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Amid the overwhelming popular enthusiasm and unprecedented media coverage in the Arab world that accompanied the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, the Carnegie Middle East Center provided an open forum for distinguished Arab observers to share their thoughts on future American policies in the Middle East.
If the Obama administration wants to serve U.S. interests in the region and transform its image from that of an ally of dictators to that of a friend of the masses, then it has to avoid mimicking previous administrations and dispel one of the most common myths surrounding the Arab and Muslim conflict: that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is too complicated and impossible to resolve.
What President-elect Obama has to know is that he won overwhelming support not only in the United States but also in the Arab world, where people embraced him with equal enthusiasm. What does President Obama need to do in order not to disappoint Arabs? The answers focused on three issues: Palestine, Iraq, and political reform.
The U.S. election was not merely a local affair as the world awaited its outcome with great intensity. The current U.S. election opened our eyes to the merits of American democracy in particular and those of Western democracy in general.
The most important issue to test how differently Obama will approach foreign policy is Iran and its nuclear program, both of which top U.S. and Middle East priorities. Obama’s willingness to hold direct talks with the Iranians is one reason for the positive perception of him among Arabs.
U.S. policy toward moderate Islamist movements has been inconsistent. The hope for a tangible change often clashes with a complex legacy. This in turn gives the impression that all options have been exhausted, and thus strengthens the choice of avoiding dealing with the Islamist movements. However, U.S. progress in the Middle East hinges on abandoning this uncertainty.
What inspired the political enthusiasm for Obama, especially among the youth? In order to understand Obama’s rise to power, we have to view it in two contexts. The first?the disastrous policies of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. The second context is the resurrection of the centrist liberal trend in the Democratic Party.
Despite the deadlock in negotiations and the growing influence of Iran in the Middle East, moderate Arab states still believe in the viability of a just and comprehensive peace with Israel. They hope that the Obama administration will move swiftly to resume its role as an impartial mediator in and active advocate of negotiations toward a two-state solution.
The Obama administration’s first mission in the Middle East centers around effectively resolving the set of grave challenges created by the outgoing administration’s flawed policies. These include the Iraqi crisis and Iranian influence in Iraq. Most importantly, the U.S. has to take serious and effective steps to resolve the traditional issues; mainly the Palestinian–Israeli conflict.
On the heels of their landslide victory in the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party will face major challenges, particularly in the Middle East, which will test the President-elect’s ability to bypass his predecessor’s disastrous policies, the worst the region has ever seen.
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