Countdown

Concerns Grow over Boycotts of American Products

Volume III, No. 27
Posted on Friday July 5, 2002

Arab Human Development Report Defines Challenges Facing Arab Societies

In an extensive analysis of human development indicators in Arab countries, analysts sounded warnings about the lack of positive growth in many sectors. “Relative to other regions, the Arab world does better on income indicators than on development indicators. Thus it can be said that the Arab region is richer than it is developed.” For example, life expectancy and expenditures on education have increased, but these quantitative results are being undermined, according to the report, by decreases in labor productivity, per capita income growth, opportunities for women, and a general lack of emphasis on science, research, and technology. “There is evidence that the quality of education has deteriorated, implying a decline in knowledge acquisition and analytical and creative skills.” The report was carried out in 22 Arab countries by Arab researchers and analysts using a variety of research tools. The researchers also noted that “cross-border and internal conflicts are serious obstacles to security and progress.”

Concerns Grow over Boycotts of American Products

The Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC), representing 56 Arab and Muslim countries, has reactivated its boycott office and encouraged it to coordinate with the Arab Boycott Office to boycott American products. While it is not expected to seriously affect U.S. trade with those countries, it signals growing grassroots efforts by the public to signal their displeasure with U.S. support for Israel’s occupation policies and actions against Palestinians. U.S. embassies throughout the region are scrambling to tally data and anecdotal evidence to define more precisely the impact of various boycott campaigns surfacing in the Arab press, media, and organizations. Ranging from Starbucks, McDonald’s and KFC to items on supermarket shelves, retailers report a broad and sustained reduction in purchases of American goods. A recent Newsweek article notes: “Details about which American products to boycott are spread with lists posted on the doors of mosques, to be sure, but also on Web sites and even through the little digital text messages….” Statistics so far are causing alarm bells primarily for Arab franchisees, retail outlets, and their employees, who are experiencing first-hand the unhappiness of Arabs with U.S. policies in the region.

Iraq Debate Intensifies; Administration Mulls Timetable for Overthrow

After two days of negotiations, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri failed to reach an agreement on the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq, but another round of discussions is expected in coming months. Statements by the administration and their friends in the neo-conservative choir make it increasingly clear that President Bush will not be deterred for too long from his quest to replace Saddam Hussein. The Iraqis want the UN to lift sanctions and address U.S. threats to topple Saddam Hussein. Under existing UN resolutions, sanctions will be lifted when inspectors can certify that Iraq’s store of weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed. In the Democratic House caucus, members are debating a statement that would push for consultation with Congress before any military action against Iraq. Among their concerns are that the war resolution passed after 9/11 “only” authorized the president to use force against “those determined to be responsible” for the terrorist acts, that the president had not publicly established a credible link between Iraq and the attacks, and that Congress has not authorized the use of force against Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Heard Around Town…

The first U.S. visa lottery since 9/11 saw a significant drop in applicants. In 2001, 10 million qualified for the lottery out of 13 million applicants. In 2002, 6.2 million qualified out of 8.7 million applicants worldwide. For 2002, Muslims received 14,074 approvals, down 14 percent from 2001.

According to a Public Opinion Strategies poll, 34 percent respond that terrorism/national security is the most important problem facing the U.S., with the general economy cited by 19 percent. Those thinking the nation is headed in the right direction dropped from 50 to 45 percent over the last month. Congress received a 73 percent some/great confidence rating in the survey.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) “Before we celebrate an imperial presidency, let it be said that the lack of free and open political process, the lack of free and open political debate, and the lack of free and open political dissent can be fatal in a democracy… We should speak out and caution leaders who generate fear through talk of the endless war or the final conflict.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) “Exempting the new [Homeland Security] department from laws that ensure accountability to the Congress and to the American people makes for soggy ground and a tenuous start – not the sure footing we all want for the success and endurance of this endeavor.”

James Zogby, AAI president, was the keynote speaker at the American University of Beirut alumni banquet in Beirut and at the Assad Library in Damascus, on the topic of challenges to U.S.-Arab relations since 9/11.