Did Obama Lay Out a Cohesive Middle East Policy?

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In The Media

Did Obama Lay Out a Cohesive Middle East Policy?

President Obama’s speech in response to the Arab Spring did not establish a clear foreign policy for the region, but rather outlined a vision of a democratic and prosperous Middle East.

By Marina Ottaway

Published on May 19, 2011

Source: Politico

Did Obama Lay Out a Cohesive Middle East Policy?President Obama’s speech will disappoint audiences in the Middle East. It does not outline a policy, but a vision — that of a democratic and prosperous Middle East — which of course is not new. In the region, this will be seen as another rhetorical statement rather than as a policy.

The amount of economic assistance he offered to countries that have started a transition, Egypt in particular, will undoubtedly disappoint. It will also probably be ridiculed as totally insufficient: up to $ 1 billion in debt relief to Egypt, helpful in the long run but not in the short run. And $2 billion in investment guarantees through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation is unlikely to encourage U.S. companies to invest in an unstable country.

Nor did he set out a new policy for the Israeli-Palestinian problem. He repeated well-known U.S. positions, which Arabs will criticize as being pro-Israel, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted strongly to Obama’s statements that the borders of a Palestinian state should be those of 1967, with negotiated modification.

The speech was not a winner.

About the Author

Marina Ottaway

Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program

Before joining the Endowment, Ottaway carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at the University of Addis Ababa, the University of Zambia, the American University in Cairo, and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Recent Work

Article
Reactions to the Syrian National Initiative
- Marina Ottaway, Omar Hossino
Article
Slow Return to Normal Politics in Egypt
- Marina Ottaway

Political Reform Foreign Policy Middle East North Africa Egypt Gulf Levant Maghreb

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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