CAIRO, Egypt – President Barack Obama chose an Arabic satellite TV network for his first formal television interview as president, part of a concerted effort to repair relations with the Muslim world that were damaged under the previous administration.

Obama cited his Muslim background and relatives, practically a taboo issue during the U.S. presidential campaign, and said in the interview, which aired Tuesday, that one of his main tasks was to communicate to Muslims "that the Americans are not your enemy."

The interview on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel aired as Obama's new envoy to the region, former Sen. George J. Mitchell, arrived in Egypt on Tuesday for a visit that will also take him to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Obama said the U.S. had made mistakes in the past but "that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that."

Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, launched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which prompted a massive backlash against the U.S. in the Muslim world.

In contrast to the enthusiastic reception Obama's victory has garnered around the world, the Arab world has been much more cautious about the new U.S. president — with most people skeptical that American policy in the region will change substantially.

"I can't be optimistic until I see something tangible," said Hatem al-Kurdi, 35, a Gaza City engineer who saw parts of the interview. "Anyone can say nice words, but you have to follow with actions."

"He seems very interested in the Middle East issue but he didn't say exactly what he's going to do about it," Kurdi added.

After earlier dismissing Obama as following the same policies as his predecessor, officials from the militant Palestinian Hamas group softened their stance against the new president Tuesday.

"In the last couple of days there have been a lot of statements (from Obama), some of them very positive, and choosing this George Mitchell as an envoy," said Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official interviewed on the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news network. "I think there are some positive things we have to count."

Obama's choice of Al-Arabiya network, which is owned by a Saudi businessman, follows the lead of the Bush administration, which gave several presidential interviews to that news channel.

"The U.S. sees Al-Arabiya as a friendly Arab channel, whereas they see Al-Jazeera as confrontational," said Lawrence Pintak, director of the journalism training center at the American University in Cairo.

Hady Amr, director of the Brookings Doha Center, an arm of the U.S. think-tank in the Qatari capital, described decision to make the first presidential interview with an Arabic news network as "stunning."

"President Obama has made it absolutely clear ... that a central priority will be repairing America's relations with the Muslim world," he said. "If that's his objective, I'd say he's been hitting home run after home run."

In the interview, Obama called for a new partnership with the Muslim world "based on mutual respect and mutual interest." He talked about growing up in Indonesia, the Muslim world's most populous nation, and noted that he has Muslim relatives.

Obama's Kenyan father was born Muslim, though a self-described atheist, and many of his relatives in Kenya are practicing Muslims. As a child, Obama lived for a number of years in Indonesia while his mother as doing research there.

This appeal does seem to have struck a chord among many Muslims.

"He's different from the previous presidents, perhaps because of his color or his Islamic background. My views of America are different now than they were during the Bush administration," said Youssef Ali, 45, who works for the Iraqi Electricity Ministry in Baghdad.

Most of Obama's interview focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is widely perceived in the Middle East as the most pressing issue in a region filled with animosities.

Obama said he felt it was important to "get engaged right away" in the Middle East and had directed Mitchell to talk to "all the major parties involved." His administration would craft an approach after that, he said.

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.

The president reiterated the U.S. commitment to Israel as an ally and to its right to defend itself. But he suggested that both Israel and the Palestinians have hard choices to make.

"I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people," he said, calling for a Palestinian state that is contiguous with internal freedom of movement and can trade with neighboring countries.

On Tuesday, Gaza's fragile truce was threatened when a bomb detonated by Palestinian militants exploded next to an Israeli army patrol along the border with Gaza, killing one soldier and wounding three.

Obama also said that recent statements and messages issued by the al-Qaida terror network suggest they do not know how to deal with his new approach.

"They seem nervous," he told the interviewer. "What that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt."

In his latest message on Jan. 14, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden said Obama had been left with a "heavy inheritance" of Bush's wars. Shortly after the election, the network's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri described Obama with a demeaning racial term for a black American who does the bidding of whites.

The message suggested the terror network was worried Obama could undermine its rallying cry that the U.S. is an enemy oppressor.

"There's no actions that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them," said Obama about al-Qaida.

Obama also emphasized the importance of engaging with Iran, a country the Bush administration often singled out as the most dangerous in the region.

Obama condemned Iran's threats against Israel, pursuit of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist organizations, but said "it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress."

CAIRO, Egypt – President Barack Obama chose an Arabic satellite TV network for his first formal television interview as president, part of a concerted effort to repair relations with the Muslim world that were damaged under the previous administration.

Obama cited his Muslim background and relatives, practically a taboo issue during the U.S. presidential campaign, and said in the interview, which aired Tuesday, that one of his main tasks was to communicate to Muslims "that the Americans are not your enemy."

The interview on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel aired as Obama's new envoy to the region, former Sen. George J. Mitchell, arrived in Egypt on Tuesday for a visit that will also take him to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Obama said the U.S. had made mistakes in the past but "that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that."

Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, launched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which prompted a massive backlash against the U.S. in the Muslim world.

In contrast to the enthusiastic reception Obama's victory has garnered around the world, the Arab world has been much more cautious about the new U.S. president — with most people skeptical that American policy in the region will change substantially.

