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AAI in the News

Head of Arab American Institute Says Peace Could be Greatest Challenge in Iraq

Associated Press
Posted on Friday April 11, 2003

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Speaking within hours of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in downtown Baghdad, the head of a Washington-based Arab-American think tank said the United States’ greatest challenge in Iraq lies ahead.

“Baghdad is in fact now ours. But winning Baghdad means we inherit the consequences,” James Zogby of the Arab American Institute said Wednesday night at Davidson College. Zogby is a visiting political science professor at the school.

“This is not the Berlin wall – the Germans tore down the wall and had the responsibility to rebuild it,” Zogby said. “Winning the war was never the problem; it’s winning the peace that poses the biggest threat for us.”

While television images showed joyous Iraqis celebrating Saddam’s overthrow, Zogby warned that Americans should not misunderstand the meaning of the regime change.

Zogby’s study of polling done in eight Arab nations about people’s beliefs and attitudes toward other countries recently was published in a book titled, “What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns.”

He concluded that while Arabs and Americans value the same things in life – secure and fulfilling jobs, protection of their faith and protection of their families – many Arabs still view the United States as a nation only concerned about its own future.

Zogby said a “compassion gap” exists between Arab and American nations: “We do not see each other as equals yet.”

Too many Americans don’t understand the history of the Arab world and the long-term consequences of living under imperialism and dictatorships, he said.

Zogby also said there has been too little debate in the United States about the country’s proper role in the Middle East.

“Why is there the fear of a debate, when so much is at stake? Why can we not talk about this?” he asked. “We should have a discourse and let the American people decide.”