WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Military force alone won't be enough to combat terrorism, several former U.S. trade representatives cautioned Friday.
"Politics and military intervention alone won't make terrorism go away," said former representative Charlene Barshefsky, who headed USTR in the latter half of the Clinton administration.
As prospects of U.S. forces attacking Iraq heighten, Barshefsky emphasized the need for the United States to try to bolster its economic ties with Middle Eastern nations, and to strive to boost growth in the longer term as a means to reduce Arab hostility towards industrialized nations.
"It's not going to be a quick fix, " Barshefsky said at a briefing on U.S. trade relations, attended by five other former trade representatives, as she warned that encouraging economic growth would require long-term commitment with few immediate gains. Yet the former trade representative emphasized that alienation of Arab nations from the international community would only further increase potential Middle East hostility towards the United States, and stressed that economic prosperity in the region was in the United States' national interest.
To be sure, the Middle East has been less engaged in the global economy than other regions such as Asia. Moreover, Arab nations have retreated steadily from international markets over the years, as the population nearly has doubled since 1980 but external trade has decreased by 75 percent over the same period, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Meanwhile, of the region's 11 biggest economies, eight including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are not members of the World Trade Organization, nor are they expected to be filing for membership in the near future. The Middle East's lack of enthusiasm for engagement with the international business community contrasts sharply with Asia, where global trade has spurred growth and ultimately raised living standards.
At the same time, its dependence on exporting oil has increased over the years, making it more vulnerable to the volatility of petroleum prices, and less prepared from sustainable growth in the longer term.
Still, other former trade representatives pointed out that politics, more than economics, remained the single biggest hurdle in engaging the Arab nations in international markets led by the United States.
"The Middle East...is the most complicated region in the world," and complicated further with active U.S. involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict, said former USTR representative Mickey Kantor. He added that the region's history of animosity and mistrust has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks for the Middle East to engage in trade with the international community.
That may well be, but Barshefsky emphasized the need nonetheless for the United States to continue pressing for more trade with the Middle East, even if it meant that some U.S. sectors might suffer as a result.
"We are a rich country...that can afford to make some losses" through granting trade relations in favor of the Middle East, especially if that meant enhancing the security of U.S. citizens in general, she said.
Specifically, Barshefsky pointed to the textile sector, which continues to be heavily protected by the federal government. Textiles is often one of the first manufacturing industries that developing nations enter, as they endeavor to get out simply from exporting raw materials and try to grow into an industrialized economy.
While Barshefsky acknowledged that many U.S. citizens remained dependent on the continued health of the textile industry, she suggested that the United States open up its market "as a low price to pay for personal security" of its people.
But whether the United States decides to open up its textile markets, or come up with incentives for Middle Eastern nations to engage more actively in trade with the country, current U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick "doesn't have an easy task," said William Brock, former representative in the Reagan administration. "He's facing the most difficult time amongst all trade representatives."
