Before the Storm: Obama's 'Masterful' Gesture Toward Muslims
"Obama had a real chance
to set a harmonious and cooperative tone for relations with the Arab world. And
he made masterful use of that chance. … The tool kit he has at his disposal is
no more well equipped than that of his predecessor. Obama is using the same tools
- but he's using them skillfully, as least so far."
Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad: In addition to seeking an American apology on Tuesday, one
of his close aides announced that he'll be running for a second term in
the spring election.
With kind words alone, the new U.S. President
may not be able to tangibly dissolve the Arab World's problems. But building bridges to Muslims certainly can’t hurt.
Like so much of
what concerns Barack Obama, this gesture had great symbolic power: He granted
his first interview as U.S. president to Arab news station Al-Arabiya, offering
the Muslim world a "new partnership based on mutual respect [watch below].
Neither the
words nor the channel that the President chose to broadcast them were in themselves
revolutionary. They were even said, also on Al-Arabiya, by Obama's predecessor George
W. Bush - without noticeably improving relations with the Arab world. But the interview
this time took place in an entirely different context: By the time Iraq-warrior
Bush turned toward Muslims, there was hardly anything left to the relationship
to save. The reason for Bush's appeal was to apologize for the tortures at Abu
Ghraib. No matter what he said, Bush simply couldn’t fill the role of a conciliator.
Obama doesn't
bear this handicap, so had a real chance to set a harmonious and cooperative
tone for relations with the Arab world. And he made masterful use of that chance.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
At the end of
the day, how much headway Obama's soft-line will make in promoting progress in
the Middle East and impressing Iran is an open question. And symbolic gestures
tell us little about what Obama will do when the hard decisions are made. In
carefully worded comments, he reaffirmed American solidarity with Israel and said
he wants to use "all
the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran."He doesn’t exclude other means, such as military
force. In addition, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has
already announced that pressure on Iran will grow if the country doesn’t stop
its enrichment of uranium.
PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAKS TO THE
MUSLIM WORLD
In Europe, some
seem to have given in to the illusion that all of the region's problems have resulted
from an insensitive and ideologically blind cowboy from Texas, and that all can
be cured with a new image of America. But history tells a completely different
story: The al-Qaeda terrorist network emerged as a reaction to swimmingly-good
relations between the U.S. and the decadent Saudi royal house. Iran was tinkering
with the atomic bomb before Bush, and the Israelis and the Palestinians have
been at war for over a half century.
For now in regard
to all of these conflicts, Obama can't help but show a stronger commitment -
and he hasn't even skimmed his storehouse of moral authority. The tool kit he has
at his disposal is no more well equipped than that of his predecessor. Obama is
using the same tools - but he's using them skillfully, as least so far. The
moment has yet to come when things get serious. Only then will it be shown that
this interview was a meaningful sign.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks an
apology
from the Obama Administration for past
American policy,
