The Robert and JoAnn Bendetson Global Public Policy Initiative's three-day symposium "Iraq: Moving Forward," came to a close yesterday in the Alumnae Lounge with a panel discussion entitled "Iraq, Iran, and the Middle East."
Andrew Hess, a professor of international diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), moderated the discussion, which was also sponsored by the IGL in collaboration with The Project on Justice in Times of Transition.
Throughout the discussion, all of the panelists discussed the current situation in Iraq and the future of relationsamong countries in the Middle East, using the greater historical context to ground their opinions.
Dr. Hossein Askari, who is the Iran Professor of Business and International Affairs at George Washington University and has experience in moderating international conflicts, underscored the importance of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the resultant political and economic fallout.
He pointed out that many Americans trivialize it as "that little war," when it in fact drastically affected both sides.
"The war cost Iran 60 percent of its GDP [Gross Domestic Product] during the 1990s," Askari said, "and cost Iraq more than all its oil revenues in its history."
Affected by this historical baggage as well as by current events, attempts at diplomatic relations between the two nations have stagnated, he said.
Askari, along with Dr. Haider al-Abadi, a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and chairman of the council's Economy, Investment and Reconstruction Committee, said that Iran feels its security threatened by the ongoing political transitions in the region.
Still, the two countries do have an incentive, because of the proximity of many of Iraq's urban centers to the Iranian border, to maintain a good relationship, al-Abadi said.
The issue of Iran as a potential nuclear threat also surfaced, provoking varied reactions.
While those on the panel with close ties to Iraq had some concerns about a nuclear neighbor, Askari, who proclaimed himself outnumbered on the panel, said it is "Iran's right to develop nuclear power."
"The United States thinks its diplomacy is a gift for them to bestow on others," he said, but the U.S. needs to recognize that Iran desires to be treated as an equal.
Another speaker, Dr. Sami Al-Faraj, the director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies, focused on the impact Iran's nuclear program would have on the surrounding environment.
Maps with the locations of supposed Iranian nuclear facilities were shown along with how wind patterns and water current flows would bring any excess waste away from Iran and toward Kuwait and southern Iraq.
This waste would have disturbing effects on the environments of these countries, especially on the fisheries in the region, he said.
Al-Faraj suggested that monitoring stations be set up to watch the environmental impact nuclear facilities will have on the region, saying it is just a "question of cooperation."
Throughout his speech, Al-Faraj repeatedly mentioned how war was not in Kuwait's best interests.
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that the effects of a war with Iran would be fatal to the surrounding nations.
Yesterday's event ended the inaugural symposium of the Robert and JoAnn Bendetson Global Public Policy Initiative and concluded three days of discussion by a number of internationally regarded speakers.
