A good beginning

The historic "dream" of Martin Luther King has been gloriously fulfilled when the first African-American, Barack Hussain Obama, ascended to America's highest position as the country's 44th president. This has been a momentous holiday season for Americans. They first celebrated, as they do every year, the invigorating speech delivered more than four decades ago by the famous American civil rights leader from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in which he called for the harmonious coexistence of blacks and whites as equals. On the following day - January 20 - Obama took the oath of office, another defining moment in US history. The jubilation was evident on the faces of the millions who participated in the festivities in Washington and elsewhere in the country.

The coming to power of Obama has been eagerly awaited almost as much by all nations as by Americans, mainly because of the failure of the Bush administration over the economic meltdown and the deteriorating relationships with many countries. This is particularly true in the Arab world and the wider Middle East, scene of America's disastrous foreign policies especially concerning the seemingly never-ending Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

As Senator Diane Feinstein, chairperson of the inaugural ceremony, observed in her introduction of Obama that his election is seen as "a turning point for real and necessary change for our history".

What exactly is the "real and necessary change" that is expected from the Obama administration? One immediate issue is obviously the deplorable situation in the Gaza Strip, the litmus test for any US bid to change its ugly image in the Middle East, if not elsewhere. The Israeli massacre which has left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead and over 5,000 injured - nearly half of them women and children, has been condemned worldwide except by the Bush administration.

What ought to have been more shocking for many Americans is how the discredited Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, bragged publicly that he was able to interrupt a speech that President George W. Bush was giving in Philadelphia so that he would instruct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not to vote for a UN Security Council resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza that she has reportedly authored. This is how Olmert reported his amazing intervention, according to Patrick J.K. Buchanan, writing in the American Conservative:

"(Bush) gave an order to the secretary of state, and she did not vote in favour of it - a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organised and manoeuvred for. She was left pretty shamed ...." The vote was 14-0, much to the surprise of the fellow delegates who negotiated with her. These senseless Israeli machinations are mind-boggling and, certainly, damaging to both Israel and the US.

A few days before the end of the term of the Bush administration, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni flew hurriedly into Washington and managed to convince Rice to sign an agreement whereby the US will help in stopping the alleged smuggling of arms into Gaza. Rice did not apparently realise that this Israeli manoeuvre was intended as a cover up for the "kitchen cabinet" of the Israeli government - Olmert, Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

The latter two were fearful of the negative repercussions if their massive Gaza invasion would not yield the results they wanted -putting an end to Hamas or their rockets. The invasion did not by all accounts. Hamas, though weakened, is still in control of the coastal territory and neither the US nor Israel can change the political regime there.

There is no doubt that either Obama or his staff is aware of these Israeli shenanigans. Time will only tell how far he is willing to go now that we heard him declare loudly in his inaugural address: "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect (and) America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity...."

This is a good beginning.

George Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com