'OBAMA: 'I
PROMISE THINGS AND THEN FIND MYSELF
DOING THE OPPOSITE.'
[Al-Akhbar, Egypt]
Dar al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia
For Arabs, Year of
Obama One of Disappointment
"Is
the reason for our disappointment the fact that we put more hope than we should
have in Obama's election? Was it the “surprise” of Obama's election as the
first Black U.S. president that drove us to think we had a gateway to every
solution?"
By Elias Harfoush
December 20, 2009
Saudi Arabia - Dar al-Hayat - Original
Article (English)
The world, and our region of
it, was expecting a lot around this time at the end of last year. We had been
promised a new president in the White House, by all measures a historic leader
in terms of skin color, the intelligence of his speech and his sincere manner
of expression.
We had been promised a speech
by Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world that would turn the page on Bush's
warmongering and his provocative language of hate. And indeed Obama didn't
deprive us of that. He stood before students at Cairo University, reminded us
of his Muslim background and called for “a new beginning.” It was supposed to
be a gateway to a more just world in terms of relations between the strong and the
weak, more generous in terms of obtaining the rights of victims from their
oppressors, and less brutal in the way wars are managed, both domestic ones and
those that states wage beyond their borders.
Wasn't it the leader of the
most powerful country who stretched his hand to his opponents and invited them
to meet him halfway, showed a willingness to walk toward them even more if need
be, on the condition that they, too, relax their “clenched fists”?
Where are we now with all of
these hopes? It's enough to glance at our region's conflicts, from Palestine to
Iraq to Iran and Afghanistan, not to mention Yemen, where another battle has
appeared, to realize how promises have gone in vain, or nearly so, while talk
of goodwill has remained just that, merely talk!
Is the reason for our disappointment
the fact that we put more hope than we should have in Obama's election? Was it
the “surprise” of Obama's election as the first Black U.S. president that drove
us to think we had a gateway to every solution? Or was it that we thought
America's revolution against itself would drive it to revolt against its
previous policies; that it would give up its support of Israel to please us; that
it would declare Israel's defeat at the hands of the forces of “defiance”
within our ranks [the ranks of Arabs], who for a while considered Obama's
victory to be their own - and a defeat America's imperialist plans?
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The year now coming to an end
began with Israel's war on Gaza. At the time, Obama's excuse for not commenting
on Israel's crimes was that he hadn't yet assumed the presidency, and that only
one president at a time governs the United States and speaks in its name. Yet
after being put to the test, it seems that his silence was more like an
expression of policy than a show of respect for constitutional principles.
Indeed, if the pretexts used by Israel to justify the war on Gaza led the
people of that land to elect Benjamin Netanyahu, then what happened after the
voting between Obama and Netanyahu also reveals how powerless the American president
is to impose his new policies on Israel's right-wing leaders, if there is
anything new about them.
And the year's
disappointments don't only relate to Obama. One must also recognize the
disappointment felt by our region's people over the failure to find solutions
to the problems and crises they confront. Whether it's the explosive domestic struggle
in Iran, the seemingly impossible-to-resolve rift that exists within the ranks
of the Palestinians, or the continuing series of bombings and death in Iraq - despite
the withdrawn of U.S. forces from cities and announcement of their date of
withdrawal - we can say that we live in a region, in a way unparalleled in the
world, that lacks even a shred of hope. These aren't crises that need a new
president in the White House or a redrawing of the maps by international forces
to resolve. They are crises that require the tiniest sliver of national pride
that would strengthen us in the face of foreign greed and interests.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
So we enter a new year with a
list of problems identical to last year's. Around the world there is talk of a new
era, a search for solutions to its many problems, and an accounting of what has
been achieved in the past year and what might be accomplished in the next. In
our case, our crises only breed further crises. We pay no heed to changes in
the world nor do we make use of its lessons. It's as if the inexorable march of
time stops in our region, as with grief and passion, we watch time march on for
others.
Nevertheless, we wish you a
happy new year, with the hope that our list of crises remains as it is, without
any additions in the year to come.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Dec. 24, 7:48pm
