Dubai as an International Finance Centre - Free Essay Example

Running Head: Advanced Strategic Management 1 Dubai as an International Finance center Case Study Question 1: Describe the strategic plan of Dubai in 2015. Paraphrase and add your criticism and comments that shows the comprehension of the case as well as the chapters from 1 to 4. Include at least two facts about each sector of the strategic plan. Feel free to bring those facts from primary or secondary resources but make sure that you reference those facts in the list of references. In your criticism show the possible improvements in the strategic plan. Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Strategic Plan The economical meltdown occurring globally and unleashing havoc all over GCC has forced various governments to create ambitious strategic targets for the economical welfare of their countries. Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Strategic Plan for 2015 (DSP) is considered to be the most ambitious strategic plan that was prepared and published in 2007 in the context of outpouring of direct foreign investment that was aggravating the boom in trade, tourism and construction projects. Over the last four decades, Dubai has been able to diversify its economy from an oil base economy and transformed it into an investment and trade centre. Dubai has earned tremendous profits from its strategic geographical location with effective rule of the highness that made Dubai to accept change and implement such strategies in order to support rapid growth. The overall leadership oriented vision of Dubai has been incorporated and discussed elaborately in the DSP for 2015, with focusing on main five sectors: Economical development: Due to the rapid foreign investments with the versatile availability of land resources for construction purposes, effective leadership and blooming tourism sector the future of economical development in Dubai remains outstanding. As an integral aspect of Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic plan it targets to achieve an annual growth of eleven percent following the sustainability of per capita income of forty four thousand American Dollars and gross domestic product of about one hundred eight billion dollars till the end of the 2015. The statistics also prove an annual rise of four percent in labor productivity with the promotion of new sectors consisting of stable and effective competencies. Further the strategic plan targets various economical related sectors of Dubai like trade, construction, tourism, professional services while escalating the overall productivity of these sectors. Dubai consists of potential relative strengths in its various economical secto rs Development of Infrastructure, land and resources: Strategic plans regarding development of Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s infrastructure are summarized as follow: Urban planning Preserving natural resources Developing energy sector Provision of surplus energy, water and electricity supplies Meeting Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth demands Launching more power generation plants and desalination plants Social development: UAE is considered to be the second largest power in the Arab region however it is battling immensely with its demographics. Regarding social developments of Dubai focuses on preserving the national identity of the Emirates as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Population imbalanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ found in this Middle power due to increasing immigrants which is effecting badly the national identity, original race and cultural norms and values of its very own national population which became minority now (Mohammed, 2015). Therefore strategies are formed in light of this issue and maintaining population balance. Government Excellence Excellence will be achieved in every aspect of the business operations. The strategic plans will be focusing on ensuring procedures of accountability and the financial systems will be transformed from cash to accrual basis with updating the human resource practices. Justice, and Security Regarding justice and safety, Dubai is considered to be the safest emirate. In fact the strategic approaches place their attentions and priorities upon security and justice devices. The government of UAE is very conscious of security of every citizen (Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2015 Strategic Plan B, 2015). Criticism: Possible improvements in Strategic Plan Innovation and continuous improvement Dubai, an Oasis in the desert transformed into a cosmopolitan within last two decades like UK, East Asia and US. All such rapid changes are due to its extensive economical growth, which made this isolated region with its own identical values pretty much attracted in the eyes of foreigners. Just as its global competitors, Dubai has also challenging issues in social, cultural, demographic and economical grounds. Despite of its effective full prove strategies through Dubai strategic Plan 2015 it still requires two improvements that are Innovation and Continuous improvement. Today innovat ion is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“much more than new products and processesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Indeed Dubai is striving hard for its immense development. The concept of continuous improvement is related to innovation. Continuous improvement is a management process that constantly monitors what the enterprise ids doing and how people are doing it. This enables leaders to identify and address problems and foster growth through ongoing improvement of products, services, procedures and processes. True leaders like Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the people whom others instinctively look to for a direction are lifelong learners and observers who are constantly looking for ways to do things better and in unique ways. Question 2: Identify the core competencies of Dubai strategic plan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015. Criticize those core competencies. Connect the core competencies of Dubai strategy in 2015 to the United Arab Emirates Vision in 2021. Identification of core competencies in Dubai Strategic Pl an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015 By identifying the core competencies of the Dubai strategic plan we will be identifying the design of competitive positions and strategies of the plan that will eventually capitalize on its corporate strengths. Furthermore it will enable Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Government to integrate the usage of technology in completing various business processes. Following are the identified core competencies of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015: Entrepreneurial Orientation: the emirates of Dubai consists of the ability to identify and recognize seize profitable business opportunities as the government of Dubai is invalid in trade and construction projects merged with other foreign companies by encouraging entrepreneurial behavior in every stake holder. Strategic Thinking and Ideology: Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s competitive position is recognized in the context of industry trends with existing and potential opportunities and its SWOT analysis. The strategies developed in reference to the developing infrastructure of Dubai will enable it to conquer different worlds of businesses. Proposals are developed in advance for about five to ten years that is based upon situational analysis and its current and potential capabilities which is compared with its past performances and conditions. Analytical Planning: throughout the development of the Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic planning dilemmas and challenges are dealt by logical, rational and systematic, sequential approaches. Comparison is developed among alternatives and the best solution chosen is finally implemented. For future strategic planning discrepancies and inconsistencies with numbers are also analyzed. Decisions are based upon benefits, priorities and expenses. Building Collaborative Relationships: Cordial relationships are building on the basis of trust and confidence. Partnerships are made stronger with foreign partners and with local partners as well. Shared interests, experiences and information are shared deliberately by which experiences and learning processes grow. Rapport and common professional relationships are developed. Forward Thinking: the strategic plan for Dubai of 2015 was created in 2007. As plan for the year 2021 has also been created. This proves their forward thinking to be there basic core competency that enables them to anticipate the implications and after wards consequences of the various circumstances and taking appropriate action plan for contingencies being faced at time. The government of Dubai creates contingency plans in advance which further anticipate possible future