui said the lecture helped students see an alternative viewpoint on American policies in the Middle East. “It was a good opportunity for UTA students to gain perspective on the issue of terrorism and its roots,” she said.