Arabs Are Giving the United States a New Chance

For months no American flags have been burned in the Arab world! The Arabs seem increasingly willing to accept the politics of the Obama administration, and even to rate it as positive.

Arabs continue to be discontented with the sustained preference of the United States. Its inability to end the 44-year occupation of Palestinian soil did not go unnoticed. Nevertheless, many Arabs today prefer to give the United States a chance. The American position on the Arabic insurgency was welcomed, with the exception of the Obama administration’s reluctance to disapprove of the treatment of demonstrators by the U.S.-allied Bahrain and Yemen regimes.

Young Arabs, who make up the majority of the religious population, look up to the American superpower if it upholds democratic morals and values. The ideal of ruling by the people and for the people enjoys large respect, just like the freedom of expression granted in the U.S. Constitution. The neglect in applying these ideals and values, especially in Palestine and Iraq, has led, and can still lead, countless Arabs to assume a strong anti-American position.

The election of President Barack Obama two years ago strengthened Arab democrats. Obama promised a U.S.-Arab beginning, and in 2009 in Cairo supported the Arab democrats.

But the first test left many Arabs disappointed. The U.S. veto against a resolution of the Security Council to condemn Israel’s settlement policies appeared to indicate that Obama caved in to the pressure of the American pro-Israel lobby. The United States did not revise its policy.

A more positive opinion of Obama developed when the Arab revolts in Tunisia and Egypt began, countries with pro-American regimes. Although at first the United States was cautious with words and actions, it quickly realized that the insurgence reflected the will of the people and sided with the democratic movement.

The same people, to whom Obama appealed to promote democracy in his speech in Cairo, were now forming the most important peaceful movement that the world has experienced in decades. The Arab youth had finally set itself in motion. Obama and his team delivered the proper encouraging explanations and at the same time made it clear to the then-Egyptian and Tunisian governments that they could no longer hide behind the claim to support America’s fight in North Africa.

It was exactly what was needed to distance the United States from the dictators, without trying to credit itself for the uprisings. The Arab youth had to fight for democracy in order to gain it. In the opinion of the young people, all that was asked of America was to withdraw the support by the allies from Hosni Mubarak.

In Libya, however, circumstances were different. Although the Libyan youth expanded the same amount of energy, this time America could not do much diplomatically, because it did not entertain a relationship with Moammar Gadhafi.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens of Arab nations work in Libya, in particular Egyptians. Their governments saw themselves in Gadhafi’s grip. What the Arab nations could not offer with military support, they could contribute by offering political protection from military interventions led by the United States, Britain and France.

The citizens of the Gulf States who do not work in Libya were the first to condemn Gadhafi. Subsequently, the Arab League met and followed the example of the Gulf States. It agreed to condemn an Arab head of state. Obviously, the Arab world has experienced some change and the United State has suddenly turned from enemy to friend.

Of course, America’s problems with the Arabs are nowhere near over. Obama first has to fulfill his promises to celebrate the full membership of the Palestinians in the U.N. this fall and reduce his troops in Afghanistan.

At any rate, for the time being, the Arabs are not demonstrating against America. Instead they are getting a first glimpse of freedom with America’s help.

Daoud Kuttab is a business manager at Community Media Network, Amman, and a former Professor for Journalism at Princeton University.