Clinton ponders terrorism’s roots

Nour Samaha

• Last Updated: November 05. 2009 12:33AM UAE / November 4. 2009 8:33PM GMT

DUBAI // Bill Clinton, the former US president, yesterday said the primary cause of terrorism in the Middle East was a lack of opportunity.

He told students at the American University of Dubai that suicide bombers believed they had more to gain in the afterlife than now.

Mr Clinton said that feeling of hopelessness was the “major danger” confronting Palestinians and Israelis today.

“What leads people to suicide bombing?” he asked the students gathered in the university’s basketball stadium.

“For them, it is because tomorrow will be just like yesterday. If we keep going on like this, and the Palestinians are convinced that tomorrow will be like yesterday, then there will be a calamitous effect on them and everyone else.”

His comments come just days after his wife, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, visited the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mrs Clinton said America did not accept the legitimacy of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, but agreed a freeze on such activity was not a precondition for peace talks.

Yesterday, Mr Clinton stressed the importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis before it “spiralled out of control”.

That, he said, would have “far-reaching consequences”. Referring to recent events in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr Clinton said “security in some areas is highly unstable”.

“We have to learn how to build our way out of instability rather than shoot our way out. This is part of national security.”

In his wide-ranging speech, he also urged the students to consider the global effects of their decisions.

“When looking to the future and at actions, think about whether or not this will reduce or increase equality, stability, climate change, and build on interdependence.”

Mr Clinton talked at length about climate change and the effects of global warming.

Citing Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the UK as pioneers of “green” issues, he urged Arab nations to follow suit.

He said the Middle East could become economically independent in terms of alternative energy, which would have a positive impact on employment and education.

“With this idea, millions could become employed, and it could help democratise education,” he said.

The 42nd US president added that young people in the Emirates had the chance to lead the world in reducing inequality.

“Dubai is an example of the growth of interdependence where connections are made across the world.”

He urged the students to “build the positive and reduce the negative” around the globe by focusing on education, climate change, security, and stability.

He said examples of the world being “too unequal” included the billion people who have no access to clean water, and the nine million children in the Middle East who are denied an education.

He added that gender equality was vital to prosperity.

“For the future of the Middle East, young women need to have the same opportunities as young men,” he said.

Later in the day, Mr Clinton met Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to discuss educational and economic issues and review the regional situation.

nsamaha@thenational.ae

* With additional reporting by AP