Aijaz Zaka Syed; 14/11/08; Aijaz.syed@hotmail.com; (4 Items)
Dear Mr. Obama,
Salaam, I am not sure if this will ever pass your eyes. At a time when the whole world is excited about your landmark election, this is likely to be dismissed as just another outpouring of emotions from the Middle East. But write I must. And I hope to God it does find its way to your table. Even if it doesn’t, I’ll at least have the consolation of having tried to persuade you what the world, especially the Middle East, expects from you and what a great opportunity you have of changing it for the better. … These hopes are only natural considering what the world has been through over the past eight years under the current incumbent. Your predecessor has somehow managed to gang up the whole world against America, a feat that eluded even Richard Nixon. From the total destruction of Iraq to the shame of Abu Ghraib, from spying on Americans to abduction of innocents by CIA, and from dumping hundreds of civilians as enemy combatants down the hole called the Guantanamo Bay, this administration has never been short on ever-new ideas of violating human dignity.
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=116316&d=14&m=11&y=2008
‘Jordan looks forward to working with Obama administration’
14/11/08
Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on Thursday said the Kingdom was looking forward to cooperating with US president-elect Barack Obama and the incoming US administration to enhance bilateral ties and bring about peace and stability in the Middle East. At a meeting with an American delegation from the Council for the National Interest (CNI) yesterday, the premier said the Kingdom hopes that the next US administration will play an effective role in reaching a final agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis that covers all issues on the basis of a two-state solution. He also underlined the need for continued negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. For their part, the delegates expressed its appreciation for Jordan’s constructive role in the region and stressed the need to reach solutions to core issues in the Middle East as soon as possible.
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=12111
Starting on the wrong foot
George S. Hishmeh; 14/11/08
Barack Obama should not miss the golden opportunity that comes on January 20, when he takes over as the nation’s 44th president.Three other presidents who preceded him have tried their hand, often half-heartedly, but could not seriously strive to reach a reasonable solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, brewing since 1948. President-elect Obama promised during his election campaign to bring change to American policies, and there is no doubt that he can if he is steadfast in his intentions.We all know that if there is a will there is a way.This goal has become more attainable since the two sides in the conflict have expressed willingness to live side by side peacefully.Even the outgoing Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, reiterated that Israel “must … give up Arab neighbourhoods in eastern Jerusalem and return to the seed of the territory that is the state of Israel up until 1967,” the land Israel occupied after its war with neighbouring Arab states that year.
“If, God forbid, we procrastinate, we could lose support for a two-state solution.”
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=12099
Obama’s foreign polic
Jonathan Power; 14/11/08
“Come home, America,” said US presidential candidate George McGovern during the Vietnam war, whilst going down to a bad defeat against Richard Nixon. But these are the words president-elect Barack Obama should be uttering today, if he wants to live up to his credo, as enunciated in his books. The Republicans – and some Democrats – will try to tear him apart for this, tarring him with the brush of isolationism. But it is not isolationism. If handled with perception and commitment for the long haul, it is engagement with the world and its problems. It is merely a different way of going about the cause of greater political order and more individual freedom. It can be a policy that substitutes the carrot for the stick, but this is to simplify it. The carrot should be offered, but with it a reciprocal sense of self discipline and a commitment by the opponent to measure progress against the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the Security Council, for when the Security Council agrees, it represents a formidable consensus of world opinion.
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=12100
Tags: Israel, MiddleEast, Terrorism; Election, USA