A New Era for the Middle East?

President Bush could help transform the Middle East into a region graced by peace and prosperity. Or things could quickly go from bad to worse.

By Richard Evans, The Inquisitor's Editor: 8 May 2003

However right or wrong it seemed at the time, the war in Iraq is over and the military occupation and interim US-led government have begun. Few Iraqis seem to miss Saddam Hussein or his Ba'athist henchmen. Indeed, new evidence that Hussein or his sons have absconded with $1 billion in foreign currency from the Iraqi treasury shows them to be no better than gangsters.

The West now enjoys a honeymoon period with most Iraqis accepting, for the time being at least, that US and British rule is the best thing. Yet these political honeymoons usually last no more than a few months. So President Bush and Prime Minister Blair need to move quickly to win the continuing goodwill of both Iraqis and their Arab neighbors in the region.

Above all, some kind of substantive deal must be formulated by which the Palestinian people are granted their own state and the chain of tit-for-tat killings between Israelis and Palestinians is finally broken. But stopping suicide bombers and those that support them won't be easy. Only cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian police can achieve that goal. That will require a new trust.

The reconstruction of Iraq also needs to get underway quickly. It is vital that the interim government provides healthcare and fresh water and food, and that sewage and garbage removal services being functioning again. Schools need to reopen, jobs must be created. Normal people need to feel their lives are getting better, not worse.

This will require extraordinary effort for, after three wars in 25 years and 12 years of sanctions, the country's infrastructure and economy lie in tatters. The full weight of the international community, including the United Nations and the European Union, must be brought to bear on the enormous task at hand.

If the West - and above all the US - rises to these challenge then the Middle East could become a far more stable and productive region. If not, Westerners may be seen as enemies and invaders for an entire living generation.