dilemmas. Developing a strategic plan based upon future expectations and goals trends in various sectors and industries are also analyzed for developmental plans to take benefits from potential opportunities. Criticism of the core competencies of Dubai Strategic Plan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015 While Developing the Entrepreneurial orientation, the government lacks to demonstrate willingness to calculate any forecasted risk or threat that is being created in order to achieve business goals. At the current moment Dubai consists of 3 billion square ft of land with twenty four projects being constructed upon regarding every sector, whether that is social, eco tourism, infrastructure or science related (Environmental concerns over Dubai tourism developments, 2015). Obviously for such a wide construction consists of large scale of employees. Even though strategic plan supports social developments still at the bottom there lays an exploited underclass. Dubai with its rapid economical development relies heavily upon labor. Eighty to ninety percent of the work force living in overall UAE is migrants. These are the people who built such beautiful ornaments and beautify the Emirates with creative a nd attractive aesthetics. But unfortunately these labors have no voice and no owners of the vision. They labor in infamously harsh conditions. Critics view this scenario as stating Dubai to be a morally bankrupt dictatorship built by a slave captive labor. This entire situation supports the argument that Dubai is a hierarchical utopian experiment with an Arabic version of a capitalist vision. This situation involves all five core competencies mentioned above. As these core competences are working effectively at the current moment but can totally divert the situation if migrated employees raise their voice against unfair practices and demand for extended rights. Connections between Dubai Strategic Plan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015 and the United Arab Emirates Vision of 2021 Both of the plans are directed towards the fulfillment of economical development and future prosperity of UAE. Both of the plans are quite similar in their content and strategies. Theme one, in UAEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ ž ¢s Vision of 2021 that is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“United in Ambition and Responsibilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  consists of same basic strategies as mentioned in the social development being taking place in Dubai. Citizens are socially made empowered and security and justice is provided to them on equal basis. Theme three, United in Knowledge supports the vision of Sustainable and diversified economy of UAE. Question 3: Write introductory paragraph on how to measure the effectiveness of a strategic plan in Covering 2 guidelines from the given slide in measuring the effectiveness of Dubai Strategic Plan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015 by usage of two external references. Introductory paragraph: how to measure the effectiveness of a strategic plan For measuring the effectiveness of any strategic plan one has to analyze how the objectives are interconnected with the plans that have to be achieved. The strategies created can be completely effective if the resources utilized are according to the p repared plan and desired results are achieved. Usually strategic plans are developed under the sphere of forecasted results and past performances but the authorized person or the head of the plan should evaluate the whole plan with measuring resources and performances on continuous basis (Nelson, 2015). After six months or annually the performances can be matched for effectiveness. Following steps can be followed one by one to evaluate the effectiveness of the prepared strategic plan (Markgraf, 2015): Developing Strategies that are measurable 2. Variables should be measured During Implementation 3. Evaluating the Performances continuously 4. Reviewing the Effectiveness of the strategies In Terms Of its respective Objectives Measuring the effectiveness of sectorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sub-strategic plans in Dubai strategic plan of 2015 For measuring the effectiveness of the Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic plan I will be referring to the slide provided for this concern. For the implementation of effective strategic management one should indeed create an organization that operates with characteristics of ritualistic and rigid nature. One running such a vast empire such as the emirates of Dubai the leader must act and perform in such a way that he is always flexible and employees look upon him for guidance. As employees will be satisfied the business operation performances will also be up to mark. In other words the leader should be visionary and flexible in his teachings to provide a simple direction towards the organization goals. Other than being flexible in every procedure, the leaders and the upper management as well should be a self reflective learning process through which employees learn and fol low you for fulfilling the organizational goals. The employees look for effective leadership as a source of reassurance and guarantee, as an anchor to provide a degree of security and stability. Regarding the economical developments, productivity growth and human capital excellence are improving quality wise rapidly. As it can be evaluated through different methods that the transformation of the infrastructure of Dubai is converting itself into a hub of business excellence through human capital as well. The work force is prepared for fulfillment of the organizational goals through effective leadership and strategic planning. At the current moment Dubai is engaged in businesses with Africa, Libya and Iraq (Dubai World-Class Infrastructure and a Global Hub for Trade, Transport and Tourism, 2015). The development of infrastructure can be witnessed through the construction of the marvelous Burj Al Arab Hotel that is presiding over the Jumeiraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s beach coastline being the only hotel consisting of a seven star rating in the world. For the sake of astonishing developments reagrding economical sectors, UAE intends to spend more than about three hundred billion U.S dollars on the Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s infrastructure till the end of year 2030. Question 4: By using chapters 3 and 4 for introductory part about internal and external environmental analysis, determine two components in each factor of SWOT analysis from the case and how they interact with each other. Add two logical criticisms to the given SWOT analysis and how this criticism can lead to improve the SWOT analysis of the case. Internal Analysis As the process of strategic management initiates, managers are entitled to carry on the internal analysis of the organization. The internal analysis is considered to be the first part of the SWOT analysis that consists of two attributes, strengths and weaknesses. Primarily the strengths and weaknesses of a company are identified for furthe r analyzing its core competencies and the current situation of the business. For the effectiveness of the strategic plans and approaches the companies must tend to exploit and ensure the extension of its potential strengths. Why entrepreneurs measure the strengths and weaknesses of the organization is related to the fact of gaining competitive advantage over its rivalries. For being competitive the company should develop its strengths and eliminate or reduce weaknesses. By identifying its strengths or core competencies the organization can differentiate itself on the basis of its offered products or / and services or some may decrease their costs for gaining large market share. External Analysis The second part of the SWOT analysis deals with leaders and managers recognizing the organizations opportunities and threats that is said to be the external analysis of a company. The identification of potential opportunities and threats are to be taken seriously as to develop strategi es. Following are the factors stated that are involved in the process of external assessment: The potential threats of an entry by potential rivalries The intensity of competition among established organizations within an market Consumerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s purchasing power Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bargaining power Similarity among alternative products SWOT Analysis Strengths Due to the rapid foreign investments with the versatile availability of land resources for construction purposes, effective leadership and blooming tourism sector the future of economical development in Dubai remains outstanding. Weaknesses: Burden created through Dubai financial Debts is an alarming concern for the UAE financial entities and investors. Further more if the situation is not handled in time it may