Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies Robert Satloff gave an interview to Egyptian independent daily al Masry al youm in which he said that the West will never allow Iran to possess Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).” If the US fails to prevent the Iranian leaders from pursuiting their nuclear program, it [US] will resort to war”, he said.

Satloff defended the decision to invade Iraq, but admitted that the US has made a lot of mistakes in this war and that it failed to achieve reform in the Middle East “The US also has left Mideastern reformists vulnerable to governments’ suppression and crackdowns”, he said, adding that if the US wants to quell terrorism, it has to back the moderate liberals in Arab countries.

Asked if the war against Iran could cost the US more than the invasion of Iraq; Satloff said that nothing will dissuade the US from attacking Iran if it persists with its nuclear program, fearing that other countries in the region will follow its steps “and the region will witness a serious nuclear race leading to a catastrophe” he added.

The New Middle East, where to?

Commenting on whether Syria, Iran and Hizbullah could form an anti American alliance in the region to counter that envisaged by the US, Satloff Said that it is too early to talk of a new Middle East now, citing the failure of the US to find the launching point for its new Middle East scheme after the recent war in Lebanon. However, he warned of the new Middle East model proposed by Syrian president Bashar el Assad, rejecting the Syrian or Iranian regimes as a model to be followed by other Middle East countries.

US veto against ceasefire in Lebanon

Al Masry al Youm daily questioned the wisdom of US backing Israel in its destructive attacks on Lebanon. Satloff replied that the US administration considered it as a war in proxy against Iran,” to protect Israel from being vulnerable to Iranian, or Iran- sponsored attacks” he countered.

Satloff rejects double standard democracy and inheritance of power

On the failure of the U.S. to adopt a tougher stand to stop violations perpetrated by governments against moderate political forces, Satloff criticized the US weak stand toward this issue by arguing that ” While it is logical that these governments adopt tough stances against Islamist radicals, it is unacceptable for these governments to adopt the same position toward the moderate liberals”, lamenting the US administration for ignoring Ayman Nour’s case and reminding it of its once tough stance toward the case of Director of Ibn Khaldoun Centre Dr. Saad el Din Ibrahim when the US insisted that the Egyptian government release him and that the case be shelved. However, he affirmed that the US will continue to back the incumbent regimes under the pretext that this reinforces a democratic civil society. Asked if this means that the US backs inheritance of power in Egypt, Satloff that “It will be stupid of us to back a potential candidate, and this is not the proper way to enhance democracy in a country of Egypt’s weight” 

Ikhwanweb comment:

Although Dr. Satloff was right in some points, he used the same American rhetoric justifying the war on Iraq, ignoring the daily massacres committed against Iraqi civilians. As a prominent think tank, he knows well that the CIA reports of Iraqi WMDs turned out to be false and, according to ensuing American reports, Saddam had nothing to do with Qaeda or bin Laden; they were only fabricated reports to win support of the Western peoples. On the Iranian nuclear file and the US insistence to bring it to an end by all means, Mr. Satloff ignored the Israeli nuclear program with its more than 200 nuclear heads. Mr. Satloff should know that any American war on Iran will only spill over the entire region and draw more and more hatred towards the US administration. This in turn will lead to mushrooming of violent groups and spread of Qaeda’s ideology in the region. We see that the only right point in this interview is Satloff‘s attitude toward the inheritance of power in Egypt and his rejection to back a specific presidential candidate.

Comment From Ahmad Al-Jaser:

Washington Institute for Near East Policy