"I can't be optimistic until I see something tangible," said Hatem al-Kurdi, 35, a Gaza City engineer who saw parts of the interview. "Anyone can say nice words, but you have to follow with actions."

"He seems very interested in the Middle East issue but he didn't say exactly what he's going to do about it," Kurdi added.

After earlier dismissing Obama as following the same policies as his predecessor, officials from the militant Palestinian Hamas group softened their stance against the new president Tuesday.

"In the last couple of days there have been a lot of statements (from Obama), some of them very positive, and choosing this George Mitchell as an envoy," said Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official interviewed on the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news network. "I think there are some positive things we have to count."

Obama's choice of Al-Arabiya network, which is owned by a Saudi businessman, follows the lead of the Bush administration, which gave several presidential interviews to that news channel.

"The U.S. sees Al-Arabiya as a friendly Arab channel, whereas they see Al-Jazeera as confrontational," said Lawrence Pintak, director of the journalism training center at the American University in Cairo.

Hady Amr, director of the Brookings Doha Center, an arm of the U.S. think-tank in the Qatari capital, described decision to make the first presidential interview with an Arabic news network as "stunning."

"President Obama has made it absolutely clear ... that a central priority will be repairing America's relations with the Muslim world," he said. "If that's his objective, I'd say he's been hitting home run after home run."

In the interview, Obama called for a new partnership with the Muslim world "based on mutual respect and mutual interest." He talked about growing up in Indonesia, the Muslim world's most populous nation, and noted that he has Muslim relatives.

Obama's Kenyan father was born Muslim, though a self-described atheist, and many of his relatives in Kenya are practicing Muslims. As a child, Obama lived for a number of years in Indonesia while his mother as doing research there.

This appeal does seem to have struck a chord among many Muslims.

"He's different from the previous presidents, perhaps because of his color or his Islamic background. My views of America are different now than they were during the Bush administration," said Youssef Ali, 45, who works for the Iraqi Electricity Ministry in Baghdad.

Most of Obama's interview focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is widely perceived in the Middle East as the most pressing issue in a region filled with animosities.

Obama said he felt it was important to "get engaged right away" in the Middle East and had directed Mitchell to talk to "all the major parties involved." His administration would craft an approach after that, he said.

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.

The president reiterated the U.S. commitment to Israel as an ally and to its right to defend itself. But he suggested that both Israel and the Palestinians have hard choices to make.

"I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people," he said, calling for a Palestinian state that is contiguous with internal freedom of movement and can trade with neighboring countries.

On Tuesday, Gaza's fragile truce was threatened when a bomb detonated by Palestinian militants exploded next to an Israeli army patrol along the border with Gaza, killing one soldier and wounding three.

Obama also said that recent statements and messages issued by the al-Qaida terror network suggest they do not know how to deal with his new approach.

"They seem nervous," he told the interviewer. "What that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt."

In his latest message on Jan. 14, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden said Obama had been left with a "heavy inheritance" of Bush's wars. Shortly after the election, the network's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri described Obama with a demeaning racial term for a black American who does the bidding of whites.

The message suggested the terror network was worried Obama could undermine its rallying cry that the U.S. is an enemy oppressor.

"There's no actions that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them," said Obama about al-Qaida.

Obama also emphasized the importance of engaging with Iran, a country the Bush administration often singled out as the most dangerous in the region.

Obama condemned Iran's threats against Israel, pursuit of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist organizations, but said "it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress."

_____
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_obama_mideast

Hey, Neville Chamberlain tried something similar back in the late 30's, something about Munich and you know, that worked out well for the world. I understand the need for foreign diplomacy but I guess putting a white female Secretary of State on that job might not go over so well.

I hope that President Obama remembers that he's been elected President of these United States and NOT ambassador to the Middle East. Attempts to smooth over relations isn't in and of itself a bad thing but we'd all be smart to remember that those who practice a fanatical way of life will hate President Obama more, not less. They'll see him as a black man wrapped up in a Western Republic, in essence betraying what "they" view as his roots.

All of that is BS, but in the mind of a fanatic, how does that really matter?

-Drew

Well, that's the Hope and Change Brigade.

I'm going to coin a term here but defer authorship if someone else might have done so first.

Voter's Remorse.

used in a sentence:

I wonder when the voter's remorse is going to kick in and people will begin to realise they've put a leftist radical in the oval office who regards the rights of terrorist more highly than the prestige of his own nation or the safety of his own people..

Fair point and I understand. I think what concerns me here is that radical factions of any religion or dogmatic movement don't much care about who is in the White House. The "moderate" Arab Street might view this as an olive branch of sorts but then again, there is time for that. Our current crisis is domestic and for as much as I heard people whine and complain about staying out of the Middle East, it would appear that President Obama is involving himself in a fairly significant way.

He will no doubt make progress where rational and clear thinking people are present and he's a super smart guy so he should have some success with that. But where he won't have success is with those who hate what the West stands for. And that is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Clinton had no luck with that either--neither would Gore or Kerry had they been elected.