cause instability in its financial ecosystem as the Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial entity forms an integral part of the IFC (Srivastava, 2015). Opportunities Tourism sector is blooming and is at its top state that brings the capital inflows that welcomes a huge channel of opportunities with it. The vacant region of MENA brings numerous opportunities with relocating citizens there (Srivastava, 2015). Threats The migrated labors have no voice, rights and no owners of the vision. They labor in infamously harsh conditions. Critics view this scenario as stating Dubai to be a morally bankrupt dictatorship built by a slave captive labor. This entire situation supports the argument that Dubai is a hierarchical utopian experiment with an Arabic version of a capitalist vision. Hence it portrays a distorted image of Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Infrastructure. Criticism There will come a state where there will be no place left vacant for construction purposes. Opportunity will reduce with the passage go time as construction will also be decreased. Regarding the tourism sector, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a highly competitive and challenging sector to be always maintained and fulfill expectations of the tourists that belong to every part of the world with high demands. References Dubai World-Class Infrastructure and a Global Hub for Trade, Transport and Tourism. (2015, March 16). Retrieved from Forbes custom: https://www.forbescustom.com/EconomicDevelopmentPgs/DubaiWorldClass.html Dubaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2015 Strategic Plan B. (2015, March 15). Retrieved from Arabian business: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-s-2015-strategic-plan-b-40713.html?parentID=325206 Environmental concerns over Dubai tourism developments. (2015, March 16). Retrieved from Global Travel Industry News: https://www.eturbonews.com/2273/environmental-concerns-over-dubai-tourism-dev Markgraf, B. (2015, March 16). Strategy Effectiveness. Retrieved from Chron: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategy-effectiveness-76012.html Mohammed, E. (2015, March 15). The debate on UAE national identity. Retrieved from Gulf News: https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/the-debate-on-uae-national-identity-1.106921 Nelson, S. S. (2015, March 16). Implementing for Results: Your Strategic Plan in Action. Retrieved from Google Books: https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=qqKTAwAAQBAJpg=PA35dq=how+to+ measure+the+effectiveness+of+a+strategic+planhl=ensa=Xei=ovgFVdmtOc6qaafDgcAOved=0CD4Q6AEwBw#v=onepageq=how to measure the effectiveness of a strategic planf=false Srivastava, S. (2015, March 16). Dubai As An International Finance Center, a SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from Economic and Market Analysis That Matters: https://www.econmatters.com/2014/09/dubai-as-international-finance-center.html

Essay on Kudler Fine Foods Database Project - 897 Words

Kudler Fine Foods Database Project Background and Business Application Proposal Kudler Fine Foods is an upscale specialty food store, servicing the fine food conesouer from their three California locations. Kudlers business objective is to maximize profits by offering the highest quality products at competitive prices. Through adding the on-line ordering system, Kudler hopes to boost profits by increasing their customer base beyond customers in their local areas. The Kudler on-line ordering system will add three important advantages to Kudler customers. First, the on-line ordering system will allow current Kudler customers to access the system, place their order, and have it ready for pickup when they arrive at the store. The†¦show more content†¦? 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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Essay - 1280 Words

Sean Eleuteri Febuary 9th 2011 Professor Kumar English 101 The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat was written by Oliver Sacks who is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University. Sacks writes about his studies of a man named Dr. P who has an unusual brain disorder. Sacks tries to figure out what is exactly wrong with Dr. P and prescribe him with something that can help him; but he can’t seem to figure out what will help Dr. P. His only solution is to prescribe him with â€Å"a life which consists entirely of music. Music has been the center; now make it the whole, of your life† (Sacks 688). Dr. P’s main problem is that he has lost judgment in his life which Sacks is scared†¦show more content†¦Dr. P is a very prestige music teacher and very well known for how talented he is at music and painting. Dr. P never lost his abstract judgement, which is what you need to sing and paint. 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AMERICAN INVASION. Essay Example For Students

AMERICAN INVASION. Essay If you are looking for good news out of Iraq, there are glimmers. Last weekU.S. troops accompanied by Iraqi forces regained control of Samarra in arelatively quick and clean operation. A city that was run by anti-Americaninsurgents is now in the hands of the Iraqi government. American officialshope that this will be the beginning of the stabilization of the SunniTriangle. But for this latest campaign to work, what will matter most arepostwar operations. U.S. troops will have to work with Iraqi forces tocreate a stable, law-abiding environment in Samarra (and other cities) andjump-start economic reconstruction. Recall that the U.S. invasion of Iraqwas relatively quick and clean, only to be undone by disastrous postwaroperations. Paul Bremer has now admitted what has been obvious to many since the weekBaghdad fell. We never had enough troops, he said at a conference, addingthat he should have insisted that more were needed. Senior officials whoworked with Bremer at the time have told me the Pentagons civilianleadership staunchly opposed adding more troops and would not allowexisting troops to do police work. That explains why American forces didnot stop widespread looting and failed to secure ammunition dumps and othercritical sites. (Similarly, American troops were not permitted to stop theburgeoning drug trade in Afghanistan.)Bremer did not mention the second major mistake of the occupation. TheUnited States failed to recognize strong nationalist feelings in Iraq thatquickly turned into anti-American sentiment. As a result, it did not seethe insurgency coming, and when it came, Washington did not recognize therebels strength and appeal: A fewdead-enders,DonaldRumsfeldrepeatedly called them. Convinced that I raqis would see the United Statesonly as liberators, the administration insisted there was no insurgency,that foreign fighters were the main culprits and that the guerrillas wereall terrorists. This misreading of reality-to fit an ideological template-persists. Only two weeks ago, President Bush described Iraq as a country onthe road to democracy being thwarted by a handful of terrorists. The factis that foreign nationals comprise only 300 of the 5,000 insurgents beingheld in Iraqi prisons. Gen. John Abizaid, the head of Central Command, hassaid that its not correct to say that there are floods of foreignfighters coming in.Washingtons plan for postwar Iraq, such as it was, was modeled on theoccupation of Germany after World War II. But Germany and Japan were highlyunusual cases. They had launched aggressive wars against alltheirneighbors, were totally defeated and had lost all legitimacy in the eyes ofthe world. At the same time as those occupations, the dominant trend aroundthe wor ld was the rise of nationalismforcing Britain, France and othercolonial powers to abandon their empires. This anti-imperial feeling wasparticularly strong in the Middle East. Iraqi resentment of, and resistanceto, a naked American occupation was predictable. In 1991 the RAND Corporation produced a study on the lessons of Britainsmany counterinsurgency operations. One of its central conclusions was thatrecognizing an insurgency late is very costly. It gives insurgents time tomobilize and entrench themselves within the civilian population. It alsogives them time to sow insecurity and instability which makes civilianslose faith in the standing Army and police force. General Abizaid now calls the current conflict in Iraq a classic guerrilla-type campaign. But as Bruce Hoffman points out in a RAND study, thats notcorrect. Unlike classic insurgencies, there is no center of gravity, noheadquarters to the operation. Hoffman terms Iraq the first example ofnetwar, a war waged by small groups who communicate, coordinate, andconduct their campaigns in an internetted manner, without a precise centralcommand (as originally defined by John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt). TheIraqiinsurgencycomprisesdisparategroupsBaathists,Islamists,nationaliststhat work loosely together, united byacommonanti-Americanism. In such a war, even