Not getting its way
The Arab world has grown accustomed to not getting its way when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. But Obama and his willingness to start afresh have dangled the possibility that change is afoot, which means national leaders as well as dissident bloggers are pinning their designs on a man who cannot please them all.
Obama's meeting last month with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his calls to stop the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank have won praise in Arab capitals. Muslim commentators suggest that by not stopping in Jerusalem during his trip the president has snubbed Israel and is redefining America's approach to Middle East peace. Even the Israelis have sensed a shift in attitude and demeanor.
In an interview Tuesday with National Public Radio, the president described the change in tenor in the U.S. relationship with Israel like this: "Part of being a good friend is being honest. And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region."
There is a belief in the Middle East that Obama understands that resolving the Arab-Israeli crisis will improve Washington's ability to handle other contentious matters, such as curtailing terrorism, outmaneuvering Iran's regional gambits, dealing with the radical group Hezbollah in Lebanon, strengthening ties with Syria and defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"Obama's speech and visit is just a good beginning and a show of goodwill," said Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "It will be for us as Arabs and Egyptians to build on it."
Obama's strategy centers on urging Israel to overcome its resistance to the two-state solution. To make this more palatable, the White House is asking Arab regimes, most of which do not have formal ties with Israel, to consider normalizing, at least marginally, relations with the Jewish state.
The Arab stance has been that such relations are contingent on an independent Palestinian state and Israel's withdrawal from lands it seized in the 1967 Middle East War.
