USD Magazine, Winter 2002

to die before chose in power acknowledge chat. History shows the greatest challenge che peacemakers face is from the fanatics on their own side: (Egyptian President) Anwar Sadar was killed by an Egyptian, (Israeli Prime Minister) Yiczhak Rabin by a Jew. The U.S. must create a structure for peace chat will allow che moderates to be heard through rhe emotional din of che fanatics. "I think the United States needs to be careful with whom we make friends ... I'm not sure the Northern Alliance is that much better than the Taliban." -USD Professor Kathryn Statler "Boch sides," he adds, "must be exhausted by violence before that structure can be created. The British and rhe Irish seem to have gotten there, and now perhaps because of the terrorise accacks and che U.S. mili– tary accion in Afghanistan, che Middle East has as well." Scarier says that since the Arab nations can control rhe oil market through OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and chus squeeze the United Scates politically and economically, U.S. energy policy must change. "We absolutely must develop alternative sources of energy, and chat doesn't mean drilling in ANWR (the Artie National Wild– life Refuge in Alaska) or off che California coast," she says. "Ir means becoming less reliant on fossil fuels. We are so fearful of the Middle Eastern oil pipeline to the U.S. being shut off char it clouds our judgment on ocher issues." Making the Hard Choices Srader also is wary of rhe United States' military accion in Afghanistan. Parrnering with rhe Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and che Pakistani government - both entities wich their own list of human rights violations - may simply be choosing the lesser of two evils, she says. "I chink rhe United Scares needs to be careful with whom we make friends," she says. "The Pakistani regime has been an oppressive one, and I'm nor sure the Northern Alliance is chat much beccer than rhe Taliban. The pose-Taliban era in Afghanistan is going to be crucial, and we should rake chis opportunity to forge continued on page 25

to 1981 , che 1983 truck bomb accack on a Marine barracks in Lebanon, the Gulf War in 1990 and the attack in 2000 on che USS Cole in Yemen all served as reminders of United Scates unpopularity. In a statement after the Sepe. 11 accacks in which he called for a holy war against che United Scates, Osama bin Laden referred to a "Zionist-Crusader alliance" while calling on all Muslims to "cleanse the land from these Crusader occup iers." Peace in Israel First Step Many experts agree chat che United Scates' first seep toward shoring up relations with the Middle East is resolving che longstand– ing conflict between Arab nations and Israel. Since Israel's birch little more than 50 years ago, four wars have been fought and countless acts of terrorism committed for a scrip of land smaller chan New Hampshire. "There is a great deal of tension in the Arab world about the U.S. accirude toward Israel," says Vali Nasr, a USD professor of political science who specializes in rhe Middle Ease. "Mose Arab leaders have all bur resigned themselves to che right ofisrael to exist, but they wonder what exactly the United Stares is supporting. The percep– tion is Israel is a creation of U.S. colonial– ism. The U.S. faces a huge challenge to

change chat perception, because unless ir does, peace will be extremely difficult to achieve, if not impossible." Stoessinger says che Un ired States must forge a coalition of moderates on both sides for peace to be achieved. "A compromise is inevitable," he says. "Ir's a maccer of how many people are going

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