Obama Tells Arabs "We Are with You"

Barack Obama made a speech to an Arab world that has been dramatically changed after a series of revolutions. He offered support — diplomatic, political and economic — for rising democracy.

“Mr. President, don’t let this be just another sermon! Arabs don’t need another beautiful sermon; they need you to speak to them about doing something concrete,” said Marwan Bishara, an Al-Jazeera reporter, before Obama’s speech.

It is this T.V. station, once criticized in Washington for its anti-Americanism and alleged favoring of terrorism, that has become a greater promoter of democracy (and a breeding ground for dictators) than America.

And the “sermon” was actually Obama’s first speech to the Arab world, in Cairo in 2009. After two years there is the impression that that speech was just a set of empty declarations. Would this time be different? Many Arabs will probably just scratch their heads; Obama gave many general promises and gently hit his chest in America’s name, but he didn’t say much concrete.

President Obama admitted that in recent years the Arabic world could think that the United States goes after its own interests in the region at the cost of those living there (for example, America supported the dictator Hosni Mubarak in Egypt almost until the end). “We have the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator,” Obama said (Mohammed Bouazizi setting himself on fire was the spark that caused the revolution in Tunisia and subsequently in neighboring countries).

President Obama promised trade opportunities and investments in those countries that overthrew dictators. “We’ve asked the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to present a plan at next week’s G8 summit for what needs to be done to stabilize and modernize the economies of Tunisia and Egypt,” he said.

As for specifics, President Obama announced he would relieve Egypt of $1 billion of debt (from $3.5 billion, leaving some Egyptians disappointed) and another billion as credit for infrastructure and job creation. He repeated that there would not be a stable Middle East if youth didn’t see a chance for development and improving their own fate. Revolutionaries fought and continue to fight not only for an abstract concept of freedom, but also because they lost hope for change and have only one goal each morning — to live to the night.

“Our own future is bound to this region by the forces of economics and security, by history and by faith,” President Obama began his speech. This remark was perhaps aimed more toward his own people than the Arab world. Not all Americans understand why the United States has economic investments in Egypt or military investments in Libya, especially when the United States itself is facing a crisis. Furthermore, free elections in Egypt could mean the election of the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition party, which isn’t fond of the West.

Obama didn’t mention the Muslim Brotherhood by name, though he alluded that he would not rule out the possibility of their being elected. “We will be with all those who support democracy, even though they have different views. We know that they won’t practice politics by our long-term political interests.”*

Of course, the president couldn’t not mention Osama bin Laden, who was killed by American forces on May 2. He repeated that bin Laden was a murderer, not a martyr, and the peaceful protests in Tunisia and Egypt sealed the defeat of al-Qaida’s ideology based on violence and terror.

Al-Qaida would interpret this differently: Yesterday [May 18], it uploaded one of Osama’s last recordings to the Internet, where he praised the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia as a “historic occasion for Muslims to liberate themselves from the dictatorship and dominance of the West.”

“We will promote democracy everywhere, without exception,” Obama said two years ago in Cairo, but afterward—like his predecessor—either supported friendly regimes or held back criticism when they suppressed revolts.

Obama tried to erase this impression, criticizing the governments of Jordan and Bahrain, who are allies of the United States. “You can’t have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail,” he said, referring to Bahrain.

Obama devoted the last part of his speech to an issue that has seen the most defeat in the Middle East. In Cairo, he said that the United States would not accept Jewish settlements on Jordan’s West Bank and recognized Palestinians’ right to freedom. However, in spite of two years of efforts by U.S. diplomats, no one had succeeded in getting Israel and Palestine to talk to one another, much less come to some sort of agreement. Last week, Obama’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, woefully announced his resignation. Obama admitted his failure but stressed that no one could compel Israel and Palestine to peace, that they must be prepared for it themselves.

“The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps,” Obama said yesterday. He added that the United States is a friend of Israel, and for this reason must tell Israel the truth: The status quo is unsustainable. More than likely, Palestinians wanted to hear that, but a real assessment must wait until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives it the United States next week. Only then will it be clear just how willing Obama is to pressure a “friend.”

Moments after Obama’s speech, Netanyahu declared that Israel’s 1967 borders would be indefensible.

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.