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Honor and Compromise in Middle East Leadership

(Gatestone Institute) Harold Rhode - In the Middle East, leaders almost never admit that they made mistakes: doing so would bring shame on them. The Western concept of compromise - each side conceding certain points to the other side in order to come to an agreement - does not exist in the Middle East. People will go to any lengths to avoid shame; they are prepared to go to jail, risk death, and even kill family members (usually females) to uphold what they perceive as their honor and that of their family. This battle to avoid shame at all costs indicates why Morsi, Erdogan, Saddam, Assad, Arafat, and Abbas can never back down. Both Arafat and Abbas could not sign any agreement with Israel to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict and recognize Israel and a Jewish state. When, at Camp David in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arafat 97% of everything said he wanted, Arafat said he could not sign such an agreement: he "didn't want to have tea with Sadat" - a reference to the Egyptian leader who had been assassinated after having signed an agreement with Israel. Arafat knew that had he signed, he would have been considered a traitor by his people, and most likely killed. Why Secretary of State Kerry and the Obama administration believe they can persuade Abbas to sign an agreement guaranteeing Israel's right to exist in any form is astonishing. It is pointless, therefore, for Western and Israeli political leaders to try to provide Middle Eastern leaders with incentives to reach compromises where, in Western eyes all sides win, but - to their fellow Arabs and Muslims - their side loses. The writer served in the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment.
2013-07-11 00:00:00
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