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Building bridges

Middle East visit to promote Sports Diplomacy initiative reveals historical ties, need to strengthen relationships with U.S. allies

Dean Bonham

Published July 29, 2006 at midnight

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In 2005, James Palmer Cain was appointed U.S. ambassador to Denmark by President George Bush. Bush also assigned Cain the task of reinvigorating a State Department initiative called Sports Diplomacy, which years ago was established to improve relations between America and its allies abroad. Since receiving his assignment, Cain has overseen the creation of a proposed Sports Diplomacy plan that includes conferences, exhibition games, youth programs, cultural exchanges and major sports events.

Cain proposes to produce these events in Europe, in Middle East countries (such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia) and in the United States. Additionally, his plan calls for the involvement of, and support from, U.S. sports leagues and governing bodies (most of whom have confirmed their support) as well as past and present U.S. diplomats and high- ranking government officials.

This past May, on behalf of Cain, I toured three countries and five cities throughout the Middle East promoting this initiative, though not as an official representative of the U.S. State Department. While in the Middle East, I participated in 20 formal - and many more informal - meetings with dozens of men and women, including royal family members, ambassadors, ministerial officials, journalists, medical doctors, corporate executives and everyday citizens.

During my preparation for and journey throughout the Middle East, I learned much about the cultures of the countries I visited as well as the American people's knowledge and perceptions of these cultures. I discovered most Americans are unaware of how and why the U.S. government originally established a presence in the Middle East.

In February 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal. The Quincy had transported Roosevelt across the Atlantic on a secret mission to meet Stalin and Churchill at the famous Yalta conference. He then proceeded to the Suez Canal for what would be the first meeting of the heads of state of the United States and Saudi Arabia. During this meeting, the foundation was laid for the diplomatic relationships America currently enjoys with its allies in the Middle East. Unlike the voluminous treaty agreements of today, this foundation was built on the handshake and verbal commitment of two great leaders.

Albert Levesque was a crew member on the Quincy and recently provided an extraordinary firsthand account of part of that meeting.

"The king walked right up to Roosevelt and shook his hand," Levesque recalled. "They hit it off right away," he said. "I remember the king telling Roosevelt, 'You'll never have to worry about oil.' I was standing right there and heard it with my own ears."

FDR likewise assured the king he would never have to worry about protection from his enemies. So began a 60-year relationship between our two countries and the broader Middle East that remains as important, perhaps even more so, today as it was in 1945.

As for why good relations between America and its Middle East allies continue to be so important, I offer a chilling, and I believe quite revealing, explanation as imparted to me by a senior official of the United Arab Emirates during a private dinner in Abu Dhabi (paraphrased here).

Good relations between the Muslim world in the Middle East and the United States are more critical now then ever before. Consider that our countries are sitting on approximately 40 percent of the world's known oil reserves with virtually no means of protecting ourselves from those who would seek to control this oil for less than noble purposes. Now consider that the United States is the most powerful country on the face of the Earth and you will understand why we must be friends and allies.

In meetings I attended with royal family members, ambassadors and ministers, my hosts were genuinely humble, kind, respectful and generous. All were anxious to express their fondness for America and were particularly enthusiastic in their commitments of support for the Sports Diplomacy initiative.

As my travels came to an end and I had an opportunity to spend time with many private Arab citizens, I realized the treatment I received during my formal meetings was not just a way of doing business but rather an important part of the Arab culture extending back for many millenniums. Like all cultures, including our own, these people recognized there were extremist factions in the Middle East. Yet, as we discussed these sensitive issues, there were no harsh words or justifications, only apologies and genuine embarrassment on their part about how a very small group of extremists within their society had done so many terrible things and were even now creating perceptions about the Arab world that could not be further from the truth.

The current crisis in the Middle East underscores the importance of strengthening the ties to our allies in the Middle East. Clearly, Cain's Sports Diplomacy initiative can play a major role in that process.

Dean Bonham is chief executive of The Bonham Group, a Denver-based sports and entertainment marketing firm. He writes a monthly Boardroom Sports column for the News.