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Editors see little change in US foreign policy
Editors-in-chief of Emirati newspapers agreed that Barack Obama's election as the 44th president of the United States would bring significant change, but said it was too early to tell how much his administration would change America's policy in the Middle East.
- By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:20 November 7, 2008
- Many editors believe Barack Obama's election as the 44th US president would bring significant change.
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
Dubai: Editors-in-chief of Emirati newspapers agreed that Barack Obama's election as the 44th president of the United States would bring significant change, but said it was too early to tell how much his administration would change America's policy in the Middle East.
"There will surely be change in America. We can wait and see. Obama's campaign was built on the idea of change. How much this change will serve us [Arabs] is a different issue," said Habib Al Sayegh, Managing Editor of Al Khaleej newspaper.
The editors-in-chief who spoke to Gulf News did not, however, expect a significant change, negative or positive, in the US' relations with Gulf Arab countries under Obama's presidency.
"Generally, US foreign policy is a fixed policy at its base and it doesn't change much. Gulf countries had good relations when Bill Clinton was president too. In fact, I think the Democrats' economic policies make way for a development in economic relations with the Gulf," said Dha'en Shaheen, Editor-in-Chief of Dubai-based Al Bayan.
Gulf governments have traditionally had relatively strong ties to the a number of Republicans, who have promoted Gulf-US economic relations, particularly in the case of Dubai Ports World's attempt to manage six American ports two years ago, when prominent Republicans tried hard to defend the deal in the face of predominantly Democratic opposition.
Barack Obama was one of the Democrats that had opposed the deal.
"There is no reason to react [negatively] to that," said Al Sayegh. "There are basic aspects of US-Gulf relations and specifics, and the basic aspects will remain. Obviously, we shouldn't expect miracles from him [either]".
Shaheen argued that Obama's role as president would be very different from his role in Congress, and positions taken there would not necessarily be reflected in his presidency.
Rashid Al Araimi, Editor-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi-based Al Ittihad, said that the idea that Republicans had closer ties with the Gulf were "absolute fiction", arguing that positions taken by Obama as a senator will not have an affect on his role as president.
"When an American president enters the White House, he enters as a new personality," he said. "[Obama] is likely to work America's interests in an inclusionist manner".
"US-Gulf relations are driven by interests and they won't be affected by the arrival of a new president. That has been the case since the seventies," added Al Araimi.
Shaheen and Al Sayegh agreed that it had been made clear that in eight years of Bush's Middle East policy were a "major failure", which Al Sayegh likened to a "horror movie".
"The theory that the Arab world can be reformed from the outside has failed. The idea some of us believed in that the weakness of [Arab] governments would [necessitate] importing reform has failed," said Al Sayegh.
Vested interests
The editors-in-chief agreed that US Gulf policy was based primarily on mutual interests, which will dictate the US' moves in the region.
Gulf analysts, however, have recently been voicing concerns that an Obama victory could lead to an American "grand bargain" with Iran to improve its situation in Iraq that could lead to Iran getting a free hand to expand its influence in the Gulf.
"Anything can be expected," said Al Sayegh. "America will do what serves its interest... We in the Gulf need to be more aware. We've been too preoccupied with economic development and have moved away from politics. We need to aggressively move into the political [scene]," he said.
Shaheen agreed. "The US has its own interests in Iran and in the Gulf, and it will act accordingly," he said.
Shaheen and Al Sayegh had mixed reactions on whether an Obama administration would push for progress in a potential peace process between Palestine and Israel.
Shaheen said Obama could try to pick up the peace process where Clinton's administration left it "when the conflict was on the verge of being resolved".
Habib, however, said that no change was expected, as Obama had already made "extremist" statements with regards to support for Israel.
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