Unique Opportunities,
Heroic Efforts
By Aaron David Miller
President, Seeds of Peace
New York
In almost three decades of studying
and working on Middle Eastern issues, I’ve
rarely seen a period fraught with more opportunity
and danger than the one now at hand. On Israeli-Palestinian
peace there are unique opportunities to defuse
and stabilize a deadly conflict, but it will take
heroic efforts on the part of Israelis, Palestinians,
Arabs and Americans to move beyond stabilization
and move toward a solution. The Bush Administration
is uniquely well positioned to take advantage
of these opportunities. Much depend on whether
the President sees this as a priority issue.
At the same time, there are developments in train
which, over time, could potentially transform
the region. The traditional debate in the Arab
world between the haves and the have-nots is joined
by a more salient tension between the cans and
the cannots (those who can participate in the
governments of their societies and those who cannot).
The potential for authoritarian regimes to thwart
popular pressure for greater openness and participation
in decision making is huge. But the hunger for
political change may well be unstoppable. Consider
only this: the fairest and freest elections ever
held in the Arab world occurred this year in West
Bank, Gaza, and Iraq, areas now under Israeli
and American political occupation.
Seeds of Peace is now more well positioned than
ever to continue its work in empowering leaders
in the next generation. Our goal to create a network
of prospective young professionals who will lead
their communities and nations is now more relevant
than ever. The Middle East and South Asia are
changing and our Seeds graduates in those conflict
areas will, over time, help to shape those changes.
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