ABU DHABI // A long-term solution must be found within the domestic politics of Syria and Iraq to tackle the threat of ISIL, said former Australian prime minister John Howard.
Military action alone would not solve the problem and the coalition of countries fighting the Islamists was a sign of hope, Mr Howard said in a lecture at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies on Tuesday.
“It’s very important when we look at the world scene and challenges in this part of the world, represented by ISIL, the fragmentation of Syria and Iraq, to understand those things that really bind nations together,” said Mr Howard.
“Fundamentally, the things that bind nations together, even more tightly than trade considerations, are common values, beliefs and principles.
“And as a member of the family of Arab nations, the UAE will understand how important the common traditions of that family are in binding the nations of the Arab world together and, very understandably, when conflict occurs within that family of nations, when people within that grouping assault those common values, it causes a great deal of concern.”
“There is every reason for people to have that sense of pessimism and even despair,” Mr Howard said.
“But I think there are some things that point to a more optimistic view – a grouping of nations, your own nation, the US, Europe, Australia and others in the Arab world, with a common desire to confront the threat to our way of life and values.
“The fact that such a group of nations has come together and is making common cause to challenge the threat represented by extremism, savagery and brutality practised by ISIL is a source of some optimism and hope.”
Mr Howard was Australia’s second-longest serving prime minister, being at the helm for 11 years between 1996 and 2007.
In 2003, the conservative leader announced that Australia would follow the US into Iraq for the Second Gulf War.
He described Australia as “deputy sheriff” to America, to which US president George W Bush responded: “No, we don’t see it as a deputy sheriff. We see it as a sheriff.”
Mr Howard said yesterday that the cultures and backgrounds of Australia and the UAE were different, but both countries passionately held common values. “We’re concerned about what’s happening in Iraq and Syria and we have committed forces to become involved,” he said.
“It’s a long way from Australia but we have an interest in minimising the likelihood of citizens in our country participating in barbarism and the behaviour of ISIL, then returning radicalised to our own societies and engaging in acts of terrorism.”
Mr Howard said the reality was that military activity could never provide a long-term solution and that it had to be found within domestic politics.
“We all know from our experience in politics of the Middle East and recent conflicts that the long-term solution has to be found in a domestic political accommodation,” he said.
“Military action can only be an aid to creating circumstances where that accommodation can be found.
“It’s impossible not to be seized with immediacy and a sense of tragedy about what’s occurring in Syria and Iraq and a sense of revolt about the activities of ISIL and barbarism – the mindless brutality, the indiscriminate murder and killing in recent weeks.
“But it is also possible to draw some sense of hope and optimism that nations, which are very diverse but bound together by common values, of national identity, a proper understanding of the true values of our various religious beliefs, ought to be a source of hope and confidence.”
Mr Howard said that although the UAE was far more directly involved, it was a common problem for humanity. “It’s humanity’s position that needs to be taken by all countries that share my common values.
“We face a common threat and we are responding to it.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
