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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

ENDS AND MEANS

With this issue, I come to the end of my time at AmCham and Business Monthly, which I leave after an even four years – two and a half as deputy editor and one and a half as editor-in-chief.

There's no denying that these last four years have been stirring ones - not least, of course, in the Middle East. Even Egypt has seen more than its usual share of excitement: titillating backs-and-forth with the USTR over GM and FTA issues; an unexpected post-war economic boom; and, most recently, the installation of a much younger crew of reform-minded cabinet ministers.

Coincidentally, the last four years also coincides almost exactly with the action-packed presidential term of George W. Bush.

Shortly after I started at Business Monthly in September 2000, much of the Arab world rejoiced over Bush’s victory, thinking the new Republican administration would approach the Middle East with more evenhandedness than its predecessor. At that time, the American dream had hit peak subscriber numbers: while there may have been misgivings about Washington’s traditional predisposition towards Israel, the man on the street still loved and respected America. In Egypt, dubious politics usually came in a distant second after the hope of someday enjoying the fruits of American-style upward mobility. Everyone, it seemed, had a brother or uncle living - and thriving - in the USA.

Upon taking over, though, the new administration - rather than imposing itself on the warring factions in Palestine/Israel, the touchstone of Arab perception – remained eerily aloof.

Simultaneously, in other areas, such as nuclear disarmament and the environment, Washington pursued strange, unilateralist whims.

Then the watershed, 9/11, happened – when delinquent US policy supposedly boomeranged, bringing all the pent-up fury of the Middle East right into New York City’s valleys of steel.

There was a fleeting little war in Afghanistan, aimed at the alleged perpetrator of the attack, followed, a year and a half later, by a much bigger one on Iraq. In the meantime, most of the Arab world had become sorely disillusioned with notions of Republican neutrality.

Still, there were also – in theory – some positive implications for the region. For example, the US, in addition to cleaning up Saddam Hussein’s WMD, was going to democratize the Middle East.

Washington – with the best interests of the region at heart – was going to push the Arabs to liberalize, economically and politically.

And that brings us up to the present, four years later, when we again find ourselves on the verge of a US election (in which, also again, real choices regarding Middle East policy are lacking).

That's a lot of news to digest. Fortunately, though, journalism allows you to gather and publish the opinions of a wide spectrum of people with differing perspectives; in fact, this is the very definition of journalism.

While there are many that view the new unipolar world order with fear and loathing, there are also many who are keeping their fingers crossed, in the hope that new pressures will expedite the traditionally glacial pace of reform.

The humanitarian, for example, hopes the influence of the US, with its stated respect for civil and human rights, will improve the condition of those who have customarily been abused by political systems lacking adequate checks and balances.

The businessman, too, has reasons to be optimistic: just look at the raft of positive economic indicators – against all expectations – that came in the wake of the war on Iraq. The exchange rate’s fallen into line, exports are doing better than they have in a long time, and now, with the latest round of tariff cuts, the new group of econ ministers appears to have proven its seriousness with regard to economic reform. There have also been whispers that a US-Egypt FTA will materialize within a matter of months.

The would-be politician, meanwhile, relegated to the opposition for decades, can now anticipate – albeit cautiously – a gradual softening of the political environment, allowing for greater civil participation in government.

But what of the American expatriate? After all, this is, at the end of the day, the category under which I would submit myself – no matter how long I've been away from the seat of empire. He's left wondering why, if the US is pushing all the above-mentioned good stuff, anti-Americanism on the so-called “Arab street” is hitting fever pitch.

In Egypt, this is seldom expressed by anything more than sporadic boycotts of fast-food chains. Still, when asked, few jovial taxi drivers still talk radiantly of the American ideal. There might be admiration of US technology, or pop music, but the love is gone; the soft power by which we maintained our preeminence for so long – without killing anyone – now fails to allure.

No matter who wins the US elections, then, let’s hope the means to those otherwise commendable ends – namely, free trade and democracy – are tweaked more than a little. Otherwise, the next four years will be even more exciting – and not in a good way – than the last.

As for Business Monthly, it will continue to provide its readership with objective, news-driven content under the editorship-in-chief of Cam McGrath, who will have the good fortune of working with one of the strongest publications teams in town, without which Business Monthly would never see the light of day.

I wish them all the best of luck.

Adam Morrow

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