Obama Style

Since Wednesday, President Obama has been on a crusade to the Middle East and Europe for five days of travel. Yesterday, June 3rd, he met with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

He arrives in Cairo this Thursday to give a speech that has been eagerly awaited by the Muslim world. On Friday, he will go to Germany where he will visit the former Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald. The next day he will attend the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the allied landing in Normandy in France.

There is a message attached to each step of the way: but, for his first journey to the Middle East, Obama seems to want to take the bull by the horns. He expressed to his Israeli and Palestinian guests, who he recently received at the White House, his determination to end the conflict that has divided them since 1948.

By looking for support from the Arabs to relaunch the peace process that been broken down for ages, the Democratic president wants to make the United States credible again and reinforce its role in the management of tense situations around the world.

One thing is sure. In his address to the Muslims of the world in Cairo, President Obama will repeat his credo: the two-state Jewish and Palestinian solution. This comprises Israel’s obligation to stop its controversial settlement policy, in return for which, the totality of the Arab world will commit to recognizing its existence.

Without beating around the bush, the White House has already made it known that the two-state solution is one of the required pathways in order to get Tehran to renounce its nuclear ambitions. Incidentally, it is also a way out of the hornets’ nests of Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It’s too bad that Israel retreats into its suicidal stubbornness with regard to what Washington considers a strategic issue that is important for normalizing its own relations with the rest of the world.

It is deplorable that the previous occupants of the White House, as well as European leaders, have shown so much partiality and so little political will in bringing Jews and Arabs closer together. In short, they never really worked towards peace in the region. Their reproaches have been directed towards Arabs, towards Palestinians, accused of extremism aimed at demolishing the state of Israel.

Obama is adopting a new discourse. His style distinguishes itself by a pragmatic vision of world affairs, contrary to the cynicism and Machiavellianism of his predecessors.

Let’s hope that the end is near for the declarations and extravagant forays to the Middle East, which were destined to distract opinion while Israel invested in its settlements.

Anyway, the Netanyahu, Peres and Ehuds generation seems to be fossilized. It should realize that Americans, since Obama’s election, are less disposed towards Israel than they have been for the past several years. They are sick of financing a conflict that exposes them to the anger of millions of people throughout the world.