Indyk: peace process indicators mixed
Regional-USA, Politics, 4/24/1999

US Undersecretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk said Thursday in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on US policy in the Middle East that there are mixed indicators toward whether the Middle East will head toward "a future of greater peace, stability, prosperity, and popular participation."

Saying that May 17 Israeli elections may bring about a government with a sufficiently broad base to advance the peace process, Indyk said, "The stalling of the Arab-Israeli peace process on all tracks over the past two and a half years has dramatically slowed the momentum towards positive change and reduced the hopes of many that a comprehensive peace would usher in a new era of coexistence and regional cooperation."

He said that a "process of succession is underway across the region after decades of unchanging rule in most Arab countries," adding that the newer regional leaders "will take some time to establish themselves."

He said that the US has an "intense interest" in preventing the region from experiencing more "extremism and conflict, marked by a new arms race in ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction."

He said the Clinton administration's policy is twofold, seeking "to contain those governments or political movements that use violence as a matter of policy to advance a hostile agenda," while expanding "the breadth and depth of our partnerships with friendly governments in the region to promote the peace, stability and prosperity." He said that the US must continue this policy to "widen the circle of peace while countering those who would oppose the promotion of a more normal existence for all the people of the region."

He added, "We have also sought to encourage states in the region that have developed the bad habit of acting outside of international norms to change in ways that would permit their reintegration into the international community. As a consequence, this always crisis-prone region has seen a marked decline in violence and conflict in the past six years and a significant deepening of peace and stability."

Indyk assured continued US involvement in trying to advance the peace process, saying, "The coming months should offer a renewed opportunity to move forward on all tracks. President Clinton intends to make full use of this period to bring the parties to a settlement of final status issues."

The US opposes unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state at the expiration of interim peace agreements on May 4, he said, but it also calls for both sides to implement the Wye agreement and for the immediate resumption of final status negotiations after the coming Israeli elections. "After the Israeli elections, the timing may also be propitious for a new effort to achieve a final status agreement on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks," Indyk stated. He said that there were still gaps between the participants on these tracks, "particularly in the all-important area of security arrangements."

"An Israel-Syria peace agreement would have important regional benefits: a secure Israeli-Lebanese border; the ending of the Arab-Israeli conflict; the isolation of those parties that continue to reject peace and reconciliation; and the easing of pressure against normalization of relations between the Arab world and Israel," he said.

On dual containment of Iraq and Iran, Indyk said, the US policy was created to focus "on containing Saddam Hussein's threats to his neighbors and his own people, while at the same time pursuing multilateral efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring and developing weapons of mass destruction and the ballistic missiles necessary to deliver them."

However, he said, the US now believes the Iraqi government will never cease to be a threat, "Thus, in November of last year, President Clinton announced a new policy with regard to Iraq: henceforth, we would contain Saddam Hussein until a new regime can govern in Baghdad."

He outlined a three-part US policy toward Iraq: "First, we will contain Saddam Hussein in order to reduce the threat he poses both to Iraq's neighbors and to the Iraqi people. Second, we will seek to alleviate the humanitarian cost to the Iraqi people of containment. Finally, we will work with forces inside and outside Iraq, as well as Iraq's neighbors, to help a stable, peaceful Iraq rejoin the community of nations when the departure of Saddam Hussein makes this possible."

He continued: "We are also committed to maintaining sanctions against the Iraqi regime that is in defiance of the UNSC resolutions, while lifting the burden of sanctions off the backs of the Iraqi people through the expansion and streamlining of the oil-for-food program."

US measures to bring about a change of government have included $8 million in economic support funds, the establishment of Radio Free Iraq with daily Arabic broadcasts of "uncensored news and information to the Iraqi people," appointment of US diplomat Frank Ricciardone as Special Coordinator for Transition in Iraq to work with Iraqi opposition groups, efforts to bring together the northern Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to "better provide for all the people of northern Iraq," and the Iraq Liberation Act which authorizes the US president to provide up to $97 million in aid to arm Iraqi opposition groups.

Indyk noted positive developments in Iran, amid continuing US concerns over some Iranian policies, adding that the US is willing to engage Iran in a "dialogue."

Previous Stories:
  Indyk warns Iraq   (4/16/1999)
  Albright expresses concern over Israeli settlements   (4/10/1999)
  King Hassan II receives US Congressional delegation   (4/8/1999)
  Mubarak meets US delegation, asserts importance of Syrian-Lebanese peace tracks   (4/1/1999)

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