Dubai: Many Arabs were flabbergasted, and many others felt indifferent when they heard the news of Senator Barack Obama's picking Joe Biden as his running mate for next November presidential elections.
The majority of ordinary Arabs, analysts in the region said, were pinning their hopes on Obama to change Washington's foreign policy in the Middle East, which many view as anti-Arab and pro-Israel. Eight years of George W. Bush's rule has brought the US popularity in the Arab world to its lowest level.
However, picking Biden, whose views on certain regional issues such as dividing Iraq along sectarian lines and his staunch support for Israel, have disappointed Arabs who believe this means there will be no change if Obama becomes president.
However, they trust that Obama is not a "war" president. They also recognise that Biden is a sharp foreign policy man, regardless of his positions on regional Arab issues.
The news of Biden as Obama's pick covered the front pages of many regional newspapers, along with detailed reports of his positions on regional issues.
In Baghdad, some Iraqi politicians expressed "frustration" with the pick of Biden, but many downplayed fears of Biden's propose to divide Iraq.
"There are no fears of division," Halim A'raji, head of Iraqi Association to Protect Journalists, said. "Iraq is a united country and nobody can divide it according to his ideologies, or thoughts, or political positions," he told Gulf News in an interview
"America's national strategic interests lie in not dividing Iraq," Badr Al Sindi, Editor-In-Chief of the Kurdish newspaper Ta'akhi said. He expressed strong belief that the choice has no effect on any decision to federalise Iraq.
Positive sign
In neighbouring Iran, Musaib Al Nuaimi, Editor-In-Chief of Al Wefaq newspaper believes that no president will be worse than George Bush.
"[Yet] Iran will not rush to issue a judgment on the US foreign policy in the future," he told Gulf News.
Nonetheless, some Arabs feel indifferent towards Biden. They believe that Obama and Biden will neither solve regional issues nor exacerbate them.
"If Obama wins, he will listen to Biden," said Egyptian political scientist Emad Jadd in an interview with Gulf News.
"The position of the Vice-President in the US is, to a great extent, an honorary position," said Palestinian analyst Hani Al Masri.
"He [VP] has some influence, but not much," Al Masri, head of Al Badael Center for Research and Studies in Ramallah, added.
However, analysts believe there is a positive sign in choosing veteran foreign policy expert. It means Obama will pay great attention to foreign policy and the region's issues. But on what basis? This is yet to be known.
