Arguing for cooperation between the United States and Europe over foreign policy in the Middle East, Joschka Fischer, the former foreign minister and vice chancellor of Germany, delivered the 14th Annual Walter Picard lecture to a packed audience in Filene Auditorium last night. Fischer said that the war in Iraq has led to a dangerous destabilization of the balance of power in the Middle East. The solution to this crisis, he proposed, is a strategic combination of diplomacy and confrontation.
Fischer compared the current conflict in the Middle East to the Cold War, illustrating the different nature of the threats we face today.
"The threat then was a devastating nuclear arms race, but today the threat arises from a lack of order," he said.
Fischer attributed this lack of order to forgotten conflicts such as the anti-red army brigades that gave rise to Al-Qaeda. Attacks targeting national landmarks such as those in 9/11, he argued, are becoming more frequent because of globalization.
Fischer acknowledged the importance of the United States' unilaterial position of power. The United States, Fischer said, is indispensible in leading the world in the anti-terrorist effort. However, he emphasized that a joint effort must be undertaken to confront conflict in the Middle East, particularly after 9/11. Fischer asserted that Europeans are "masters of peaceful transformation," and asserted that Europe's participation in conflict resolution in the Middle East is crucial.
Throughought his speech, Fischer criticized the war in Iraq as lacking legitimacy and failing to address the root causes of Middle Eastern unrest.
"You can't impose democracy at the moment when you are seen not as liberators but as occupiers. Then the cause is lost," Fischer said.
He stated that simply achieving stability would not solve the problem. According to Fischer, a complete cultural and intellectual transformation of the region is needed.
The ideal solution. Fischer said, is to combine diplomacy with confrontation where needed. He said the Western world must be "ready to confront [Arab nations] on the one hand and offer them an open door on the other if conditions are met."
He pointed out that Iraq had no natural allies and a policy of isolation would attain regional consensus. Fischer concluded that there is no short-term solution but that the most effective policy would be to obtain support of neighboring nations such as Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
Fischer's speech was delivered in honor of Walter Picard, who set up the Harris German-Dartmouth visiting professorship. Fischer was selected by the German department for his international policy contributions in the aftermath of 9/11. A leading figure in the German Green Party, he was, according to opinion polls, the most popular German politician for most of the government's duration. He is currently a professor of international economic policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
