thoughts of Berhard Zand from Der Spiegel

(…) ” These countries probably stand the worst chance of stabilizing in the foreseeable future, because men like Gadhafi and Yemeni President Saleh will not even leave behind the basic framework of a power structure that someone else would be capable of filling. These countries could benefit the most from direct intervention by the West to prevent a Somalia-like governmental collapse, be it humanitarian aid from the international community, assistance with the establishment of a civil society or even military intervention.”(…)”Only one of Nasser’s legacies could prove to be of value in the current upheavals in the Arab world: the militarization of many Arab societies and the tradition of the strong army. As poorly prepared for war as Egypt and Tunisia presumably were, during the revolution the military leadership in both countries behaved prudently and intelligently, not allowing themselves to be misused to suppress the revolt” (…) ” It appears that al-Qaida was as caught off-guard by the Arab popular uprisings as the Arab autocrats themselves.” (…)”The West’s fixation on the Islamist threat since the 9/11 attacks distorts its view of the fourth and probably most acute sickness that has afflicted the Middle East, the conditions that triggered the current wave of uprisings in the first place: poverty and social injustice, and the inability of Middle Eastern regimes to find a response to the economic consequences of globalization.”.(…)

“The boom, triggered in part by rising oil prices following the Iraq war, had attracted hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, Moroccans, Palestinians and Lebanese to the Gulf. Many were young men like IT specialist Wael Ghonim who, as a Google employee, was to play a key role in the Egyptian revolution.(…) “For years, all that guest workers brought home from Saudi Arabia were religious robes and fanatical ideologies,” said Youssef Ibrahim. “But from Dubai they bring home blue jeans for their wives, tank tops, mobile phones and the knowledge of how to make money.”.

(…)”Indeed, the most urgent question of the hour is not whether the Islamists or secular parties come to power in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and later perhaps Syria and Jordan. The most urgent question is: Who will solve the enormous economic problems of these countries, and who will close the gaping prosperity divide?” (…)”In addition to the rich oil-producing countries, the West, and particularly neighboring Europe, should step up to the plate”(…) “When the United States looked to the devastated old continent after World War II” (…)” To tackle the challenge, Washington created the Marshall Plan, the biggest civil aid program of all time. In 1948, the US Congress approved a four-year budget of $13 billion for the program”(…)

(…) ”

Two years ago, at the instigation of the Club of Rome, a consortium of German, French, Italian and British companies founded a giant infrastructure project called Desertec. The goal of what is probably today’s most ambitious energy project is the construction of solar thermal power plants in the Middle East and North Africa that would produce electricity for the region and, in the long term, meet Europe’s energy needs, as well.

Precise cost estimates have been made for the project. The German Aerospace Center anticipates a total investment of €400 billion by 2050 — Europe’s Marshall Plan for North Africa.”(…)”

“Prince Hassan Bin Talal, the uncle of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, calls for a project of similar dimensions, a regional fund to which the super-rich sheikhs of the Gulf, among others, would contribute. Alms, says the prince, are part of the cultural bedrock of Islam. The fund would promote uniform development of the entire region, which is precisely what the Marshall Plan achieved in Western Europe after World War II.”.