Calling for less United States involvement in Middle East politics, Peter Beinart said that direct endorsement from the United States of certain political parties in democratic elections is detrimental to the system itself, on Thursday at Suffolk University.
Beinart, a political writer and journalist, held a discussion with Public Radio International’s Marco Werman for about 40 people regarding the current foreign policy of the United States in light of recent events in the Middle East at Suffolk’s Modern Theatre.
“Our credibility in the Middle East is going to be dependent to a significant degree on whether we are willing to accept that parties that are willing to play by the democratic rules of the game should be allowed to run and we should support their participation,” Beinhart said. “I hope the Obama administration is going to recognize that it’s better to let Islamic parties run as long as they are willing to eschew violence and put themselves up for a democratic term.”
Beinart added that Obama’s foreign policy strategy should still be given a chance to prove itself.
“I don’t think it’s fair to see Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East as a complete failure. He has accomplished one thing for sure- he took the attention off the United States,” he said.
When former President George W. Bush was in office, Beinart said, he was perceived as a veritable villain by the constituents of Middle Eastern countries, which stirred up a significant amount of anti-American sentiment. This made it easier for the regimes to distract their populations by using those hostilities for their own purposes.
Boston resident and lecture attendee Lisa Smedberg, who previously lived in Dubai, said she remains highly interested in the political happenings in the Middle East.
“I think Obama has a very difficult job,” Smedburg said. “And I think saying less right now about it and just watching it unfold is probably the best way to handle questions of foreign policy.”
The United States should limit its involvement in Middle Eastern affairs, Smedburg said, but maintain an active interest in its development.
“We tend to look at this situation in terms of how it affects America, when really this is not so much an American issue as it is a domestic issue,” said Kim Bilderback, a Boston resident. “I think being aware of the fact that we have interest in the area but respecting that this is a local phenomenon is appropriate, and Obama seems to be doing a nice job of walking that fine line.”
During the talk, Beinart was asked where United States foreign policy is going.
“I don’t think that the American government has been able to process this dramatic a change [in Middle East politics], and also I think we realize that in many ways, our influence is rather limited,” he said.
What we think of as American ideals may be on the march in the Middle East, Beinart said, but American power is probably on the wane.
We are not going to have a series of regimes that are looking exclusively to the United States for their main alliance as they have in the past, he said.
Beinart also said that gradual withdrawal of American military from the Middle East is a necessary step in strengthening our economy.
“American military power is only as good as American economic power,” he said. “Right now our economic engine is not strong enough to sustain our military footprint, and I think the challenge is going to be some retraction of that military footprint.”
However, Beinart said this might be less of a challenge than experts seem to make it out to be.
“I think we can afford to be a little less apocalyptic about what we need to be able to leave Afghanistan, even under difficult circumstances.”
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