Sobhi Ghandour: No radical change in American policy
[Sobhi Ghandour is head of the Al Hewar Centre in Washington, D.C.]
US President Barack Obama has been in office for eight months, but there have been no major changes in American foreign policy, apart from the decision to cancel the missile shield planned for Eastern Europe.
The absence of any other significant changes in US policy has been a great disappointment, especially in this region, which was pinning much hope on the new administration with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The US has failed to take a firm position against Israel, whose government refuses to respond to international demands that it stop building colonies in the Occupied Territories.
The changes that have taken place in the American political system amount to reform, rather than revolution. Arabs expected much more from the Obama administration. The president's election was a result of many factors, chief among them rejection of the previous administration's policies...
... Obama has called for a moderate American society, as the country was governed by extremism since the September 11 attacks in 2001. It is also a society whose history is very violent, and even now there are many states that will not give up their armed militias.
Although Obama is at the pinnacle of the power pyramid in the US, this does not mean that he is all-powerful, because the foundations of this pyramid, rather than the top, are the cornerstone of the American political system...
... Undoubtedly, America is better off under the Obama administration than it was under the Bush administration. It is also better off than it would have been under any Republican administration, especially with the neoconservatives' agenda and the powers and corporations that support it. It is clear that the choice was not about who is better or worse, but between what is acceptable and unacceptable.
Though there is wide agreement on this point, countries have very different criteria for judging Obama's performance to date.
In terms of foreign policy, Europe is satisfied with Obama at both the official and public levels. Russia wanted missile defence to be abandoned, and this was done. However, Arabs expect progress in the Middle East peace process, and this has not been forthcoming. On this level, there has been no real change in US policy. In effect, it is very similar to how it was under former US president Bill Clinton.
The Clinton administration wanted to revive negotiations, but sought to do so by pressuring the Arabs to normalise relations with Israel prior to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the Israeli withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967.
The Obama administration wants to play an influential role in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict without applying any pressure on Tel Aviv, because the US supplies Israel with weapons, money and political support...
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US President Barack Obama has been in office for eight months, but there have been no major changes in American foreign policy, apart from the decision to cancel the missile shield planned for Eastern Europe.
The absence of any other significant changes in US policy has been a great disappointment, especially in this region, which was pinning much hope on the new administration with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The US has failed to take a firm position against Israel, whose government refuses to respond to international demands that it stop building colonies in the Occupied Territories.
The changes that have taken place in the American political system amount to reform, rather than revolution. Arabs expected much more from the Obama administration. The president's election was a result of many factors, chief among them rejection of the previous administration's policies...
... Obama has called for a moderate American society, as the country was governed by extremism since the September 11 attacks in 2001. It is also a society whose history is very violent, and even now there are many states that will not give up their armed militias.
Although Obama is at the pinnacle of the power pyramid in the US, this does not mean that he is all-powerful, because the foundations of this pyramid, rather than the top, are the cornerstone of the American political system...
... Undoubtedly, America is better off under the Obama administration than it was under the Bush administration. It is also better off than it would have been under any Republican administration, especially with the neoconservatives' agenda and the powers and corporations that support it. It is clear that the choice was not about who is better or worse, but between what is acceptable and unacceptable.
Though there is wide agreement on this point, countries have very different criteria for judging Obama's performance to date.
In terms of foreign policy, Europe is satisfied with Obama at both the official and public levels. Russia wanted missile defence to be abandoned, and this was done. However, Arabs expect progress in the Middle East peace process, and this has not been forthcoming. On this level, there has been no real change in US policy. In effect, it is very similar to how it was under former US president Bill Clinton.
The Clinton administration wanted to revive negotiations, but sought to do so by pressuring the Arabs to normalise relations with Israel prior to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the Israeli withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967.
The Obama administration wants to play an influential role in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict without applying any pressure on Tel Aviv, because the US supplies Israel with weapons, money and political support...