"Curses always recoil on the head of him who
imprecates them. If you put a chain around the
neck of a slave, the other end fastens itself
around your own. Bad counsel confounds
the adviser." A lively
debate has long questioned the impact of oil
wealth on political and economic trends in
energy producer states, a core element of the
proverbial "resource curse" theory.
Although experts may hold different positions
regarding the strength of these relationships,
casting aspersions on foreign states and their
societies can exhibit a more direct tendency
toward negative consequences. While the
worldwide response to the controversial
"Innocence of Muslims" film was initially
sparked by a single repulsive video, the fuel
for this continued fire relates closely to a
broader tendency toward curses originating in
the same country where the provocative
Hollywood film was produced.
Beyond the
narrow perspective of whether or not an oil
curse exists, it is often forgotten that the
process of labeling a foreign state as "cursed"
might not sit well with the targets of these
curses. If such tendencies in discourse
existed only within the walls of the academy as
heard in debates surrounding theories of
international relations, the problem would be
manageable. To the contrary, similar
ideas infiltrate the broader tendencies
inherent in the dialogue that the U.S. employs
throughout the world. While argument and
invective may be staples of the American
political discourse at home, analogous
approaches overseas are quickly lost in
translation – often with devastating
effect.
Diplomacy is defined in the
Oxford
Dictionaries to encompass, "The art of
dealing with people in a sensitive and tactful
way." Consistent with the standard of
casting curses and contrary to the essence of
the term diplomacy, a habit of insults has long
infiltrated the very foundations of U.S.
foreign policy. A great irony inherent in
this trend rests in the fact that democratic
principles are said to be among our nation's
core values. However, when a single force
or an oligarchy of world powers define the
direction of states as has been seen in recent
history across Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and
beyond, the principles of democracy can quickly
be called into question by the democratic
global consensus across a broader range of
states. While
China
and
Russia
may frequently advocate foreign policies based
on mutual respect and mutual benefit, failure
to do so can unfortunately cut in multiple
directions. As the U.S. delegation to the
United Nations boycotted this week's
presentation by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, it reflected a long-standing and
unfortunate tendency to avoid potential
solutions to international
controversies.
The Innocence of Chris
StevensI previously made several
trips to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which
culminated in my presentation at a 1999
conference organized by their Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Tehran. The objective
of this dialogue which included meetings with
senior government officials in the country was
to explore the possibility of alternative
approaches to the negative track which
U.S.-Iranian bilateral relations had taken
since the days of Shah Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi. An unofficial yet essential
source of insights and support during this
exchange was Chris Stevens, a U.S. Foreign
Service Officer who then served as the Iran
Desk Officer at State Department Headquarters
in Washington.
Although cautious
optimism surrounded the leadership of President
Mohammad Khatami who was in power at the time,
the policies I advocated during my visits
leaned significantly further toward engagement
than the position of the U.S. Government.
Throughout our discussions, Chris Stevens
showed signs of being an optimist at
heart. Yet in response to my more
proactive suggestions toward potentially
advancing the bilateral relationship, it was
consistently apparent that he felt constrained
by the shackles of long-standing U.S. policy
from leaning as far forward as I
advocated. Over a decade later, Chris
would eventually serve as the U.S. Ambassador
to Libya. He lost his life on September
11, 2012 in protests at the Consulate in
Benghazi ignited by the Innocence of Muslims
film.
In a
speech
this week at the U.N. that began with a
poignant biography of Chris Stevens, President
Obama came to the bottom line: "There should be
no doubt that we will be relentless in tracking
down the killers and bringing them to
justice." While administering such
justice in a foreign jurisdiction is
problematic, it ignores the potential for a
greater victory in leadership.
Ironically, the ultimate tribute to Chris would
be constructive engagement across the region,
rather than hunting down killers in Benghazi,
Libya or wherever they may now reside
today. The invective which has
infiltrated the U.S. discourse domestically
often stands as an obstacle to any steps which
may potentially appear to "
project
American weakness", as Obama's opponents
have accused in their competing efforts to
prove who's the toughest sheriff in
town.
2011 Oil Production and reaction to
"Innocence of Muslims" Film:
Top 20 World Producers
Rank
| Country
| Average Daily
Production
(Thousand barrels/day)
| 2011 share of
total
| Recent
protests and/or
government action
|
| 1 | Saudi
Arabia | 11,161 | 13.2%
| Yes |
| 2 | Russia | 10,280 | 12.8%
| Yes |
| 3 | U.S. | 7,841 | 8.8%
| Yes |
| 4 | Iran | 4,321 | 5.2%
| Yes |
| 5 | China | 4,090 | 5.1%
| Yes |
| 6 | Canada
| 3,522 | 4.3%
| Yes |
| 7 | United
Arab Emirates
| 3,322 | 3.8%
| Yes |
| 8 | Mexico | 2,938 | 3.6%
| No
|
| 9 | Kuwait
| 2,865 | 3.4%
| Yes |
| 10 | Iraq
| 2,798 | 3.3%
| Yes |
| 11 | Venezuela
| 2,720 | 3.3%
| No
|
| 12 | Nigeria
| 2,457 | 2.9%
| Yes |
| 13 | Brazil
| 2,193 | 2.9%
| Yes |
| 14 | Norway
| 2,039 | 2.3%
| Yes |
| 15 | Kazakhstan
| 1,841 | 2.1%
| Yes |
| 16 | Angola
| 1,746 | 2.1%
| No
|
| 17 | Algeria
| 1,729 | 1.9%
| Yes |
| 18 | Qatar
| 1,723 | 1.8%
| Yes |
| 19 | United
Kingdom
| 1,100 | 1.3%
| Yes |
| 20 | Indonesia
| 942 | 1.1%
| Yes |
Sources:
Statistical
Review of World Energy 2012,
Google
News.
A
Blessing or a Curse? Time will
tell.
An incremental but substantial
boundary is currently being redrawn between
traditional oil producer and consumer regions,
as North America has begun to significantly
increase domestic production in recent
years. Over the course of the past
decade, technological innovations have become a
primary game changer in the North American
energy balance. With the advent of
alternative approaches including horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the U.S. has
opened new domestic resources that may set the
stage for analogous developments around the
world. Among a range of potential steps
in the right direction toward engagement,
significant cooperation with other producer
states could represent a change of approach
toward mutual cooperation and benefit.
Rather than labeling others as "cursed", it
offers opportunities to demonstrate a
constructive path forward.
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