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With Arabs, Obama Never Had A Honeymoon

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Bianca
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« on: May 21, 2009, 08:58:02 pm »









One-fifth of Arabs put Iran on the list of "threatening" countries, largely because Iran's activities in the region and its support for proxy groups like Hizbullah and to a lesser extent Hamas are drawing attention, says the University of Maryland's Telhami.

Al Qaeda, however, is absent – either as an admired or feared group. "Al Qaeda is really decreasing as a focus in the region," says Marc Lynch, a Middle East specialist at George Washington University in Washington.

But that does not mean the attraction of "resistance," either to the Western world or to reigning regimes, has dissipated. "Hamas and Hizbullah have captured that better," Mr. Lynch says.

In any case, Telhami adds, the role of Al Qaeda was "elevated" by the US: "It was never the central player in Arab discourse."

In Egypt, where Obama will give his speech, skepticism remains high about whether Obama can change the dynamics of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Some 37 percent of Egyptians said he could, but 32 percent said he could not.

"Too many people still think no US president can make a difference in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Zogby says.

Still, George Washington's Lynch says the polling tells him that Obama does have an opportunity. "There is a window of hope and of expectation that Obama can change US foreign policy," Lynch says. "But that window is not going to stay open very long."

If Obama cannot get results soon on concrete issues like Israeli settlements in the West Bank, "that window is going to crash closed for a very long time."
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