An interesting article in Al Alhram Weekly (link) by Ramzy Baroud shed light on how Barak Obama’s “message of change” has been going down in Egypt and the rest of the region.
“Change you can believe in” has been very much the mantra for the Obama devotees, who are only one step away from deifying the Democratic hopeful. It’s understandable how he can command such adoration from his followers. He is intelligent, articulate, and looks every inch “presidential” in style, with a commanding presence. Most importantly, he ins’t George W Bush.
However different their personas may be, however, Ramzy Baroud speaks for many in Egypt, the wider middle east (and those who follow events in the region through a local looking glass) when he says that the kind of “change” Obama is talking about is a very unusual kind of change indeed. It may, in fact, be no meaningful change at all.
Some have said that the middle eastern viewpoint is bound to be cynical. After all, why is any sane person who lives in the region going to regard any American politician with anything except the kind of contempt and scorn normally reserved for people dragged into a courthouse in The Hague?
But let us not condemn Obama for the misguided policies of his predecessors. As part of his campaign tour to beef up his foreign policy credentials, he paid a visit to the region in person, including Israel and Palestine. What did the local media there make of him?
Obama supports Israel. Period.
- Haaretz
Unsurprising, perhaps, when one considers his statements.
“We must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs.”
“Our job is to rebuild the road to real peace and lasting security throughout the region. That effort begins with a clear and strong commitment to the security of Israel: Our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. That will always be my starting point.”
- Barak Obama on US – Israeli relations
The way to a lasting peace in the Levant, is of course, pouring arms into the hands of one of the protagonists.
“Our job is to do more than lay out another road map.”
- Barak Obama on middle east diplomacy
What did he say in Palestine, though? Well, there never was any press conference for the 45 minutes he spent there, but this interview with Mustafa Barghouti, the prominent Palestinian MP and leader of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) says all that need be said.
A lack of change, perhaps, that we can believe in. I am, reluctantly, forced to agree with Baroud.
Tags: Al Ahram, Barak Obama, Change You Can Believe In, Current Affairs, Middle East, Middle East Peace Process, Mustafa Barghouti, Obama, Palestine, Palestinian National Initiative, PNI, Ramzy Baroud, Road Map, US Elections
