Stop Terrorist Recruitment – Build Economic Partnerships

On the other side of the equation are, of course, the moderate Arabic states. Many people argue that following our assistance to the Afghans fighting the Soviet Union, our support for the Albanian Muslims against the Christian Serbs, the assistance the US has given the Palestinians and our feeding thousands of Muslims in Somalia, there is no action Americans can take to garner support on the Arab Street. While I admit the reactions from Islamic terrorists do not seem justified in light of our assistance to Muslims in history, I disagree with the conclusion that we thus should not try. There are a number of actions we can take in an effort to prevent the recruitment of terrorists and to assist in the advancement of freedom in the region.

Our government must act to assist the leaders of moderate Islamic states to stay in power. The economic success of countries like Jordan and Kuwait impact the quality of life and employment rates of their citizenry. The single industry economy of a petroleum state does not produce significant work force opportunities. In fact mineral based economies’ GDP grows at rates less than non-mineral based economies. These countries must develop product and service economies, which branch out from the oil industry and produce jobs and wealth that in every other society has led to a birth of freedom. Jobs and productive lives are a significant part of preventing terrorist recruitment and ultimately dissatisfaction with moderate Islamic leaders. Anyone who studies the seeds of terrorism in the Middle East is confronted with the stark fact that most terrorists come from the ranks of the unemployed. In some terrorist groups, 80% of their members are unemployed.¹ Those countries with severely elevated unemployment rates produce a higher number of terrorists, much the same way inner cities with significantly high unemployment rates have increased recruitment to gangs.

The United States missed an opportunity to assist an Arabic government expansion in just such an area with the prevention of the Dubai ports deal. In February 2006, Dubai Ports World, DPW, a company based in the United Arab Emerates, purchased a British company managing six US Port Operations. A foreign government already managed these ports.2 Our business dealings with Dubai have been amazingly fruitful in the past, including their recent bail out of a major US Bank.³ Despite President Bush’s arguments about the political ramifications of the deal, republicans and democrats in congress forced DPW to sell its US Operations to a US owned company.⁴ The response on the Arab Business Street was nearly unanimous. "This can only make the already-damaged image worse," said Youssef M. Ibrahim, managing director of Dubai-based Strategic Energy Investment Group. "The problem is, for four or five years, we haven't found a way to repair that damaged image."⁵

While it is imperative that the US pursue the terrorists and bring them to justice, it is equally imperative we stop the recruitment of terrorists. Increasing our business partnerships will add to our positive influence in the lives of everyday moderate and conservative Muslim peoples in moderate Islamic states. Continued confrontation and distrust will lead to more terrorists who will threaten our safety.

-Mark Green MD

¹Taymur, Samih, A Conceptual Map For Understanding The Terrorist Recruitment Process: Observation and Analysis of DHKP/C, PKK and Turkish Hezbollah Terrorist Organizations, Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of North Texas, August 2007. Pg. 79

² Weisman, Jonathan and Graham, Bradley, Dubai Firm to Sell US Port Operations; Move to End Three-Week Dispute Comes After GOP Lawmakers, Defying Bush, Vowed to Kill Deal, Washington Post, March 10, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/09/AR2006030901124_pf.html

³ Middle East Bails Out Citi, CNBC.com, November 27, 2007. http://www.cnbc.com/id/21992994/

⁴ Weisman, Jonathan and Graham, Bradley, ibid, Pg 1.

⁵ Weisman, Jonathan and Graham, Bradley, ibid, Pg 1.