more than in most insurgencies, military victory playsan important but small part. The primary struggle is political: to win thesupport of the local population, defang the ideology that fuels theinsurgency, win over militants to the governments side and slowly drainthe rebel movement of its strength. It will take a political and militarystrategy to win a netwar. THE PROBLEM OF BEING ONLY SUPER POWERYears from now, when historians try to explain the world of the earlytwenty-first century, they might mention the Parsley crisis. It took placein July, when the government of Morocco sent twelve soldiers to a tinyisland called Leila, a few hundred feet off its coast, in the Strait ofGibraltar, and planted its flag there. The island is uninhabited, exceptfor some goats, and all that thrives on it is wild parsley, hence itsSpanish name, Perejil. But its sovereignty has long been contested byMorocco and Spain, and the Spanish government reacted forcefully to theMoroccan aggression. Within a couple of weeks, seventy-five Spanishsoldiers had been airlifted onto the island. They pulled down the Moroccanflag, hoisted two Spanish flags, and sent the Moroccans home. The Moroccangovernment denounced the act of war and organized rallies, where scoresof young men chanted, Our souls and our blood are sacrifices to you,Leila! Spain kept its military helicopters hovering over the island andits warships off the coast of Morocco. Absurd as the affair was, someonewas going to have to talk the two countries down. That role fell not to the United Nations, or to the European Union, or to afriendly European country like France, which has good relations with bothsides. It fell to the United States. Once it became clear that nothing elsewas working, Secretary of State Colin Powell began a hectic round oftelephone diplomacy, placing more than a dozen calls to the Moroccan kingand foreign minister. After a few days, both countries agreed to leave theisland unoccupied and begin talks, in Rabat, about its future status. Bothgovernments issued statements thanking the United States for helping toresolve the crisis. It is a small example but a telling one. The United States has no interestsin the Strait of Gibraltar. Unlike the European Union, it has no specialleverage with Spain or Morocco. Unlike the United Nations, it cannot speakfor the international community. But it was the only country that couldresolve the dispute, for a simple, fundamental reason. In a unipolar world,it is the single superpower. A world with just one major power is unprecedented. For several centuriesbefore 1945, European states of roughly equivalent standing dominatedglobal affairs in a multipolar system. Many powers jockeying for advantagemeant shifting alliances and almost constant war. It fixed in peoplesminds the image of international politics as Realpolitik, a ruthless, ever-changing game of might. Eventually, the system tore itself apart in the twoworld wars of the twentieth century. Throughout the Cold War, from 1945until 1991, the world was bipolar. Because there were only two camps, thesystem was less chaotic, but every confrontation got tied back to thecontest between the United States and the Soviet Union. Even isolated flashpoints-Quemoy and Matsu, Congo, Angola, Nicaragua-quickly became tests ofthe two superpowers resolve. Most nations-including the United States-are still unsure of the characterand the consequences of the unipolar world. The confusion has increaseddramatically since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which formany Americans revealed the countrys vulnerability: Americas overwhelmingmilitary power cannot keep it safe. The attacks underscored the point thatHarvards Joseph S. Nye, Jr., made in his recent book, The Paradox ofAmerican Power, which argues that while American power is unmatched, ithas its limits in a modern, globalized age. Much of the Western world haslived for some decades with the knowledge that terrorism can plague an opensociety. But the September attacks were more nihilistic, more deadly thanany that had come before. And they were, in a sense, a consequence of thenew unipolar world. Americans like to think that this country was attackedbecause it is free. But so are Italy and Denmark, whose cities standundisturbed. America was attacked because it is the master of the modernworld, deploying its economic, political, and military powers across theglobe. Because America is No. 1, it is also target No. 1. The immediate effect of the attacks, however, has been a reassertion ofAmerican dominance. As the rest of the world watched, Washington movedterror to the top of the global agenda; ousted a regime in Afghanistan,almost entirely from the air; and increased its annual defense budget byalmost fifty billion dollars, which is more than the total defense spendingof Great Britain. It is now maneuvering, despite initial opposition fromalmost every other country, to get the United Nations to force Iraq todisarm or face war. Americas relative position in the world has no real historical precedent. Imperial Britain, which at its peak reigned over a quarter of the worldspopulation, is the closest analogy to the United States today, but it isstill an inadequate one. To take an example, the symbol of Britainssupremacy was its Navy, which-at great cost to the British treasury-waskept larger than the next two largest navies combined. The United Statesmilitary today is bigger, in dollars spent on it, than the militaries ofthe next largest fifteen countries combined-and those expenditures amountto only about four per cent of the countrys gross domestic product. Americas dominance now seems self-evident, but most policy experts wereslow to see it. In 1990, as the Soviet Union was collapsing, MargaretThatcher expressed a commonly held view that the world was moving towardthree regional groups, one based on the dollar, one based on the yen, oneon the Deutsche mark. The Gulf War changed the atmosphere, but onlymomentarily. Beset by a recession and mounting deficits, President GeorgeH. W. Bush sent his Secretary of State, James Baker, to raise funds fromthe allies to pay for the war. American economic troubles played a part-Wehave more will than wallet, Bush had declared in his Inaugural address-butmostly everyone assumed that unipolarity was a passing phase. Talk of Americas weakness dominated the 1992 Presidential election. TheCold War is over: Japan and Germany won, the late Paul Tsongas saidthroughout his campaign for the Democratic nomination. Henry Kissinger, inhis 1994 book, Diplomacy, predicted the emergence of a new multipolarworld, as did most scholars. Foreigners concurred: Europeans believed thatthey were on the path to unity and world power, and Asians spokeconfidently of the rise of the Pacific Century.Despite these claims, however, foreign problems, no matter how distant,seemed to end up in Washingtons lap. When the crisis in the Balkans began,in 1991, the President of the European Council, JacquesPoos,ofLuxembourg, declared, This is the hour of Europe. If one problem can besolved by the Europeans it is the Yugoslav problem. This is a Europeancountry and it is not up to the Americans. It was not an unusual or ananti-American view. Most European leaders, including Thatcher and HelmutKohl, shared it. But several bloody years later it was left to America tostop the fighting. By the time Kosovo erupted, Europe let Washington takethe lead. During the East Asian economic crisis, East Timors struggle forindependence, successive MiddleEastconflicts,andLatin-Americandefaults, the same pattern emerged. In many cases, other countries werepart of the solution, but unless America intervened the crisis persisted. During the nineteen-nineties, American action, with all its flaws, proved abetter course than inaction. In the same period, the American economy wentinto its longest postwar boom and, in the process, reversed a decades-oldand seemingly normal relative decline. In 1960, the United States share ofworld output was thirty per cent; by 1980 it had dropped to twenty-threeper cent; today it is twenty-nine per cent. The American economy is nowlarger than the next three largest economies-those of Japan, Germany, andGreat Britain-combined. American Presidents, however, were slow to embrace their imperial destiny. Bill Clinton came into office promising to stop worrying about foreignpolicy and to focus like a laser beam on the economy. But the pull ofunipolarity is strong. By his second term, he had become a foreign-policyPresident. George W. Bush, in his campaign, reacting to what he saw as apattern of overinvolvement in international affairs-from economic bailoutsto nation-building-promised to scale back Americas commitments. Today, thePresident who urged that America be a humble nation issues diktats to theworld community, supports nation-building and bailouts, and is increasingAmericas foreign-aid budget by fifty per cent. The shift was made completelast month, with the publication of the White Houses