Obama's way: Listen, not lecture

The difference between the Bush and Obama administrations has become increasingly clear. They are opposites, in rhetoric, style, ideology and approach. US President Barack Obama has extended an unclenched hand to America's foes, and has assured Muslims that the US is not at war with them. It is a big change, from George W. Bush's unilateralism, combativeness, and aggressive pre-emptive wars and occupations, to Obama's accommodating, receptive and collaborative policy. For the rest of the world, Obama is a breath of fresh air, especially after the messy years of Bush's presidency.

Americans and many others around the world welcomed his administration with open arms, hypnotised by his mantra of change though everyone knew it would not be easy. But they were willing to give it a chance, because things could not get any worse.

It is a sea change from the bloody Bush years, whose administration perfected the art of making enemies, launched pre-emptive wars, deployed America's might to intimidate, bully and coerce.

Even US allies, in an opinion poll taken in November 2007, believed "America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies". The poll also showed that British voters saw Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was Bush who alarmed voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US. This international survey revealed just how much America's reputation had fallen among its former allies due to its misadventures and miscalculations.

No US president, let alone a candidate, got a welcome like Obama in Europe. He was treated as a rock star on his visit to Europe last year as a presidential candidate. The 200,000 Europeans who jammed the streets of Berlin gave him the stamp of approval - the whole world was rooting for Obama. If the citizens of the world would have the right to vote in the US presidential elections, Obama would have won hands down.

Obama gained much credibility and approval when he, within weeks of taking over, systemically dismantled much of Bush's abhorrent and unpleasant legacy. He lived up to expectations and did not disappoint those who believed he would change America.

Gone were the torture tactics, secret prisons, 'enemy combatants' and the much of ideological 'global war on terror'. The upcoming closure of the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison, which gave the US a bad name and left an indelible mark and disgraced America around the world, is a major undertaking to rectify the damage and improve America's image, especially in the Muslim world.

What a change Obama is making on the world stage, wiping off the image of the US as the bully - ugly clumsy and insensitive. America under Bush was overbearing towards its European allies. Obama could not resist taking a swipe at the Bush administration in front of the Europeans, saying "in the US there had been failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. There had been times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive".

Time magazine in a recent issue gave a taste of the aura of the change the Obama administration has brought. This, through a string of quotations from Obama, under the appropriate title 'Barack Obama's new world order'.

This clearly showed that Obama sought reconciliation, that he was an internationalist who did not fight or lecture the world but listened to and accommodated the rising nations in his quest to move towards a more multi-polar system. Look at these quotes:

"I'm here to listen, to share ideas and to jointly, as one of many Nato allies, help shape our vision for the future." Obama in Germany on April 3, 2009, marking Nato's 60th anniversary

"& Europe is now rebuilt and a powerhouse. Japan is rebuilt, is a powerhouse. China, India - these are all countries on the move. And that's good." Obama in Europe.

The host, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, put it best and probably summed up the world's attitude to the Obama mantra of change, when he addressed the American president. "It feels really good to be able to work with a US president who wants to change the world and who understands that the world does not boil down to simply American frontiers and borders and that is a hell of a good piece of news for 2009."

Well said, but it remains to be seen if Obama is up to the challenges and whether his words of reconciliation will be interpreted by America's enemies as signs of weakness, by countries like North Korea and Iran, along with groups like Al Qaida and the Taliban. And will the Obama administration deliver and make the change which everybody is hoping for? Only time will tell. But we are all better off, and off to a good start.

Dr Abdullah Al Shayji is Professor of International Relations and the Head of the American Studies Unit- Kuwait University.