US Unilateral Intervention Policy Under Fire

17 February,2008
By Barbara Bibbo'

Doha: Qatar's prime minister called on the US to abandon unilateral intervention policies in the Middle East and make democracy prevail in international affairs if it wants to improve relations with the Islamic world.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth US-Islamic World Forum here on Saturday evening in the presence of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani said unless the US and the Islamic world work together to solve all major conflicts afflicting the region with a "will to realise justice", despair and frustration will continue to fuel terrorism and instability and undermine relations between the two sides.

Most serious challenge

"The most serious challenge of our relations is the settlement of the Palestinian issue...what is needed is a collective will to realise justice and this applies also to other violent conflicts in the region, Iraq, Lebanon and the Iranian nuclear issue."

Shaikh Hamad said these conflicts must be addressed along with the problems of poverty and underdevelopment and with the promotion of dialogue and understanding.

Organised by Washington-based Saban Centre at Brookings Institution the conference is seeking to address the challenges posed to US-Islamic relations. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said the misunderstandings between the two sides spur from unjustified misconceptions predominant on both sides.

On Sunday, on the sidelines of the event, Brookings inaugurated its Doha branch.