In his speech in front of the White House summit to counter violent extremism, US President Barack Obama said the spread of terrorist organizations is related to the Arab countries policies without mentioning Israel which al-Qaeda exploited in the beginning to win the sympathy of the Arabs and Muslims.
President Obama has forgotten that al-Qaida and other terror organizations did not call for political reform and democracy, as they reject democracy.
President Obama spoke of “historical injustices” and colonialism as reasons for the suffering in the Muslim world. But he forgot Israel’s practices of occupation, as well as US policies that bear a great responsibility for providing a pretext for radicalism in the Middle East.
This is probably not a good time to exchange accusations of responsibility while terrorist organizations spread, but Obama has not given up on the American agenda in the Middle East, based on the idea of political reform and the role of civil society organizations, which is the direct cause of risks to sovereignty, territorial integrity and the future of many of these countries.
President Obama called on Arab and Islamic countries to acknowledge that the West is not against Islam. It is terrorist organizations, not countries and their leaders, who are so. Western policies towards the Middle East should change so that terrorist organizations would not be able to attract new generations.
The desired change in Western policy should be based on helping the region’s peoples and their governments to confront terrorism and extremism in a practical and realistic cooperation in the field of education, development and economic reform, job creation and legislation support to ensure fairness, and to reduce corruption and bureaucracy.
People in the region need hope in the future instead of the obscurantism and frustration in many Arab and Islamic countries areas that yield to the spread of extremist organizations that attract many of the millions of young people who dream of wealth, marriage, or housing.
States that fell to extremism and militancy cannot face this epidemic alone. Major countries should not provide advice and guidance or pressure for political reform when many people in these countries do not have a living and their economies suffer bankruptcy and collapse.
Everyone knows that moving the battle of terrorism to the heart of the Islamic world will be insufficient to provide security and safety for developed countries. Small contributions do not count in this international battle.
Also, terrorism should be used to achieve strategy gains in international conflicts, balances of powers, expand influence in specific regions or countries, nor to pressure on other countries. Everyone is in danger in face of the terrorist threat.
