The Rumi Forum presented “Future of Middle East with Obama Presidency: Hopes and Challenges” with Stuart J. D. Schwartzstein , Independent Consultant.
When President-elect Barrack Obama takes office on January 20, 2009 he will face as great a number of challenges as any modern president has ever had– probably more. He will have responsibility for two wars, as well as dealing with the phenomenon of terrorism (and attendant fears), at a time of economic crisis, a wide range demands on the already-strained federal budget, important (perhaps critical) environmental issues, including global climate change and, in foreign relations, a monumental clean-up operation after an administration that has been nothing short of catastrophic in any number of ways. The Middle East is one of the most difficult regions in the world for the US to deal with, for a variety of reasons — not simply that, as some have described it, “it’s a tough neighborhood.” In addition to the Iraq war, there are a number of conflicts and potential conflicts; there are some ancient animosities as well as relatively new ones. It is also a region in transition. Since 2003, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has occupied center stage: it has had a major impact on the Middle East – but to a considerable extent not as the Bush administration envisaged it. After about five and a half years of war in Iraq, there remain serious questions about the country’s future – and its impact on the entire Middle East. And even if considerable attention has shifted from the decades-old Israel-Arab conflict it remains extraordinarily difficult. The Obama administration will start out with a major advantage in not being perceived as anti-Arab or anti-Muslim. Nonetheless, dealing with Iraq as well as a host of other issues in the Middle East will represent a major challenge for the incoming administration.
Stuart J. D. Schwartzstein has worked as a foreign-affairs professional for more than 30 years, having served in the Defense and State Departments in a wide range of capacities, including as a diplomat, an analyst, negotiator, advisor and planner. He has also held positions in several think-tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) in Washington D.C. His work has ranged broadly, both geographically and in subject matter, including defense industrial cooperation with European allies, technology transfer and export control issues, “information revolution” issues, encryption policy, international science and technology policy, chemical and biological weapons issues, refugee policy, Horn of Africa issues, relations with European allies, ASEAN countries and the Middle East. While at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (1992-96), he did a good deal of work on Iraq issues, particularly focusing on human rights violations by Saddam Hussein and his regime. In 2004, he served in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad as an advisor to the Minister for Science & Technology and to the president of the Iraqi National Academy of Sciences. He has continued to follow events in Iraq and has maintained contact with a number of Iraqi friends, including several in senior Iraqi government positions, as well as officials and experts in the US. Mr Schwartzstein is currently an independent consultant based in Washington, D.C.