Warsaw talks good for region
The governments of Poland and the US will host a conference in Warsaw to address issues related to the Middle East on Wednesday and Thursday. The hosts expect representatives from at least 70 countries to attend. It will be a massive gathering and perhaps an opportunity for some serious breakthroughs in the struggle to bring peace to the region.
Most European nations, Middle Eastern Arab countries, Israel and others will be in attendance. When the conference was first confirmed in early January, much of the news indicated that it would primarily address issues pertaining to Iran. As a result, the Iranian government condemned the conference and lambasted the participants, but it seems now that it will have much broader scope.
The discussions could present a true opportunity for progress toward a more peaceful and prosperous region, but two days is not long enough to end divisions or solve problems. The real benefits of this conference will be twofold: First, Middle East countries are being included in the world’s discussions of their own futures, and, second, there is an opportunity for progress by just creating the image of countries meeting.
When it comes to issues central to the Middle East, the world has too often tried to solve problems without including the voices of the region itself. Famously, the UK and France — with the eventual agreement of Russia — drew national boundaries on a map of the Middle East in 1916. Similarly, less than a decade ago, six of the world’s most powerful countries chose to negotiate nuclear ambitions with Iran. The negotiations resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — a flawed agreement that gave too much leeway to Iran and left its neighbors concerned.
The presence of representatives from most of the Middle East may be the most crucial element of this conference. While the Egyptian and Jordanian governments already enjoy peace with Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently visited Sultan Qaboos of Oman, this is an opportunity to provide the imagery of peace on a grander scale. Picture the scene of representatives from
Arab countries in discussion with Israeli delegates, smiling as they address common causes and means of mutual assistance.
One can also assume that another theme of this conference will be preventing the horrors of the past. It must not be a coincidence that the meeting will be held in Warsaw, a city whose past demonstrates the horrors of hate. Warsaw is where the Nazis imprisoned more than 400,000 Jews in an area of only 3.4 square kilometers. The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which happened 76 years ago, is the most widely remembered revolt by Jews against the Nazis during the Holocaust.
The setting for this ambitious conference is the best reminder of the crimes of Nazism, which was the archetypal evil of the 20th century. There is no better spot to remind world leaders that peace and security are worth pursuing, both with each other and with the world.