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Can Obama be a catalyst for change in the Middle East?

Namjoo Hashemi - 3/30/2008

With the 2008 primaries and caucuses nearing their end the likely presidential nominees are John McCain as the Republican Party representative and a hotly contested battle continues to broom between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the representative for the Democratic Party.

Foreign policy will be at the focal point of each representatives campaign and whoever is elected the next President of the United States will have to deal with a plate full of international issues. Since World Word II, the U.S. has played a pivotal role in almost every international crisis.

The Middle East has remained the centerpiece of world conflicts; the Iraq war, the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the sometimes forgotten conflict in Afghanistan are just a few of the problems the next president of the United States will have to deal with from the first day he/she enters the oval office.

A common thread among the conflicts in the Middle East is growing anti-American sentiment which has only increased during the past seven years.

When examining the statements and policy platforms of each candidate it is easy to predict which has the best chance of succeeding and reducing conflict in the Middle East.

John McCain’s views on dealing with the Middle East conflict is not to far off from the Bush-Cheney doctrine; an approach that has only fueled anti-American sentiment. Countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, whose rulers are considered allies of the U.S., are undemocratically kept in power and rule a growing anti-American population. If John McCain is to become the next president of the United States, one can expect U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future and the saber rattling with Iran and Syria will continue. In summary, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East will “stay the course” to invoke the words of George W. Bush.

If Hillary Clinton manages to pull off an upset in the upcoming weeks, she may have a chance of becoming the Democratic nominee, and potentially even may succeed in reaching the White House.

One of the main reasons she had enjoyed such wide spread early support was because of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. People look at Hillary Clinton as someone who might bring back the “glory days”; especially when comparing to the past seven years of George W. Bush in office. It was a time when the U.S. economy was growing at a steady rate. On the international scene, if you didn’t turn on the evening news, your really didn’t know there were any major international conflicts; at least not one that might affect the life of the average citizen in the U.S. However, all indications are if Hillary Clinton does become president, similar to the Clinton years, their will be little or no progress when it comes to dealing with Middle East issues. As some people say, there may be a lot of talk, but there will be little action. One could almost argue John McCain is one end of the spectrum, who believes in less talk and more action (all be it the wrong type of action) and Hillary Clinton is at the opposite end of the spectrum, where its all talk and little or no action.

The people of the Middle East are rightly skeptical when the United States claims it wants to advance the peace process. Recent history has taught them this. At the same time, fundamentalist leaders in the region, such as the clerical regime in Iran, use history as their alibi, to promote fear and anti-western sentiment and are able to convince the masses that any gesture from the U.S. comes with a hidden agenda.

What is needed is someone to step into the international arena, with a fresh set of ideas, someone willing to think outside of the box and break the stereotypes Middle Eastern nations have of the United States. Someone who is willing to start with a clean slate and not bring to the table a foreign policy doctrine borrowed from his predecessors.

Barack Obama is the best person who fits this bill. He is poised to become the democratic nominee and if elected president, someone who is willing to take a different approach when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. For example, Barack Obama has indicated that he is willing to meet with leaders from Iran and Syria. Borrowing from the words of John F. Kennedy, “let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate”, Obama is willing to put those famous words to practical use, and challenge leaders of these rogue states to either join the international community or chose to be further isolated.

Given Senator Obama’s distance from the tarnished image of U.S. foreign policy, he can come to the table without the “baggage” that Hillary Clinton or John McCain would bring. At the same time, leaders in countries such as Iran will also have a hard time using the same rhetoric and call any policy statement from the U.S as the “same old Yankee tune” and reject any goodwill gestures.

By setting aside pre-conditions for talking to its adversaries, and after almost a decade of back and forth through European intermediaries, holding high level meetings between the U.S. and countries such as Iran, will force issues to the table and create an opportunity where the world body can openly decide if such states are willing to turn the page in their relations with the rest of the world or whether they are truly a threat to their neighbors.

Already the public persona of Barack Obama is winning in the region. Having not even campaigned in the Middle East, Barack Obama enjoys strong support. At a recent forum in the Persian Gulf which included over 280 public figures and academics from 32 countries, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, a mock election was held where Barack Obama overwhelming won support of the attendees.

While this doesn’t suggest that Barack Obama will be able to do what past presidents could not accomplish in the Middle East, the positive recognition Obama is receiving and open arm reception, can be a very good starting ground to bring about a fundamental positive change in the region, and throughout the rest of the world.