Reflections on Obama in Cairo

If one recalls the presidential campaign and the taunts about Obama not going to Iraq,then remember John McCain "offering"to accompany him and then recall Obama's success in winning agreement from the Iraqi government for his withdrawal timetable, you have to wonder why anyone is surprised anymore by Obama's overseas successes. He was taunted by the GOP for his speech before 200,000 in Germany, while McCain made his criticisms outside the German House restaurant in Ohio. The press claimed he would meet deep resistance at the G-8 meeting in London, when he was actually credited with mediating disputes between the Chinese and the Europeans.

Having promised during the campaign he would make a major speech in the Muslim world, he fulfilled it and more in the Cairo speech. We have been treated by an endless barrage from the right about why the Americans must live in perpetual fear and that Obama is dismantling the apparatus built by the Bush Administration for dealing with terrorists, opening him up to criticism America was being weakened. Mitt Romney, an aspirant for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, chose to attack a seating President before he even went abroad for the speech. In many ways, the Republican condescension to Obama still exists, despite ample evidence that the American people overwhelmingly approve his policy on terrorism and in fact liked the Cairo speech.

If you look at the speech as a form of strategy, there are some obvious points. The field of America's stated enemies has become much more restricted for Obama than for the Bush Administration. The enemies in the speech were Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the danger of the Iranian nuclear program, but not the regime itself. The broadbrush of Islamofascists was not applied but narrowed to those who physically seek harm to the United States. While this makes eminent sense, it also helps push Muslims away from these extremes by not forcing an unnatural choice.

Few commentators point out that the last part of the speech focused on the aspirations of young Muslims and the need for different types of development, including women's rights. Since Bush spoiled the language of democracy, it was found throughout the speech in many ways--governments of the popular will,, who rule by the consent of the governed, the respect for minority religions such as the Copts in Egypt and the Marionite Christians in Lebanon, the need for employment opportunities for all. It is likely that this part of the speech will live longer in the hearts of the young than the discussion of the large political issues.

In many ways, it reminded me of a young President, who launched the Alliance for Progress. John F. Kennedy turned away from Eisenhower's policy such as overthrowing the Guatamala government of Arbenz in 1954 for the benefit of the banana companies to a broader notion of a Latin America based on democracy and economic development. This was then a region of virulent anti-Americanism, such as the attack in Caracas on Vice President Nixon's motorcade. Generations of younger Latin Americans revered Kennedy long after he had been assassinated and the Alliance of Progress was dismantled. His photograph was hung on the walls of many homes for decades to come. In many ways, the speech by a young President, who had lived for years in a Muslim country and who offered a different view from his predecessor, will be remembered long after his Administration ends. It too was made in a region now a hotbed of anti-Americanism.

President Obama had the courage to talk about issues generally left in private in the Middle East--the Holocaust, the 9/11 conspiracy folks, the CIA's overthrow of an elected government in Iran in 1954, Iraq being an elected war by the United States, and the fact that violence does not advance one's political agenda. Before the talking points were handed out, a Hamas spokesperson immediately said the speech was like "listening to Martin Luther King". The Israeli Government put a gag order on the cabinet until a press release could be manufactured that was essentially positive but neglected to address Obama's criticism of the settlements, his statements about the conditions of the Palestinians and the idea of a two-state solution.

American commentators were at their parochial best trying to analyze the speech and the reaction throughout the region. Some commented on the slow delivery, neglecting to understand it was being translated into 12 languages. Others deliberately neglected to notice all the ways Obama did bring up the issue of terrorism without resorting to Bush-speak. The conservatives barked that Obama was again apologizing for the United States and, of course, we have nothing to apologize for and this only makes us look weak. It was the Dick Cheney/Leonid Brezhnev view of world politics--it is better to be feared than respected. But for the United States, we only have leverage if we are respected as representing some higher standard. And naturally,both Democrats and Republicans who support Israel were concerned that Obama used a moral equivalence in talking about Israel and the Palestinians. Charles Krauthammer was appalled that Obama would criticize Israel's policy of criticising the extension of West Bank settlements. Jim Imhofe was the best,saying that the speech was anti-American. The Washington Times in its headline suggested that Obama was trying to compete with Osama Bin Laden for attention.

The two home boys--Bin Laden and Zawaheri--did pipe in to make their existence known. Zawaheri was particularly concerned about Obama's presence in his native Egypt. Bin Laden warned that Obama was spreading "the seeds of hate" in his counter-insurgency tactics in Pakistan and Afghanistan and vowed destructive acts in the future. Even Ayatollah Khamenei piped up with typical regime type rhetoric that will be measured against the eloquence of Obama's words.

In political parlance, Obama's Cairo speech had lift. The regional comments basically were enthusiastic with older cynics wondering about the specific acts to follow. An older Egyptian journalist, who also acts as a CNN stringer, called up his American counter-part saying in Arabic, "Yes, We Can". Let's put it another way the President of the United States received applause in over 30 parts of his speech and got a standing ovation at the end; the previous President got shoes thrown at him.