A Fresh Start With Obama

In his expected speech in Cairo, President Obama addressed six specific issues, but the reconciliation between the United States and Islam was the first and the general spiritual issue to his speech. If Bush used harsh force to repel attacks on the U.S. by the Islamic extremist organizations and failed, Obama is looking to use soft power, and perhaps he succeeds.

Obama did not say the word terrorism, but it was sufficient for him to use extremism and violence. He made an effort to prove that the U.S. is neither fighting nor treating Islam as an enemy, and there is no need for Islam to fight or treat the U.S. as an enemy. He gave confessions and evidence that delighted the Islamic clerics in attendance, stressing that Islam is a part of America. He even defended the freedom of wearing the hijab – and won the applause of the audience.

Up until here, the matter concerns the U.S. and its security first but what about the resolution of issues related to: Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and last but not least, Palestine.

Obama pledged to withdraw from Iraq, giving dates, pledged to withdraw from Afghanistan without binding to specific dates and reached out to Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions for military purposes. He also pledged not to interfere in Arab internal affairs and not to impose democracy on the regimes but to promote and support any democratic tendencies.

If the reconciliation between the U.S. and Islam is essential to the security of the U.S., the establishment of the Palestinian state on the Palestinian land occupied in 1967 is necessary to the security and stability of the region.

In this area, Obama addressed the Israeli public opinion once, the American public opinion once and repeatedly addressed the Arab and Islamic public opinion, and in general, he said understandable and acceptable words, but they are still words awaiting an action plan and timetable to turn the vision into reality.

What Obama said about the rights of the Palestinian people could have been said by his predecessor, Bush, who was the first American president to talk about the two-state solution. The problem is that Bush presented a good vision but it has been suspended in the air without a mechanism for implementation. Is Obama going to turn his vision into a program of work and a decision supported by the great and influential heaviness of the United States? The solution is considered an Israeli, Palestinian and global American interest, and there was a clear rejection of the legitimacy of the settlements.

Obama’s statement that the Arab initiative is the beginning is an implicit reference to the expected other Arab concessions. In the same sense, Obama’s speech represents a new beginning, but it is just the beginning.