National SecurityStrategy, an unapologetic acceptance of American hegemony. As Americas power became more apparent, foreign governments voiced theirgrowing distaste for it. Clintons chief economic advisers, Robert Rubinand Lawrence Summers, and their de-facto subordinates at the InternationalMonetary Fund were frequently accused of arrogance as they travelled indeveloping nations. Diplomats like Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrookewere disparaged in Europe for acting as if America were, in Albrightsphrase, the indispensable nation. The French foreign minister, HubertVedrine, devised the term hyperpower to describe Bill Clintons America. The complaints have risen to aclamorduringthecurrentBushAdministration, which has shown a disdain for allies, treaties, andinternational organizations. In its first two years it has reneged on moreinternational treaties than any previous Administration. Often its actionsseem gratuitous. The Kyoto treaty on global warming, for example, wasmoribund before the Administration loudly pronounced it dead. (Few Europeancountries are close to meeting their goals, and by leaving out China andIndia the treaty forfeited the possibility of having any real effect.) Butby withdrawing in such confrontational tones the Administration sent asignal that the worlds largest consumer of energy was unconcerned aboutthe environment. American allies-even, on occasion, Great Britain-complainthat they are informed of, rather than consulted about, American policy. Even when the Administration has ended up pursuing policies multilaterallyit has done so muttering and grumbling-as it has in taking its case againstIraq to the United Nations-so that much of the good will it might havegenerated has been lost. Some neoconservative writers assert that such rancor is an unavoidable by-product of hegemony. In an influential article published this summer in thejournal Policy Review, Robert Kagan argues that European and Americandifferences over multilateral cooperation are a result of their relativestrengths. When Europes big countries were the worlds great powers, theycared little for international cooperation, and celebrated Realpolitik. Europe is now weak, he writes, so it favors rules and restraints. America,for its part, wants complete freedom of action: Now that the United Statesis powerful, it behaves as powerful nationsdo.Butthisviewmisinterprets history and misunderstands the unique place that Americaoccupied in twentieth-century diplomacy. America was the most powerfulcountry in the world when it proposed the creation of an internationalorganization, the League of Nations, to manage international relationsafter the First World War. It was the dominant power at the end of theSecond World War, when it founded the United Nations, created the BrettonWoods system of international economic cooperation, and launched most ofthe worlds key international organizations. For much of the twentiethcentury, America embraced international cooperation not out of fear andvulnerability but from a position of confidence and strength. If the BushAdministration rejects this approach, it is indeed, as Richard Holbrookehas charged, making a radical break with fifty-five years of a bipartisantradition that sought international agreements and regimes of benefit tous.But unilateralism is also a reversion to an older American reflex. It is,perhaps, the most venerable tradition in American foreign policy, rooted inthe belief that the United States is an exceptional country, set apart fromthe scheming nations of the Old World. Most American statesmen agreed withThomas Jefferson when he warned against entangling alliances. The fearwas, quite simply, that associating with European powers would be morallycorrupting. John Quincy Adams, in his famous July 4th speech of 1821,declared, America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. Hethen explained why: She well knows that by once enlisting under otherbanners than her own . . . she would involve herself . . . in all the warsof interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition. . . . She might become the dictatress of the world: she would be no longer theruler of her own spirit. Unilateralism did not mean isolationism. Americastarted as thirteen colonies nestled east of the Allegheny Mountains andbecame a vast continental empire through aggressive diplomacy, financialdeals, and, on several occasions, war. Foreign policy has always beenworthwhile whenthegoalwastransformation-inthiscase,theAmericanization of new lands. But diplomacy as usual was to be shunned. International politics was to be transcended, not engaged in. Unilateralism still has a popular appeal, especially in the South, which isnow the base of the Republican Party. But it cannot be an organizingprinciple of foreign policy. It is a disposition, or, at most, a means. Thefundamental questions about Americas approach to the world are about ends. The Bush Administration has often used Americas extraordinary powereffectively, getting its way on a host of specific issues, from the A.B.M. treaty to Iraqs weapons production. But what do these issues add up tomore broadly? What are the purposes of American hegemony?The historical answer to that question is to be found in the Britishmissionary movement of the nineteenth century, whose statedaims-tocivilize developing countries, abolish the slave trade, act against human-rights abuses, and ostracize despotic governments-were adopted by theliberals, most prominently William Gladstone. In modern times, this Anglo-American vision of an idealistic foreign policy is most closely associatedwith President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was, in many ways, a failure as a politician. A stern man with fewskills at negotiation or mediation, he was unable to get his own country toaccept his most important project, the League of Nations. The Senate killedit, unwilling to commit America to the defense of something as vast and asvague as world order. But, for all his practical failings, his ideas haveendured, indeed triumphed. Today, when someone argues in favor of humanrights and democracy, advocates self-determination for minority populationsor the dismantling of colonial empires, criticizes secret and duplicitousdiplomacy, or supports international law and organizations, he is rightlycalled Wilsonian. And while the particular mixture of ingredients hasvaried, almost every American President in the past half century has been,at least rhetorically, a Wilsonian. Of course, like every powerful nation, the United States has pursued itsown interests, often harshly-for instance, in Central America. And when theCold War seemed most threatening-during the Vietnam War and amid risingSoviet expansion in the Third World-Americans turned to calculation andRealpolitik, carried out most intensively by Henry Kissinger. This raisondetat is still evident in our support of dictatorships from Saudi Arabiato Turkmenistan. But when the United States position in the world has feltsecure its goals have been the broad, idealistic ones that Wilson embodied. We have it in our power, Ronald Reagan often used to say, quoting ThomasPaine, to begin the world over again. George H. W. Bush is often seen asa narrow-minded realist, and he would certainly not accept the labelWilsonian. Yet, when searching for a way to describe his hopes for theworld after the Cold War and the Gulf War, he grasped for one of Wilsonsmost famous ideas. What is at stake, Bush said, is a big idea-a newworld order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause toachieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom,and the rule of law. A few weeks later, in a speech to a joint session ofCongress, Bush evoked a world where the United Nations, freed from ColdWar stalemate, is poised to fulfill the historic vision of its founders. Aworld in which freedom and respect for human rights find a home among allnations.George W. Bush, in the first months of his term, did not speak much aboutthe broad goals toward which his Administrations foreign po licy was aimed. Some of his pre-September 11th obsessions-particularly missile defense-suggested a notion of national security geared toward staying safe andaloof from the world (though missile defense is ineffective againstterrorism). But in what was billed as an important speech, delivered inJune at the West Point commencement, Bush began to outline a world view. Hedescribed the dangers of the new era and then asserted that America has,and intends to keep, military strengths beyond challenge, thereby makingthe destabilizing arms races of other eras pointless, andlimitingrivalries to trade and other pursuits of peace. It is a breathtakingstatement, promising that American power will transform internationalpolitics itself, making the millennia-old struggle over national securityobsolete. In some ways, it is the most Wilsonian statement any Presidenthas made since Wilson himself, echoing his pledge to use American power