Well, we'll see, I just hope that all of the feel good euphoria surrounding this administration does not lead us to think we can reason with those who view their own martyrdom as both necessary and attractive.

-Drew

I found this article, Fanta. I liked it.

Obama says Mideast peace talks should resume Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, January 26, 2009. …

President Barack Obama presented a humble and conciliatory face of America to the Islamic world Monday in the first formal interview since he assumed office, stressing his own Muslim ties and hopes for a Palestinian state, and avoiding a belligerent tone — even when asked if America could "live with" an Iranian nuclear weapon.

The interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya Network was a dramatic piece of public diplomacy aimed at capitalizing on the new American president's international popularity, though it balanced America's traditional commitment to Israel, whose security Obama called "paramount.'

"I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries," Obama said, according to a White House transcript. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."

The Al Arabiya interview, directed squarely at Muslims around the world, revived a vision of personal, symbolic international change that was in the air when Obama - with his far-flung family members, and complicated story - launched his campaign. It was a vision, and an aspect of his story, that the candidate buried when, in 2007, was forced to combat whispering campaigns about his own faith.

But by giving his first interview to the Arabic network, Obama signaled his continuing belief in his personal power as a symbol of America against the temptations of Islamic militancy. He even dismissed "bankrupt" ideas and policies that don't improve children's health care, jabbing at "nervous" Al Qaeda leaders in language that echoed his campaign against George W. Bush.

The occasion for this interview was the departure of Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, to the Middle East, and a more aggressive and optimistic approach to that conflict than some argued that the circumstances dictated. The president offered no timeline for peace, but a firm view that a Palestinian state remains within reach.

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of these issues — and we don't always know all the factors that are involved," Obama said. "What we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years. And I think if we do that, then there's a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs."

Obama's interview was marked by attempts to sympathize with the concerns of ordinary Muslims, particularly on the question of living conditions in the West Bank. But he sought a conciliatory tone throughout the interview, at one point avoiding even restating American policy, and his own platform, than an Iranian nuclear weapon is plainly unacceptable.

"Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?" asked the interviewer, Al Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Hisham Melhem.

Obama responded only generally, expressing disapproval of an Iranian bomb but not the flat condemnation that is standard from American officials.

"You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran," he said. "Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past -- none of these things have been helpful."

During the campaign and transition periods, Obama's condemnations of an Iranian nuclear weapon were more direct: "[T]heir development of nuclear weapons would be unacceptable," Obama said on Meet the Press on December 7.

A senior Obama aide said Monday night that Obama had not changed his views on Iran.

Obama also signaled a move away from President Bush's confrontational, generalizing language. Melhem noted to Obama that "President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, 'war on terror,' and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people -- Islamic fascism. You've always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators."

"I think that you're making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters," Obama replied. "[W]hat we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name.

"And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda -- that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it -- and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop," he said. "We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down."

Obama's shift Monday was one of tone, not of policy, and he also affirmed America's support for Israel.

"Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount," he said. "But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side."

Obama's interview plan was made public only Monday afternoon, and the interview, which concluded just after 6:00 p.m., was distributed to reporters in the evening and embargoed for release at 11:00 p.m.

Asked why Al Arabiya had been granted the president's first interview, and aide said: "We want to communicate directly to the entire world America's new foreign policy."

Jonathan Martin contributed to this story.

Beliefs are dangerous. Both the Israelis and Palestinians are going to stand fast in their ways over them. It's painfully obvious that they're willing to die for them. Until you can convince one side or the other to change their beliefs, you are not going to fix the fighting. Bush couldn't do it, Clinton could not, W could not.

The battle's been waging for a long time. No amount of diplomacy on our part is going to change that. The faster Obama gets that through his head, the better off he'll be because he's much more useful elsewhere.

Looks like he's on his way to completely living up to his campaign promises winx!!

This is not true at all. Although Bush would have had this country believing that all Muslims are our enemy that is just not true at all. Just like the Christian religion has it's embarrassing and/or dangerous radical extremists, so do all other religions or peoples.

This is a much needed step in repairing our world image which Bush flushed down the toilet by targeting Iraq when bin laden was not in Iraq and never been there, by making the divisive statements about peoples that were not all extremists and dangerous to us, etc....

We are not unjust warring animals as Bush has made us be by his personal idealogy and prejudices and we have a lot of work to do to undo the damages.

Barack will do all he can to do this and it is a good thing.

So his first interview was with Arabs saying "everything will be great in Muslim countries now!"

Hey umm, Obama...WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICANS WHO GAVE YOU THE JOB!? ARE WE STILL S.O.L.!?

That is not what he says.

We have some repairing to do, our world rep is in the toilet and we need to have our diplomacy back. To Bush diplomacy was a bad word.

Let them. Seriuosly, let them fight it out. This thing won't be over untill it's over and not a day before.

Palestinians want to fire rockets over the border.. fine, let them.

All this 'cease fire' business does is give both sides time to lick their wounds and re-arm, so it'll be even bigger and badder the next time.

Let them fight.


No Bastard ever served his country by dying for it.