US Scholar Blames Arab Culture for Mideast Violence

New book argues US must remain an essential player

18 March 2010

An Iraqi man stands near a bombing site in Baghdad in August 2009. The book, ''The Strong Horse," asserts Arab culture is to blame for violence in the Middle East and for the failure of peace initiatives.

Lee Smith says it has always been hard for Americans to understand exactly why peace in the Middle East is so elusive, and why violence and terrorism are so pervasive and persistent in the Arab world.

He says those questions became even more difficult to answer after the 9/11 attacks by a group of Sunni Arab terrorists that killed 3,000 people on American soil, and after the massive U.S. military deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

VOA - M. ElshinnawiLee Smith signs copies of his book, 'The Strong Horse: Power, Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilizations.'

Smith says American academicians and journalists often cite a list of root causes for Middle East turmoil, in which the U.S., the West and Israel usually play a big part: a history of colonialism and economic exploitation, the creation of Israel and American support for the Jewish state, the politics of oil, Western backing of repressive Arab regimes and the U.S. military presence in the region.

'Culture of Violence'

Smith concedes these are factors in Arab perceptions of the West. But in his new book, "The Strong Horse: Power, Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilizations," the Hudson Institute scholar argues that the principle cause of continued violence in the Middle East — and the reason so many peace initiatives have failed — is Arab culture itself.