Obama Will Have to Change His Tone

Barack Obama has transformed the way the worlds sees the United States. In three months, the new American president has brilliantly proved that he is ready to listen, open to dialogue, and willing to recognize the errors committed by his own country.

In short, his attitude is the opposite of that of his predecessor. It is obviously too soon to start drawing any conclusions, but it is time to note that the world’s problems remain just as immovable as during the George W. Bush era. If he wants to change the world, Barack Obama will have to quickly change his tone.

The most obvious example of the limitations of his new style is North Korea. Washington’s conciliatory tone did not prevent Pyongyang from launching a long-range rocket, deporting AIEA inspectors, and threatening to resume production of nuclear weapons.

Same scenario with Iran: Barack Obama addressed the Iranian people with all the consideration which the Islamic Republic could expect. In response, Tehran has reiterated its openness to dialogue, but will pursue enriching uranium. All in all, the issue of the Iranian nuclear program did not progress one iota.

We could go through all the major international issues and we would find a lot of smiles and handshakes, but very few concrete breakthroughs.

Until now, the new American president has seemed to extend to the world scene the campaign that he had so brilliantly led domestically. Among public opinion, success was achieved. No American president has ever aroused such infatuation since John F. Kennedy. But he will have to translate that popularity into diplomatic terms and obtain result among foreign leaders.

The conservative American press points out that Obama’s presidential charm did not lead the allies to rush to send troops to Afghanistan. The media was also surprised that he could listen without flinching to the ex-Sandinista Daniel Ortega, now Nicaraguan president, castigate the political history of the USA in Latin America for 50 minutes. Obama’s only response was that he was too young to have been involved.

In the defense of the new president, we must admit that his first three months have been well filled and that he still has plenty of time to make his mark. The calendar will very quickly force him to get to the heart of the matter.

Next month, he will hold a meeting at the White House with the Afghan and Pakistani heads of state. After that, he will receive in turn the Israeli prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

It will not be about listening then, but about showing determination and imposing a personal politic while extracting concessions here and there to find a path towards peace. A new Barack Obama will have to appear on the international scene, a politician who is no longer content with simply pleasing everyone.