The US should pack up and leave Iraq, presidential advisor Osama El-Baz said in a lecture this week. Nevine Khalil attended Arabs and Muslims need to improve their image on the world stage, and move from under the shadow cast over them by Islamist extremists over the past three years. As well as closing ranks and working through the Arab League, they should solicit the help of friendly countries across the globe. These were the main points discussed by Chief Presidential Adviser Osama El-Baz during a speech at the German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) on Sunday. "The onus is on us to improve our image, but friends can also help us out," he told a gathering of heads of local industry, and representatives of donors and international institutions. In his address -- titled "Steering the right course in troubled waters -- Egypt and the MENA [Middle East, North Africa] Region" -- El-Baz listed several misperceptions which emerged in global politics after the 11 September 2001 attacks. These include the claim that Islamic fundamentalism and extremism have become "a threat" to world stability; that Osama Bin Laden and other extremist leaders are now viewed as spokesmen or representatives of Islam; and that Samuel Huntington's theory of the clash of civilisations has become acceptable. The peace process, meanwhile, has completely unravelled, and the war in Iraq is ongoing. Speaking one day after the third anniversary of the World Trade Centre and Pentagon terror attacks, El-Baz noted that it is an oft-overlooked point "that, in fact, it was the US which launched the most recent 'jihad' war -- namely the one against Russian troops in Afghanistan." He said the US played an active role in recruiting and training fighters, "who had nothing to do with Afghanistan," to join ranks with the Afghanis in expelling Russian invaders during the 1980s. "Al-Qa'eda was [cultivated] by the Americans," he said. "The Americans made a big mistake." He also described as a "mistake" the view that the US invasion of Iraq is linked to the 9/11 attacks. "There was no contact between Al-Qa'eda and the Iraqi regime," El-Baz said. "[Former Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein would not allow it." Blaming the US for the explosive situation in Iraq, he said, "if the US packs up and leaves, this would be the best thing. The US dismissed the entire military and police forces, which allowed common thieves and criminals to take over, carry out kidnappings, and so forth." He argued that the groups that kidnap foreign workers in Iraq are not genuinely religious in nature, because they carry out such attacks against innocents and fellow Muslims. Nonetheless, El-Baz was optimistic that "we still have a good chance to survive these challenges, because not all countries embrace this perspective." Speaking to the gathering, which also consisted of EU ambassadors in Cairo and members of GACIC, El-Baz noted that "the Europeans know Arabs and Muslims better, and they know that Muslims do not condone terror and killing." Regretfully, however, "the war on terror does not distinguish between Muslims, moderates and extremists." El-Baz also loaded the fact that Europeans "don't generalise. Europe is our next door neighbour, and many Arabs and Muslims live in Europe peacefully." On the peace process, El-Baz said that by carrying out sweeping attacks in search of suspected militants, Israel is "alienating the majority of Palestinians" who do not support armed groups such as Hamas and Jihad. At the same time, "Israel needs to be sincere when it says Gaza first and not last," meaning that its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip should be followed by similar measures in the West Bank. El-Baz's logic is that once Israeli troops are gone from Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority will be in control of its territories, and will be held accountable for any violent activities against Israel. "In that instance, no Arab country would be ready to help armed Palestinian groups launch attacks," he said. "The PA needs help with taking control of the situation on the ground; something Egypt and Jordan can cooperate with them on." El-Baz defended Syria by saying that "it does not encourage any type of acts of violence to be launched from its territories against any entity in the region." There may be some "infiltrations" now and then, but, according to El-Baz, these are individual cases. "The Syrians want the region to stabilise and their country to develop," he said. "It is highly unlikely that they will be held responsible for violation of any international laws." But on the more pressing issue of US demands on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, El-Baz opined that, "this is a matter for Syria and Lebanon [to] resolve on their own, and the outside world should stop interfering." El-Baz argued that it was not politically shrewd to "continuously put a country on the defensive", as the US has done with Syria. "If the general sense is 'damned if you do, damned if you don't', there will be no incentive to change policy." Addressing another issue that was raised with countries in the region by the US -- namely the Greater Middle East Initiative -- El-Baz said that the notion of reform is on Egypt's agenda. "Reform is needed to meet the current challenges facing us," he said. "Our system is far from perfect." He specified Egyptian interest in reforming agriculture, industry and other economic domains, adding that, "we are willing to accept proposals on reform from our friends." In conclusion, El-Baz said that the Arabs as a bloc continue to strive for a strong, united grouping, similar to the EU model. "We have begun with modest steps," he told his audience. "However, we should expedite this process because we are all in the same boat." He pressed the need to "jump start the push towards Arab unity".