tocreate a universal dominion of right. This claim is at the center ofBushs new N ational Security Strategy document, which says on its firstpage, Today, the United States enjoys a position of unparalleled militarystrength and great economic and political influence. In keeping with ourheritage and principles, we do not use our strength to press for unilateraladvantage. We seek instead to create a balance of power that favors humanfreedom.Many of Bushs recent proclamations are Wilsonian. He advocates democracyin Palestine and wants to build a modern, democratic state in Iraq as partof a wider effort to democratize the Arab world. Last month, at the UnitedNations, in explaining why Iraq was a threat to world peace, he said thatopen societies do not threaten the world with mass murder. But while headopts some of Wilsons loftiest ideals, Bush is also following some of hismost fatal practices. Wilsons means were often highly unilateral. When hetook the United States into the war, in 1917, he insisted that although itfought alongside France and England, it was not an a lly but an associatedpower. His entire approach to the war and its aftermath was to dissociatethe United States from the sordid desires of its allies. Impatient withother countries cultures and uninterested in their views, Wilson tended toissue declarations for the whole world. He believed strongly in therighteousness of his cause, and that was enough to allay any concerns hemight have had about the reaction of foreign countries. In fact, hethought, their hostility was often proof of the revolutionary nature of hisideas. Some of this may have been true-just as some of Bushs frustrationwith European and United Nations diplomacy is understandable-but it insuredthat Wilson was a practical failure. Bushs high-handedness also promisesto make his policies ineffective. Yet there is a way to conduct a robustand visionary foreign policy without triggering an avalanche of anti-Americanism around the world. Its called diplomacy. The American who best understood how to balance idealism and power wasFranklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt adopted so many stances during histenure-from isolationism in the early nineteen-thirties to bargains withStalin in the nineteen-forties-that he could just as easily be termed arealist, an idealist, a pacifist, and an opportunist. But at the end of theSecond World War he faced a challenge unlike any faced by a world leaderbefore. Chief among the victors, presiding over a world in ruins, he had todecide what the postwar world should look like. He set in motion a seriesof international organizations-dealing with international security, trade,economic policy, food and agriculture, civil aviation-that had Wilsoniangoals. Unlike Wilsons projects, however, the most important ones were tobe run not as democracies but, rather, by the countries that had realpower. That gave them a reason to support the system. The United Nationswas to be run by those who had won the war-the United States , the SovietUnion, France, Britain, and China. The Bretton Woods system-the I.M.F. andthe World Bank-was to be run by the country providing most of the cash,which was America. Thus, when America was even more powerful than it istoday-by some measures it had fifty per cent of world output-it put intoplace a series of measures designedtorebuilditsadversaries,institutionalize international cooperation on dozens of global issues, andalleviate poverty. No other nation would have done this: Churchill andStalin were busy carving out spheres of influence. And few Presidents otherthan F.D.R. could have done it successfully. Chad Vonder Haar EssayIt turns out that modernization takes more than strongmen and oil money. Importing foreign stuffCadillacs, Gulfstreams and McDonaldsis easy. Importing the inner stuffings of modern societya free market, politicalparties, accountability and the rule of lawis difficult and dangerous. The gulf states, for example, have gotten modernization lite, with thegoods and even the workers imported from abroad. Nothing was homegrown;nothing is even now. As for politics, the gulf governments offered theirpeople a bargain: we will bribe you with wealth, but in return let us stayin power. It was the inverse slogan of the American revolutionnotaxation, but no representation either. The new age of globalization has hit the Arab world in a very strange way. Its societies are open enough to be disrupted by modernity, but not so openthat they can ride the wave. They see the television shows, the fast foodsand the fizzy drinks. But they dont see genuine liberalization in thesociety, with increased opportunities and greater openness. Globalizationin the Arab world is the critics caricature of globalizationa slew ofWestern products and billboards with little else. For some in theirsocieties it means more things to buy. For the regimes it is an unsettling,dangerous phenomenon. As a result, the people they rule can look atglobalization but for the most part not touch it. America stands at the center of this world of globalization. It seemsunstoppable. If you close the borders, America comes in through the mail. If you censor the mail, it appears in the fast food and faded jeans. If youban the products, it seeps in through satellite television. Americans areso comfortable with global capitalism and consumer culture that we cannotfathom just how revolutionary these forces are. Disoriented young men, with one foot in the old world and another in thenew, now look for a purer, simpler alternative. Fundamentalism searches forsuch people everywhere; it, too, has been globalized. One can now find menin Indonesia who regard the Palestinian cause as their own. (Twenty yearsago an Indonesian Muslim would barely have known where Palestine was.)Often they learned about this path away from the West while they were inthe West. As did Mohamed Atta, the Hamburg-educated engineer who drove thefirst plane into the World Trade Center. The Arab world has a problem with its Attas in more than one sense. Globalization has caught it at a bad demographic moment. Arab societies aregoing through a massive youth bulge, with more than half of most countriespopulations under the age of 25. Young men, often better educated thantheir parents, leave their traditional villages to find work. They arrivein noisy, crowded cities like Cairo, Beirut and Damascus or go to work inthe oil states. (Almost 10 percent of Egypts working population worked inthe gulf at one point.) In their new world they see great disparities ofwealth and the disorienting effects of modernity; most unsettlingly, theysee women, unveiled and in public places, taking buses, eating in cafes andworking alongside them. A huge influx of restless young men in any country is bad news. Whenaccompanied by even small economic and social change, it usually produces anew politics of protest. In the past, societies in these circumstances havefallen prey to a search for revolutionary solutions. (France went through ayouth bulge just before the French Revolution, as did Iran before its 1979revolution.) In the case of the Arab world, this revolution has taken theform of an Islamic resurgence. Chapter III: Enter ReligionNasser was a reasonably devout Muslim, but he had no interest in mixingreligion with politics. It struck him as moving backward. This becameapparent to the small Islamic parties that supported Nassers rise topower. The most important one, the Muslim Brotherhood, began opposing himvigorously, often violently. Nasser cracked down on it in 1954, imprisoning more than a thousand of itsleaders and executing six. One of those jailed, Sayyid Qutub, a frail manwith a fiery pen, wrote a book in prison called Signposts on the Road,which in some ways marks the beginnings of modern political Islam or whatis often called Islamic fundamentalism.In his book, Qutub condemned Nasser as an impious Muslim and his regime asun-Islamic. Indeed, he went on, almost every modern Arab regime wassimilarly flawed. Qutub envisioned a better, more virtuous polity that wasbased on strict Islamic principles, a core goal of orthodox Muslims sincethe 1880s. As the regimes of the Middle East grew more distant andoppressive and hollow in the decades following Nasser, fundamentalismsappeal grew. It flourished because the Muslim Brotherhood and organizationslike it at least tried to give people a sense of meaning and purpose in achanging world, something no leader in the Middle East tried to do. In his seminal work, The Arab Predicament, Fouad Ajami explains, Thefundamentalist call has resonance because it invited men to participate in contrast to a political culture that reduces citizens to spectatorsand asks them to leave things to their rulers. At a time when the future isuncertain, it connects them to a tradition that reduces bewilderment.Fundamentalism gave Arabs who were dissatisfied with their lot a powerfullanguage of opposition. On that score, Islam had little competition. The Arab world is a politicaldesert