Guns, peace, contradictions - US envoy on Mideast conflict

INTERVIEW | The latest conflict in the Middle East has been raging for 10 months. More than 40,000 lives have been lost. But peace remains elusive.

United States ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D Kagan stressed that while Washington is committed to ending the bloodshed, it is not prepared to “turn away” from its long-standing commitment to Israel’s security.

Kagan said this in an interview during the US envoy’s visit to Malaysiakini where he was quizzed on the “contradiction” of calling for a ceasefire and de-escalation but at the same time shipping weapons to support Israel.

However, the ambassador believes that its relationship and the strength of its commitment to Israel lends the US credibility to broker peace in the region.

“Our view is that in order to reach an agreement, which is a ceasefire, it is critical that Israel is brought along.

“No one is turning to countries that have a terrible relationship with Israel with an expectation that they would somehow help to reach a ceasefire.

“So I think the relationship we have is critical. It reflects a long-standing commitment to our shared values.

“While I appreciate people are critical of it, we believe this is the best way to achieve the objective of trying to maintain stability and peace, and trying to bring a ceasefire in Gaza,” he added.

‘Silence on Oct 7 attack unfair’

Responding to another question on the conflict, Kagan said it is unfair that those who condemn Israel are silent on the Hamas attack of Oct 7, which left more than 1,000 dead.

“I think in order to have credibility, you have to recognise there is an action and reaction cycle. What happened on Oct 7 was horrific. And the continued holding of hostages is in contravention of international laws.

“I think if you want to be effective, you need to recognise that things don’t just happen in a vacuum.

“I fully appreciate there is criticism about Israel’s policies that go back before Oct 7, but to not acknowledge that what happened on Oct 7 is directly what led to the situation that we’re in, I think that’s not going to be very effective,” he added.

On the suggestion that there is no need to listen to the US on human rights issues when it has been voting against or vetoing United Nations resolutions on Israel, Kagan said the US exercised its veto because it believed the resolutions were “one-sided”.

“The US position is very clear. When we vetoed resolutions, they were because of things like not releasing hostages... for what we believe were one-sided (actions).

“In our experience, one-sided resolutions and one-sided actions are ineffective. It is perhaps something some countries feel good about doing, but ultimately the big difference is that people look to the US not for what we say but what we do. If we want to be effective, there needs to be balance.

“It is also worth noting that we led the charge to get resolutions for a ceasefire. And so, I think it highlights the fact that the US is willing to call for a ceasefire, but it needs to be balanced.

“I don’t believe there is any contradiction between our position in Gaza and the idea that we support human rights. We have been very clear in calling Israel into account for what we believe is the use of excessive force,” he added.

Double standard with Russia?

When pointed out that it appears to be a case of double standards when the US condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Kagan replied: “Absolutely not.”

“I don’t think anyone would deny Oct 7 happened. It is very clear on international law that countries have the right to defend themselves. There was nothing that happened on Oct 7 that took place on Feb 24, 2022 (when Russia invaded Ukraine). There is no argument of self-defence by Russia. Russia attacked.

“They invaded another country in order to change borders in a way that the UN charter makes very clear is unacceptable, and more importantly, countries around the world have said is unacceptable.

“Do Malaysians really believe that they will be better off if it is possible for one country to invade another country?” he asked.

Kagan also shared his thoughts on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s vocal criticism of Israel and its allies as well as how Malaysians felt about the conflict and the US government’s involvement.

“A point to recognise is that unlike Russia, which is continuing to bomb civilians in Syria, the US has not been directly involved. But we understand people’s views. It is also important to recognise that, across the board, the US has done more to support the people of Gaza in the last 20 years than any other country. In terms of assistance, contributions to their wellbeing…

“The US fully agrees that there needs to be a ceasefire. We have been working towards that and we have worked in close conjunction with Egypt and Qatar. We have worked to make sure that one side is willing to accept it. It is now up to Hamas to accept it... We are waiting for Hamas to respond. It is up to Hamas to show that it also would like to see a ceasefire,” he said.

More aid and a two-state solution

Kagan said the US agrees with the Malaysian government that there needs to be a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance.

“We believe that in order to get a ceasefire, there needs to be a release of hostages. We also agree that there needs to be humanitarian assistance. There has been a very significant shortage and we have actually taken actions to try and implement more. This includes food, water, medicine, and shelter because ultimately we are very committed to doing everything that we can to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” he added.

For the long term, Kagan agreed that there must be enduring peace and a two-state solution, pointing out that the US has been working on this for a long time and without success.

On that note, he pinned the lion’s share of the blame on Hamas.

“The fact that there is no peace today is probably more attributable to the significant attacks done by Hamas than any other single reason.

“Obviously, there were a lot of culprits and people can argue... We also believe it is critical to de-escalate tension in the region. Obviously, it is not good for any of us in the region and anyone who cares about the region, if new tensions, new conflict erupts. We (the US) have been working very hard to do that (de-escalate tension).

“I think it is something very sobering that when push comes to shove, people look to the US to do this. As Americans, we take that responsibility very seriously. Ultimately, from the American perspective, we recognise we will be judged by what we do, not just what we say,” he added.

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