Global Cohesion

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ANALYSIS & FEATURE

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

Game time for Obama on Iran, North Korea WASHINGTON (AP) — Suddenly the door has opened for President Barack Obama to put his long-shot diplomatic strategy to the test and fulfill a campaign pledge to negotiate directly with North Korea and Iran. Casting aside conditions that former President George W. Bush had set for talking with countries he called part of an “axis of evil,” Obama is making a play for progress after years of little movement. At stake with both Iran and North Korea is the risk of an eventual nuclear confrontation. The Obama administration is trying to keep expectations low, saying it has no illusions that either North Korea or Iran will suddenly soften its position and give up its nuclear ambitions. The White House insists that diplomacy is the only realistic hope for heading off a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East and in Asia. In the case of Iran, the administration seems ready to argue that talks are a no-lose proposition. “If Iran is unwilling to discuss their illicit nuclear weapons program, I think all that does is strengthen the hand of the international community,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. His remarks appeared to allude to the prospect of building international support for new sanctions against Iran in the event that Tehran remains unwilling to negotiate an end to its nuclear program. The negotiating landscape has shifted markedly since Obama took office, with Iran’s regime contending with internal turmoil from political dissenters and North Korea suddenly eager to pursue talks with the United States after a heated summer of saber-rattling after its second nuclear test. Iran, which denies U.S. and international suspicions that its nuclear program is meant to produce a bomb, insists its atomic efforts are nonnegotiable. But last week it pronounced itself ready for talks on

An undated handout photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (center) inspecting the Pukjung AFP-Yonhap News Machine Complex in North Pyongan Province.

a broader agenda, and an initial meeting is to be held Oct. 1, the first such forum in more than one year. The Obama administration had expected Iran to make an overture a couple of months ago, but that was before the Islamic Republic’s tainted June presidential election and the ensuing harsh crackdown on election

protests. That has raised questions about the government’s ability to deliver on any negotiated agreement. Trita Parsi, founder of the National Iranian American Council, which favors dialogue with Tehran, said Monday that the United States and its international negotiating partners — Britain, France, Russia, China

and Germany — should make human rights a major part of the coming talks, particularly in light of the postelection violence. “Failing to raise human rights in the talks would send the Iranian government a dangerous message of international indifference to the plight of the Iranian people,” Parsi said.

The Obama administration, echoing the demands of the Bush White House, insists that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment. Tehran says it wants to use enrichment technology to create nuclear fuel for electricity generation, but the United States and others suspect that its real intent is to make the fissile core of nuclear

warheads. Ray Takeyh, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and former State Department adviser on Iran policy, said it appears unlikely that Iranian leaders are ready to accommodate outside pressure. “I suspect they are not in the mood for compromise and con-

pears to divide us.” On Sept. 12, I went to the Thames Festival, held near London’s iconic “twin towers,” the century old Tower Bridge. The international centerpiece of the festival — “A scoop of Korea” — was organized by the newly opened Korean Cultural Centre in London. Presentations ranged from traditional dance, food tasting and taekwondo, to the “Monsters Theatre,” a fusion of music and break dancing, and a film “The Good the Bad and the Weird.” One of the most moving moments was to see Korean performers silhouetted against London’s “twin towers.” At the end of the taekwondo performance, Tower Bridge opened, as if bowing to respect its Korean visitors. Then I remembered — there were no security searches or bag searches to get into the

Thames Festival, or the Proms. Any criminal foolish enough to bomb such events would score one of the biggest own goals in the history of terrorism. A world trade center might perhaps be perceived as divisive, especially if its policies favored one nation. But music and bridges connect people across divisions. Around the Korean contribution were organizations trying to increase public awareness about the River Thames and other water resources. Young children were busy making models of “the invisible world below the water,” and learning how fish and other aquatic life create part of a vital urban aquatic ecosystem. Others were learning how urban life if causing adverse climate change. The most original presentation mirrored the Korean show. The “Elastic Band” provided the

chance for children to join in making music with instruments all made from rubbish dumped in the river, from dustbins to plastic bottles. The children gave “recycling” a new meaning. As this was happening significant news story quietly appeared, which is likely to enter Korean history. A cargo ship sailing from Korea to Rotterdam had become the first to use the “Northeast Passage” along the Arctic Circle, through the Bering and Barents Seas. If this route comes into common use, it will greatly increase Russia’s access to East Asia and Europe, make the Suez Canal less significant in geopolitics, and provide South Korea with another trading route to bypass North Korea. But this is not entirely a good news story. The reason that this journey became possible is be-

cession,” Takeyh said. In the few days since the administration declared itself ready to talk to both Iran and North Korea, the response in Congress has been less than overwhelmingly supportive. The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen, blasted the administration Monday. “Iran and North Korea are actively working against critical U.S. security interests and allies and endangering global peace and security,” she said. “They are among the world’s worst human rights abusers. Yet, what is the U.S. response? Unconditional negotiations and unending offers of incentives.” North Korea, which claims it already has a nuclear arsenal and threatens to use it if attacked, shut the door early this year on denuclearization talks with the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. Last month, however, it announced it was ready to talk, but only to the United States, excluding the others. And now the Obama administration says it is prepared to take up the North Korean offer, although State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that no final decision has been made. Chester A. Crocker, who was assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1981 to 1989, wrote in the New York Times on Monday that now that the administration has turned Obama’s openness to talks into active policy, it must be prepared for any outcome with Iran and North Korea. “By far the greatest risk of engagement is that it may succeed,” wrote Crocker, now a professor of strategic studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. “If we succeed in changing the position of the other countries’ decision-makers, we then must decide whether we will take ‘yes’ for an answer and reciprocate their moves with steps of our own.”

