Can Obama heal the rifts caused by 9/11 and subsequent pre-emptive wars?
[AFP] Yet there is a sense among some in the Middle East that dialogue is more likely now than at any other time since 9/11. Obama’s rhetoric, and seemingly more conciliatory tone, during his election campaign and since taking office appear to have increased hopes that there is a US president who is willing to give diplomatic initiatives a chance. Obama’s Cairo address to the Muslim world and his redeployment of troops in Iraq convinced some that the US president was ‘walking the walk’. “After his speech in Cairo, I think there has been a diffusion of suspicion that the US is being anti-Islamic,” says Maksoud. Ghalioun believes that Obama’s election was a profound change that has yet to be matched in the region. “When America called for partial reform, they [Arab governments] refused reform and still insisted on the same policies that led to the rise of extremist movements. Americans changed more than Arabs did,” Ghalioun says. Regional political evolution and serious pursuit of democr
