America's reluctance to take a strong position against Iran's nuclear ambitions is signaling weakness to Middle Eastern leaders, from Algeria to Pakistan. When we take soft positions against Iran's nuclear ambitions, opting for endless negotiations in place of strong sanctions or military options, the cultures of the Middle East equate them as proof that we do not have the political will to confront them. They therefore use the negotiation period as an opening for continuing their nuclear buildup while we dally over text and language.
For many years, our foreign policy has suffered from a naïve belief that people in the rest of the world want what we want and think like we do, regardless of their religious, cultural, or historical backgrounds. The truth is that in most cases, they do not. As long as we refuse to understand that simple truth, we will continue to lose ground in our foreign policy. That loss of ground has resulted in the depreciation of American prestige, credibility, respect, and influence in every area of our international presence.
The Trouble with Negotiations Dictionary.com defines 'negotiation' as a "mutual discussion and arrangement of the terms of a transaction or agreement between two or more parties". The operative word here is 'mutual' and it points to the specific problem bogging down US foreign policy as it applies across the board. Seasoned negotiators will tell you that the best result of a negotiation occurs when all parties are able to leave the table with the feeling that they have benefited from the outcome. However, when we place our hopes and expectations on the fruits of 'discussions in good faith' with partners whose good faith is at best questionable, then we have lost this goal before we even begin.
America's negotiating strategy depends on the good faith of our counterparts at the table. It assumes their good faith, despite significant evidence to the contrary.
Iran's Nuclear Ambitions We assume, for example, that Iran is willing to negotiate in good faith in order to avoid international sanctions and participate in the global community as an ally of the US. We ignore the fact that Iran has built its own international strategy on another concept entirely, one that we consistently refuse to acknowledge: that while we dither along the long road of drawn out negotiations and 'monitoring selected nuclear facilities, they will continue to use the time that these meetings afford them to continue to build the very nuclear capabilities that the talks are designed to halt. In other words, they use the delays created by the negotiations to further their activities, with no intention of actually living up to any agreements attained from the negotiations. And in the mean time, are we missing the changing power structure within the government that is suggesting a weakening of the power center of the Mullahs and a shifting of power to Ahmadinejad (once thought to be only a mouthpiece to the Mullahs) and his Iranian Republican Guard (IRGC)?
Israel - Palestinian Conflict This situation is not dissimilar from the 'negotiations' that we have been foisting upon Israel in their conflict with the Palestinians for many years. We continue to insist that Palestinian leaders have come to the table as good faith partners to peace. We ignore their open statements that Israel's ultimate destruction is their only goal and that anything short of that is simply a way station along the way to achieving that purpose. When they talk about a 'contiguous state' we ignore the fact that this means the de facto splitting of Israel right down the middle of the country, or worse, the total destruction of Israel as a national entity. These talks have been going on for many years, shepherded by a series of US Presidents from both parties, with neither progress nor peace as an outcome.
We also missed the significance of the shifting power centers as Hamas' "legitimate election" was hailed as a victory for democracy, that then ushered in a period of unprecedented internecine violence between Hamas and the PA, and the rise of Hamas in Gaza as a tyrannical power that exploited and brutalized its own people.
In neither of these two key conflicts have we given even minimal attention to the cultures of the negotiating counterparts that explain their willingness to enter into the talks with no intentions of abiding by the results if they countermand preconceived goals.
Smart Policy Requires Cultural Intelligence
Our lack of attention to how cultural differences can affect the outcome of critical international strategy and policy decisions is hurting American interests everywhere. In order to regain a meaningful position in the theater of world affairs, international policy must be informed by cultural intelligence; that is, a solid understanding of the cultural perceptions that drive the policies and actions of other nations.
Our failure to understand those with whom we are dealing is fraught with danger, and dooms our strategic efforts in the world arena to failure, because it implies two critical points to our counterparts: the first is our underlying lack of respect for their deeply held beliefs, which offends and insults them deeply; and second, is a demonstration of what is perceived as great weakness by those whose cultures respect only those they can respect as powerful adversaries.
The day of the ugly American should be long over, but we have yet to accept responsibility for the obligations of leadership, understanding the diverse cultures that drive global events, correctly identifying those who would hurt us and developing appropriate strategies with which to deal with them, recognizing and rewarding our real allies, and earning international respect by acting with courage and integrity in a world whose events are driven by ego and greed, and fraught with perfidy.
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