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Iraq and other Middle Eastern issues were the topics of the live video conference between University of Maine students and students at American University in Cairo Monday, Dec. 9 in the Soderberg Center of Jenness Hall.
Although the discussion became intense, students from both universities said the experience provided valuable insight into different perspectives.
“We hope this type of event will become more institutionalized in both institutions,” Bob White, dean of the division of lifelong learning, said. “The future leaders of our two countries may emerge from these two classrooms.”
Following the introductions, the students addressed the question of reasons for the United States’s intervention in Iraq. It was clear from the start that differences of opinion existed between the two groups. While both agreed that economic factors played a role in U.S. intervention, their opinions varied on the significance of factors, namely oil.
“I personally believe that oil is playing a far greater role in the situation than Americans will admit,” Caterina Anderson, a second-year international affairs and anthropology major, said.
Heather Smith, a fifth-year international affairs major studying Arabic politics and language, agreed that the U.S. is concerned with its oil interests, but said the biggest concern is the stability of the regime.
Morgan Carnahan, a third-year political science major, said she believes oil is not the primary reason for intervention.
“Since 9/11, I feel it’s necessary to fix the way Saddam [Hussein] rules in Iraq,” Carnahan said.
“I think we all agree that Saddam Hussein is a bad leader and should be taken out of power,” Ben Hale, an international affairs major, said.
The students discussed the actions of the former Bush administration during the Gulf War.
“Why didn’t the U.S. administration finish Hussein during the Gulf War?” Yasser Badei, a student in Cairo, said. “American troops for the first time were able to have bases in the Persian Gulf. Americans had a lot to gain from increased presence.”
Some students from Cairo said that the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United States over the past 10 years have done nothing to topple Hussein. They also said that double standards exist in U.S. foreign policy and that U.S. policies should be more consistent.
“I believe that our government does have inconsistencies, but you can find inconsistencies in every regime,” Kaitlin Sighinolfi, a junior international affairs major, said.
Hale agreed that inconsistencies exist in every country, while Peter Lodge, a graduate student studying U.S. foreign policy, added that the U.S. administration habitually gives justifications for its inconsistencies.
“I think the reason we’re inconsistent is that weapons of destruction are not the real reason why we’re in [Iraq],” Abra Iwanko, a fourth-year political science major, said.
The students in Cairo said that politics in the Middle East should not be defined by U.S. aims. They said that the United States wants an imperialistic world and wants to redraw the map of the Middle East.
One student in Cairo expressed her concern for the consequences of American intervention with Iraq.
“What I’m concerned about is that it would be setting a new precedent,” Salma Nagy said.
Students on both sides talked about the issue of social justice versus economic concerns.
“We’re not out to pillage Iraq and strip the lives of innocent civilians … you perceive us as ruthless, heartless … people look to use because we are imperialists,” Smith said.
Students in Cairo expressed the importance of public opinion in America.
“We do not have the choice that you have as Americans to influence policy,” Hatem Ali, an American University student, said.
The discussion then veered toward the Sept. 11 attacks and how they relate to the present situation in Iraq.
“It’s implied by the Bush administration that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 attacks,” Sighinolfi said. She commented that some people are reacting to Iraqi interests, whereas others are reacting to the Sept. 11 attacks.
The UMaine students were divided on the role Sept. 11 should play in the Iraqi situation.
“I think that given the events of 9/11, the American government has been given a bigger stick, in a sense, to act unilaterally,” UMaine student James Mallar said. “We need to push for a more multilateral approach.”
“[The] 9/11 attacks gave Americans more solid ground to carry out strategies,” Ali added.
Carnahan said terrorism should play a part in American actions in Iraq and cited the 16 U.N. resolutions violated by Hussein.
“I’m very concerned about what is going to happen in the future … You can always use hearsay to link certain regimes to terrorist attacks,” Karim El Sayid said from Cairo.
“Americans use terrorism as a pretext to implement its policies,” Badei added.
Smith responded by explaining that the U.S. does not need the Sept. 11 attacks as an excuse to take actions against Iraq, but that the attacks provide a sympathetic reason to the rest of the world. She said that Sept. 11 was a different experience for U.S. citizens because it was the first time in this generation that the United States was directly attacked on such a grand scale.
The UMaine students asked the Cairo students what other options there are to improve the situation. The UMaine students in turn were asked to provide ideas of their own on the subject.
“We all agree that the embargoes and the sanctions are not doing what they should do,” Sighinolfi said. “We should try something else.”
“I don’t believe that social justice is incompatible with our foreign policy,” Anderson said. “A radical shift toward social justice could go pretty far in helping.”
“If the U.S. goes ahead and attacks Iraq, then anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world will continue to increase,” Mallar said. “[We should] rethink and re-analyze the way that we conduct our foreign policies.”
During the closing statements, several of the Maine students expressed their desire not to be perceived as representatives of American government, as well as their gratitude for having had the opportunity to participate in such dialogue.
“We’re the adults who are going to represent the country in the future. It would be in our best interests to understand one another before trying to fix each other,” Smith said.
UMaine International Affairs professor Bahman Baktiari pointed out that the conference touched on many diverse issues and expressed the desire to arrange further discussion. The participating students have kept in touch via e-mail and said they plan to continue communication.
The conference was also broadcast to the UMaine’s Hutchinson Center in Belfast. This was the first live discussion of its type at UMaine, according to a recent press release.