with no real political parties, no free press, few pathways fordissent. As a result, the mosque turned into the place to discuss politics. And fundamentalist organizations have done more than talk. From the MuslimBrotherhood to Hamas to Hizbullah, they actively provide social services,medical assistance, counseling and temporary housing. For thosewhotreasure civil society, it is disturbing to see that in the Middle Eastthese illiberal groups are civil society. I asked Sheri Berman, a scholar at Princeton who studies the rise offascist parties in Europe, whether she saw any parallels. Fascists wereoften very effective at providing social services, she pointed out. Whenthe state or political parties fail to provide a sense of legitimacy orpurpose or basic services, other organizations have often been able to stepinto the void. In Islamic countries there is a ready-made source oflegitimacy in the religion. So its not surprising that this is thefoundation on which these groups have flourished. The particular formIslamic fundamentalismis specific to this region, but the basic dynamicis sim- ilar to the rise of Nazism, fascism and even populism in the UnitedStates.Islamic fundamentalism got a tremendous boost in 1979 when AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini toppled the Shah of Iran. The Iranianrevolutiondemonstrated that a powerful ruler could be taken on by groups withinsociety. It also revealed how in a broken society even seemingly benignforces of pro gresseducation and technologycan add to the turmoil. Untilthe 1970s most Muslims in the Middle East were illiterate and lived invillages and towns. They practiced a kind of street-Islam that had adapteditself to the local culture. Pluralistic and tolerant, these people oftenworshiped saints, went to shrines, sang religious hymns and cherishedreligious art, all technically disallowed in Islam. (This was particularlytrue in Iran.) By the 1970s, however, people had begun moving out of thevillages and their religious experience was not rooted in a specific place. At the same time they were learning to read and they discovered that a newIslam was being preached by the fundamentalists, an abstract faith notrooted in historical experience but literal, puritanical and by the book. It was Islam of the High Church as opposed to Islam of the village fair. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini used a powerful technologythe audiocassette. His sermons were distributed throughout the country and became the vehicleof opposition to the shahs repressive regime. But Khomeini was not alonein using the language of Islam as a political tool. Intellectuals,disillusioned by the half-baked or overrapid modernization thatwasthrowing theirworldintoturmoil,werewritingbooksagainstWestoxification and calling the modern Iranian manhalf Western, halfEasternrootless. Fashionable intellectuals, often writingfromthecomfort of London or Paris, would critique American secularismandconsumerism and endorse an Islamic alternative. As theories like thesespread across the Arab world, they appealed not to the poorest of the poor,for whom Westernization was magical (it meant food and medicine). Theyappealed to the half-educated hordes entering the cities of the Middle Eastor seeking education and jobs in the West. The fact that Islam is a highly egalitarian religion for the most part hasalso proved an empowering call for people who felt powerless. At the sametime it means that no Muslim really has the authority to question whethersomeone who claims to be a proper Muslim is one. The fundamentalists, fromSayyid Qutub on, have jumped into that the void. They ask whether peopleare good Muslims. It is a question that has terrified the Muslim world. And here we come to the failure not simply of governments but intellectualand social elites. Moderate Muslims are loath to criticize or debunk thefanaticism of the fundamentalists. Like the moderates in Northern Ireland, they are scared of what wouldhappen to them if they speak their mind. The biggest Devils bargain has been made by the moderate monarchies of thePersian Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia. The Saudi regime has played adangerous game. It deflects attention from its shoddy record at home byfunding religious schools (madrasas) and centers that spread a rigid,puritanical brand of IslamWahhabism. In the past 30 years Saudi-fundedschools have churned out tens of thousands of half-educated, fanaticalMuslims who view the modern world and non-Muslims with great suspicion. America in this world view is almost always evil. This exported fundamentalism has in turn infected not just other Arabsocieties but countries outside the Arab world, like Pakistan. During the11-year reign of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, the dictator decided that as he squashedpolitical dissent he needed allies. He found them in the fundamentalists. With the aid of Saudi financiers and functionaries, he set up scores ofmadrasas throughout the country. They bought him temporary legitimacy buthave eroded the social fabric of Pakistan. If there is one great cause of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, it isthe total failure of political institutions in the Arab world. Muslimelites have averted their eyes from this reality. Conferences at Islamiccenters would still rather discuss Islam and the Environment than examinethe dysfunctions of the current regimes. But as the moderate majority looksthe other way, Islam is being taken over by a small poisonous element,people who advocate cruel attitudes toward women, education, the economyand modern life in general. I have seen this happen in India, where I grewup. The rich, colorful, pluralistic and easygoing Islam of my youth hasturned into a dour, puritanical faith, policed by petty theocrats andreligious commissars. The next section deals with what the United Statescan do to help the Islamic world. But if Muslims do not take it uponthemselves to stop their religion from falling prey to medievalists,nothing any outsider can do will save them. Chapter IV: WHAT TO DOIf almost any Arab were to have read this essay so far, he would haveobjected vigorously by now. It is all very well to talk about the failuresof the Arab world, he would say, but what about the failures of the West?You speak of long-term decline, but our problems are with specific, cruelAmerican policies. For most Arabs, relations with the United States havebeen filled with disappointment. While the Arab world has long felt betrayed by Europes colonial powers,its disillusionment with America begins most importantly with the creationof Israel in 1948. As the Arabs see it, at a time when colonies werewinning independence from the West, here was a state largely composed offoreign people being imposed on a region with Western backing. The angerdeepened in the wake of Americas support for Israel during the wars of1967 and 1973, and ever since in its relations with the Palestinians. Thedaily exposure to Israels iron-fisted rule over the occupied territorieshas turned this into the great cause of the Araband indeed the broaderIslamicworld. Elsewhere, they look at American policy in the region ascynically geared to Americas oil interests, supporting thugs and tyrantswithout any hesitation. Finally, the bombing and isolation of Iraq havebecome fodder for daily attacks on the United States. While many in theArab world do not like Saddam Hussein, they believe that the United Stat eshas chosen a particularly inhuman method of fighting hima method that isstarving an entire nation. There is substance to some of these charges, and certainly from the pointof view of an Arab, American actions are never going to seem entirely fair. Like any country, America has its interests. In my view, Americas greatestsins toward the Arab world are sins of omission. We have neglected to pressany regime there to open up its society. This neglect turned deadly in thecase of Afghanistan. Walking away from that fractured country after 1989resulted in the rise of bin Laden and the Taliban. This is not the gravesterror a great power can make, but it is a common American one. As F. ScottFitzgerald explained of his characters in The Great Gatsby, They werecareless people, Tom and Daisythey smashed things up and creatures andthen retreated back into their money, or their vast carelessness and letother people clean up the mess. America has not been venal in the Arabworld. But it has been careless. Yet carelessness is not enough to explain Arab rage. After all, if concernfor the Palestinians is at the heart of the problem, why have their Arabbrethren done nothing for them? (They cannot resettle in any Arab nationbut Jordan, and the aid they receive from the gulf states is minuscule.)Israel treats its 1 million Arabs as second-class citizens, a disgrace onits democracy. And yet the tragedy of the Arab world is that Israel accordsthem more political rights and dignities than most Arab nations give totheir own