US resists Arab Mid-East pressure

Saddam Hussein claims to be sole champion of the Arabs

By BBC News Online's Fiona Symon

Support for the Palestinians unites Arab populations from Morocco to the Gulf and Arab leaders cannot afford to ignore the issue.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah received lavish praise in the Arab media recently when he reportedly turned down a visit to Washington in protest over US policy in the Middle East.

For each member of congress, the national interest of the United States is dependent on one thing - and that is winning their next election

James Zogby, Arab-American Institute

But gestures aside, Arab leaders appear powerless to bring about any change in the US's perceived bias towards Israel.

Although the State Department has traditionally been more sympathetic to Arab grievances, the White House has often held a firmer line.

And there is fierce hostility among US politicians to any move that could be seen to undermine Israel.

Domestic factors

Although there are nearly half a million Arab Americans in the state of Michigan alone, their influence is dwarfed by that of the US Jewish community.

James Zogby, president of Arab-American Institute, explained the failure of successive US administrations to respond to Arab pressure, by what he described as the overwhelming influence of domestic politics in shaping foreign policy.

"For each individual member of Congress, the national security and the national interest of the United States is dependent on one thing and one thing only - and that is winning their next election, " Dr Zogby said.

Dr Zogby said that this interest leads to support for legislation that courts a domestic lobby, even if it has potentially disastrous impact on Middle East peace.

Ties of dependency

Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator from Kentucky, responding in the Washington Post to recent Egyptian press criticism of Israel and US policy, asked:

"Are hateful and inciting words in the Egyptian press the return on America's $50 billion investment?"

Arab appeals have fallen on deaf ears

The senator was referring to the fact that Egypt's leaders have often preferred not to mention that Egypt receives of nearly $2bn dollars in US aid a year.

And Gulf leaders too are painfully aware of their reliance on Washington to supply their defence needs.

During the election campaign, George W Bush made a point of saying the US should be receptive to the views of Arab nations when making policy in the Middle East.

But there is little sign to date that this is the case.

Under strain

Egypt, the most populous country in the region has been regarded as a key US ally since it led the Arab world in making peace with Israel in the 1970s.

But its relationship with Washington is under strain because of differences over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ordinary Egyptians have expressed their disapproval by boycotting American fast food, cigarettes and soft drinks, and the media has criticised the US for its perceived bias.

Mission to explain

And President Hosni Mubarak took the unusual step last week of sending his national security adviser Osama el-Baz to Washington to present the Arab case.

In a recent tour of the Gulf, the US assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, William Burns, received a strong message from US allies in the region.

"These leaders are deeply concerned about the potentially broader impact of an escalating conflict on other regional issues of importance to us and to them," Mr Burns told a Congressional panel.

Iraq factor

One tangible result of Arab grievances has been the Bush administration's failure to rally Arab support for its policy on Iraq.

Mark Strauss, a Middle East specialist at Foreign Policy magazine described this as "a dual failure".

It was both failing to undermine the government of Saddam Hussein and putting Arab governments in an uncomfortable position, he said.

There is growing hostility in the Arab world towards the US

Other American columnists have begun to question the wisdom of US policy on the region.

In the Washington Post, Jim Hoagland warned that if the US persisted in its failure to intervene Jordan's King Abdullah could be overthrown by forces friendly to Saddam Hussein.

"This is the moment for Washington to push [Israel's prime minister Ariel] Sharon to show he will genuinely pursue peace with the new Palestinian leadership that must now replace Arafat, " said Mr Hoagland.

And he warned that horrible events lay ahead if that moment was not seized.