Is ‘global cohesion’ the best security against terrorism? By Chris Williams

Where were you on 9/11? As the anniversary of the bombings of the twin towers passes, people recall where they were on that day in 2001, and how that effects where they are this year. Did the terrorist bombers achieve their aim, or are politicians and people the winners? Go to an airport and it seems that the excessive security symbolizes the victory of the terrorists. Although the checks present an impression of security, it is very obvious that they can achieve very little. Not least, like a chain, any system of international airports is only as secure as its weakest link. State-of-the-art technology at Incheon will not offer protection from a bomber who enters the system without checks in Kabul or Yemen. It seems that airport security systems are there to protect politicians from criticism, not passengers from murder. Offduty security operatives explain the failings. Avid security guards remove harmless nail clippers from children, while a few meters along the airport shops readily sell similar items that could kill. Any sharp object made of plastic or glass is unlikely to be detected. Once on the plane, you are handed your knife and fork. Is it a deterrent that if terrorists want a metal knife they must travel business class? Chopsticks, plastic and wooden, are given out, and can easily be turned into a lethal stiletto with a pencil sharpener. The weapon that secret services are taught to use as a crucial part of their armory is available on request from the stewardess — a ball point pen. Occasionally there are random police checks of passports, to identify people whose travel patterns are suspicious. The officers always smile as they see the stamps in my passport — Afghanistan, Lebanon,

Pakistan, Liberia, Yemen, and Palestine. I say that I am lucky that I do not have a moustache and that my name is not Mohammad, and everyone enjoys the joke. It is not so funny if you do have a moustache and your name is Mohammad. The foolish rudeness of security staff can be unbelievable, in many ways. An Iranian friend, who is a pilot, tells of the insulting treatment from U.S. immigration officials who can be particularly arrogant and ignorant. Why was he taken off for two hours interrogation when his Iranian colleague was waved through? It was because his colleague was born in that Iranian city, originally famous for its red wine grape which is now popularized in many winegrowing countries, Shiraz. The immigration officer smiles when he reads “Shiraz,” and comments, without noticing that he is holding an Iranian passport, “Australia is a beautiful country, welcome.” If we judge by how our politicians and their minions run our airports, the terrorists have won. But beyond this there is more reason for optimism. This Sept. 11, I started the evening in the best international restaurant in London, “Savoir Faire,” which is just opposite the Korean shops. The Japanese-speaking Iranian owner, his Scottish wife and staff representing much of the EU serve international cuisine to cosmopolitan visitors and locals. My Japanese wife and I are joined by Irish and English friends who live in Paris. Then we all go to a late night Prom concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The concert is given by American-Chinese virtuoso cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, and his energetic “Silk Road Ensemble.” This group performs an eclectic mix of world music from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and other Silk Road countries. It started with two flute players, from

China and Japan, entering from opposite sides of the stage. They unite in the middle with a harmonious musical dance, and the symbolism is not missed by the audience. But the Ensemble is not a musical museum. The music is new, and the Indian tabla player is likely to be Irish, and the Irish folk fiddle played by a Romanian. Earlier in the Prom season, the “East West Divan Orchestra” also symbolized cross cultural harmony. Formed a decade ago by Jewish pianist Daniel Barenboim, and Palestinian writer Edward Said, the orchestra comprises musicians from Israel, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries. In 2001, 9/11 happened to coincide with the famous “last night of the Proms,” and there were urgent discussions about whether such a joyous celebration of music should take place. It did, with minor changes, and a sensitive speech by the American guest conductor. The next year, some orchestras were unable to get to London because of knee jerk visa and security measures by the British government. During the final week of the season, the government relaxed the rules about carrying laptops onto planes, because of complaints from the business community. The conductor’s last night speech contained a quip that the following year, unless the government became more intelligent in its response to terrorism, the orchestra would probably only be playing a symphony for laptops. The next year, there were no such political problems. In his “last night” speech this year, American conductor, David Robertson, pointed out how different all the instruments of the Western classical orchestra are, having evolved from traditional instruments in Morocco, India, China and elsewhere. He concluded, “But when you hear the music, you realize that there is more that unites us than ap-

cause of melting ice in the Arctic, due to global warming. In cultural spheres, global terror strengthens global cohesion, and that is a more effective security measure than any airport X-ray machine . In the game of global terrorism, the terrorists have often beaten the politicians, but they have not beaten the people. But the threat from climate change is far greater than the threat from any gang of deranged terrorist murderers. Let’s hope that global cohesion soon becomes strong enough to address that threat too. Chris Williams is based at the Center for International Education and Research, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He can be reached at [email protected] — Ed.