Posted on 11/29/2009 7:31:32 PM PST by Saije
It's been nearly six months since Barack Obama stirred hearts and raised hopes across much of the Arab world with his much-promoted Cairo address. Many came away from it expecting a new and more vigorous U.S. attempt to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Others hoped for more American sympathy and support for liberal reform in countries where free expression, women's rights and democratic elections are blocked by entrenched autocracies.
The peace-process bubble burst two months ago at the United Nations, when Obama's poorly executed attempt to launch final-settlement talks between Israelis and Palestinians collapsed. Arabs who were led by Obama's rhetoric to believe that the United States would force Israel to make unprecedented unilateral concessions -- like a complete end to all construction in Jerusalem -- were bitterly disappointed.
But they are not the only victims of post-Cairo letdown. Arab reformers, who for most of this decade have been trying to break down the barriers to social and political modernization in the Middle East, have also begun to conclude that the Obama administration is more likely to harm than to help them.
"All Arab countries are craving change -- and many of us believed Obama was a tool for change," says Aseel al- Awadhi, a Kuwaiti member of parliament. "Now we are losing that hope."
Awadhi, one of four women elected to Kuwait's parliament this year, is part of a movement that the Bush administration loudly promoted and sporadically attempted to help -- though the effort steadily waned during George W. Bush's second term. The Obama administration, in contrast, often speaks as if it does not recognize the existence of an Arab reform movement. Bush's frequently articulated argument that political and social liberalization offer the best antidote to Islamic extremism appears absent from this administration's thinking.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“Obama, just a disappointment”
Ya got that right.
> Arabs who were led by Obama’s rhetoric to believe that the United States would force Israel to make unprecedented unilateral concessions — like a complete end to all construction in Jerusalem — were bitterly disappointed. <
Israel gave Obowma the middle finger and dared him, that’s why. When smaller countries like Colombia, Israel, even Iran laugh at the “Won”, you know the Dope of Hope aint nothing but a walking empty suit.
Obama, just a disappointment
Well, he didn’t disappoint the Communist Party USA.
They even said so.
He is a disappointment.
From the Wash Post,,hell hasfrozen over.
So the Compost is lamenting that 0bama isn’t anti-Israel enough and hence, a disappointment.
How's that hope 'n change thing working for ya, Kuwait? About the same as it is here.
Well, at least he did turn out to be a tool...
Last week it was the NY Times ~ NYT Editorial : Obamas an amateur
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