people. Why is the focus of Arab anger on Israel and not thoseregimes?The disproportionate feelings of grievance directed at America have to beplaced in the overall context of the sense of humiliation, decline anddespair that sweeps the Arab world. After all, the Chinese vigorouslydisagree with most of Americas foreign policy and have fought wars withU.S. proxies. African states feel the same sense of disappointment andunfairness. But they do not work it into a rage against America. Arabs,however, feel that they are under siege from the modern world and that theUnited States symbolizes this world. Thus every action America takes getsmagnified a thousandfold. And even when we do not act, the rumors of ourgigantic powers and nefarious deeds still spread. Most Americans would notbelieve how common the rumor is throughout the Arab world that either theCIA or Israels Mossad blew up the World Trade Center to justify attacks onArabs and Muslims. This is the culture from which the suicide bombers havecome. America must now devise a strategy to deal with this form of religiousterrorism. As is now widely understood, this will be a long war, with manyfronts and battles small and large. Our strategy must be divided alongthree lines: military, political and cultural. On the military frontbywhich I mean war, covert operations and other forms of coercionthe goalis simple: the total destruction of Al Qaeda. Even if we never understandall the causes of apocalyptic terror, we must do battle against it. Everyperson who plans and helps in a terrorist operation must understand that hewill be tracked and punished. Their operations will be disrupted, theirfinances drained, their hideouts destroyed. There will be associated coststo pursuing such a strategy, but they will all fade if we succeed. Nothingelse matters on the military front. The political strategy is more complex and more ambitious. At the broadestlevel, we now have a chance to reorder the international system around thispressing new danger. The degree of cooperation from around the world hasbeen unprecedented. We should not look on this trend suspiciously. Mostgovernments feel threatened by the rise of subnational forces like AlQaeda. Even some that have clearly supported terrorism in the past, likeIran, seem interested in re-entering the world community and reformingtheir ways. We can define a strategy for the post-cold-war era that addresses Americasprincipal national-security need and yet is sustainedbyabroadinternational consensus. To do this we will have to give up some cold-warreflexes, such as an allergy to multilateralism, and stop insisting thatChina is about to rival us militarily or that Russia is likely to re-emergeas a new military threat. (For 10 years now, our defense forces have beenaligned for everything but the real danger we face. This will inevitablychange.)The purpose of an international coalition is practical and strategic. Giventhe nature of this war, we will need the constant cooperation of othergovernmentsto make arrests, shut down safe houses, close bank accountsand share intelligence. Alliance politics has become a matter of highnational security. But there is a broader imperative. The United Statesdominates the world in a way that inevitably arouses envy or anger oropposition. That comes with the power, but we still need to get th ingsdone. If we can mask our power insorry, work withinstitutions like theUnited Nations Security Council, U.S. might will be easier for much of theworld to bear. Bushs father understood this, which is why he ensured thatthe United Nations sanctioned the gulf war. The point here is to succeed,and international legitimacy can help us do that. Now we get to Israel. It is obviously one of the central and most chargedproblems in the region. But it is a problem to which we cannot offer theArab world support for its solutionthe extinction of the state. We cannotin any way weaken our commitment to the existence and health of Israel. Similarly, we cannot abandon our policy of containing Saddam Hussein. He isbuilding weapons of mass destruction. However, we should not pursue mistaken policies simply out of spite. Ourpolicy toward Saddam is broken. We have no inspectors in Iraq, thesanctions arefor whatever reasonstarving Iraqis and he continues tobuild chemical and biological weapons. There is a way to reorient ourpolicy to focus our pressure on Saddam and not his people, contain himmilitarily but not harm common Iraqis economically. Colin Powell has beentrying to do this; he should be given leeway to try again. In time we willhave to address the broader question of what to do about Saddam, a questionthat, unfortunately, does not have an easy answer. (Occupying Iraq, even ifwe could do it, does not seem a good idea in this climate.)On Israel we should make a clear distinction between its right to exist andits occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. On the first we should be asunyielding as ever; on the second we should continue trying to construct afinal deal along the lines that Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak outlined. Isuggest that we do this less because it will lower the temperature in theArab worldwho knows if it will?than because its the right thing to do. Israel cannot remain a democracy and continue to occupy and militarily rule3 million people against their wishes. Its bad for Israel, bad for thePalestinians and bad for the United States. But policy changes, large or small, are not at the heart of the struggle weface. The third, vital component to this battle is a cultural strategy. TheUnited States must help Islam enter the modern world. It sounds like animpossible challenge, and it certainly is not one we would have chosen. ButAmericaindeed the whole worldfaces a dire security threat that will notbe resolved unless we can stop the political, economic and culturalcollapse that lies at the roots of Arab rage. During the cold war the Westemployed myriad ideological strategies to discredittheappealofcommunism, make democracy seem attractive and promote open societies. Wewill have to do something on that scale to win this cultural struggle. First, we have to help moderate Arab states, but on the condition that theyembrace moderation. For too long regimes like Saudi Arabias have engagedin a deadly dance with religious extremism. Even Egypt, which has alwaysdenounced fundamentalism, allows its controlled media to rant crazily aboutAmerica and Israel. (That way they dont rant about the dictatorship theylive under.) But more broadly, we must persuade Arab moderates to make thecase to their people that Islam is compatible with modern society, that itdoes allow women to work, that it encourages education and that it haswelcomed people of other faiths and creeds. Some of this they will doSept. 11 has been a wake-up call for many. The Saudi regime denounced andbroke its ties to the Taliban (a regime that it used to glorify asrepresenting pure Islam). The Egyptian press is now making the case formilitary action. The United States and the West should do their own work aswell. We can fund moderate Muslim groups and scholars and br oadcast freshthinking across the Arab world, all aimed at breaking the power of thefundamentalists. Obviously we will have to help construct a new political order inAfghanistan after we have deposed the Taliban regime. But beyond that wehave to press the nations of the Arab worldand others, like Pakistan,where the virus of fundamentalism has spreadto reform, open up and gainlegitimacy. We need to do business with these regimes; yet, just as we didwith South Korea and Taiwan during the cold war, we can ally with thesedictatorships and still push them toward reform. For those who argue thatwe should not engage in nation-building, I would say foreign policy is nottheology. I have myself been skeptical of nation-building in places whereour interests were unclear and it seemed unlikely that we would stay thecourse. In this case, stable political development is the key to reducingour single greatest security threat. We have no option but to get back intothe nation-building business. It sounds like a daunting challenge, but there are many good signs. AlQaeda is not more powerful than the combined force of many determinedgovernments. The world is indeed uniting around American leadership, andperhaps we will see the emergence, for a while, of a new global communityand consensus, which could bring progress in many otherareasofinternational life. Perhaps most important, Islamic fundamentalism stilldoes not speak to the majority of the Muslim people. In Pakistan,fundamentalist parties have yet to get more than 10 percent of the vote. InIran, having experienced the brutal puritanism of the mullahs, people areyearning for normalcy.InEgypt,foralltherepression,thefundamentalists are a potent force but so far not dominant. If the West canhelp Islam enter modernity in dignity and peace, it will have done morethan achieved security. It will have changed the world.