Diplomacy in Depth
by James Norton

Bombs and cruise missiles are plummeting toward targets in Afghanistan, and Americans are rising from their seats to deliver their ovation. On the surface, the US response to the attacks of Sept. 11 is strong and comprehensive: It's a military campaign supported by a complicated web of international diplomacy.

Much has been made of America's sudden willingness to coordinate strategically with governments it has previously ignored or even wounded with sanctions. Terrible times make for strange bedfellows, a thought symbolized by Iran's recent public (and seemingly heartfelt) displays of sympathy.

Diplomacy with Arab and Islamic governments is a necessary component of America's response. But it isn't a complete answer to the critical question: How does the West slow down or halt future waves of Islamic terrorism?

We must go to one of the sources of anti-American violence.

To put it mildly, there are lingering doubts about the US government's sincere goodwill toward the Islamic world. And these doubts are exactly what fuel the brand of terrorism which now holds the world in its grip of fear.

If the United States hopes to tamp down the fires of future violence, it needs to examine its diplomatic charm offensive and take it several layers deeper. Formal diplomacy just won't be enough. The people, churches, charities and NGOs of the United States and the Western world must be involved in the process.

The Muslims the United States needs to reach are often locked out of power by their own rulers. People are angry, dispossessed and sometimes involved in revolutionary organizations. In countries like Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, violent Islamic movements have emerged at the grassroots level, and they have given birth to the multinational hydra of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's vehicle for his twisted vision of jihad.

As many of these revolutionaries have observed, few governments in the Middle East can claim any kind of popular mandate. In many countries, a small, rich, Western-educated elite holds the reins of power, generating resentment that boils over into violence.

Therefore, talking to governments just won't be enough. We need to find a new form of diplomacy — a way to talk to the people of the Islamic world in a way that goes beyond rhetoric, deal-making and bombs.

And it can't just happen in Cairo, Islamabad, Tunis and Amman. It also needs to take place in Al Jubayl, Lahore, Doha, Alexandria, Bandar-e-Abbas and a hundred other medium-sized cities across the Middle East and Central Asia.

Starting with a few pilot programs in more friendly parts of the Middle East, a comprehensive campaign of outreach could be supported by donations and federal grants until it becomes a wave of cultural interaction.

Genuine US — and European — outreach to the people of the Islamic world should happen on many fronts, including:

Charitable Partnerships

Charitable works are one of the key pillars of Islam. As such, there are numerous charitable societies and organizations throughout the Islamic World that US charities could pair up with. The sight of American volunteers installing computers, teaching basic medical techniques and providing aid to local charities could have an impact on local opinion throughout the Arab world.

Academic Exchanges

An academic exchange of information and values could do much to combat prejudice, misunderstanding and cultural warfare. Cross-national research grants, conferences and joint-publishing projects could cement academic cooperation and build new cultural bridges.

Cultural Exchanges

Lecture series, dance troupes, literary gatherings and discussion forums might be difficult to organize, particularly when the shortage of Americans literate in Arabic — and other Middle Eastern languages — is considered. However, we are likely to see an explosion of Americans learning these languages in the wake of September 11th's attacks, and these students might be the first wave of Americans willing to travel to Islamic countries to study, share and learn.

A program of the required scope does, of course, carry many risks. Some in the Islamic world might view the program itself as another arm of the American imperialist enterprise, and violence against Americans is a real possibility.

But if the exchanges were coordinated by a respected NGO, or the United Nations itself, and they were carefully negotiated with local Islamic charities and politicians, there would be a great chance for the United States to leave a lasting positive impact on the region — and start changing the way America is seen by the common people in the Islamic world.

Obviously, there are some cultural gaps which will never be bridged, some values that may never be shared and some diplomatic strides that a more informal network of exchanges can never take. But until America's good intentions start to penetrate to every strata of the Islamic World, words of friendship and alliances with Arab governments are nothing more empty symbols — reassuring, but deceptively fragile.

In the case of Islam vs. the West, cultural exchange is not merely a pleasant luxury. It's a key to future survival for all concerned.

E-mail James Norton at jrnorton@flakmag.com.