In order to understand President Barak Obama's present Middle East policy, it is necessary to review his initial agenda for "change" and to understand the pragmatic American political mentality that always looks at the world from two basic points of view:
- Serving first and foremost the American national interest and the American national security.
- "Politics is the art of possible", and what is "possible", is what is primarily suitable to domestic politics.
"Serving the national interest" became distorted by the US Congress into "serving the special interests" of those who pay for the bills of their election to Congress. National security has become subservient to "the special interests" entities who control the US Congress.
Obama ran for president on the slogan of taking the government back to the people from the grip of "special interests". This is "the change" promised by Obama to the American people. Indeed, he is the first president, who was not dependent on "special interest" money to get elected to the presidency. The people of the United States sent him $5 (Dh18) and $10 donations by the millions to free him from "special interests" money.
Obama came to power in the midst of an economic crisis, which had literally bankrupted America. The surplus of $1 trillion left by Bill Clinton was transformed by George .W. Bush into $1.5 trillion in the red. The US continues fighting the unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to its war against terrorism. President Obama's agenda was set "to take the American government back to the American people", through the following steps:
- Recovery of the American economy moving in full gear.
- A health care plan passed in Congress.
- A bill passed in Congress restricting the greed of "Wall Street", so America and the world can never be robbed again.
- Implementing "the change" in the American policy in the Middle East to influence the course of the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the fight against international terrorism of Al Qaida in a way that favours the National Security of America.
Some of President Obama's closest aides (who did the impossible of getting him elected) are liberal adherents to the Jewish faith. And like many American politicians and thinkers, they have concluded that the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is turning into "a fight till death" between Jewish fundamentalism and Islamist fundamentalism. The Jewish fundamentalists (Israeli colonisers) are helped by Christian fundamentalists, the power base of the Republicans, who are now backed by "the special interests" against Obama — America is the Arena for this "fight till death". This view is held by many in the American intelligence community and the military establishment, and it will affect US in a catastrophic way. The failure to reach a peaceful settlement in the Middle East would determine the course of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the security of the oil fields in the Middle East, the blood line of Western economy. The Obama "change" was announced in Cairo. Then, how can any observer reconcile what was said in Cairo with what is actually happening on the ground now with America's appeasement policy favouring Israel against the whole world?
A lot has happened in America. The Obama "change" created a huge number of deadly enemies, hell bent on destroying the present American administration to prevent the taking of Congress back to the American people from the "special interests". Some are openly producing extreme hate against Obama on "talk shows" to encourage his assassination (political assassination in the least) to end his presidency. The command of this campaign is being headed by "the far right" of the Republican Party who elected Bush and their natural allies, the Israeli far right, who are dominating the present Israeli government. This campaign focus is on taking back Congress from the Democratic Party in order to prevent Obama's re-election.
President Obama has temporarily lost the liberal sector of his Democratic Party because he has yet to:
- Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan and fulfil his promise of a quick end of the wars after taking office.
- Close Guantanamo.
- Fulfil his promise on the health care bill on which he has made many compromises.
A "far right" Republican-based Christian fundamentalists has joined "the special interest" lobby in Washington, DC and the Jewish fundamentalists lobby to ensure the Democratic Party's defeat in the fall elections. That is the reason President Obama has become weak in facing the present Israeli government. The only way open for President Obama — in the eyes of optimistic analysts — is to stall for time in the hope of preventing a disaster hitting the Democratic party in the elections. If this takes place successfully, the American administration would try to free the Israeli government from the grip of the special interests of Israeli colonisers. It would encourage Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government with Kadima and Labour which will have 68 votes in the Knesset.
Professor As'ad Abdul Rahman is the Chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopaedia.
