AMMAN: Leaders across the Middle East congratulated Barack Obama on his historic election victory as the 44th president of the United States. Many anticipated that his administration would usher in a fresh new policy and approach that would bring peace to a region plunged into great turbulence during the past eight years of the George W. Bush presidency. Some Arab leaders, who are traditionally allied with Washington, welcomed Obama's victory, just as they had been expected to do had Republican candidate John McCain won. But on an unofficial level, there was a sense of relief - albeit cautious - that the White House will, for the next four years, host an African-American president whose 22-month campaign showed him as an advocate of peace and dialogue with a will to resolve conflicts. Obama's words in his victory speech gave a significant push to the optimists who had high hopes that he will look more favorably toward the rest of the world and perhaps Arab causes. These Obama supporters have in recent months come under criticism by the many skeptical Arab talking heads who believed Obama would not bring change to what they say is a deeply-rooted US Middle East policy leaning toward Israel. But Obama provided relevant assuring words to the world: "All those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world: our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared. A new dawn of American leadership is at hand. From the early hours of Tuesday in the region, people were glued to their television sets as popular Arab news channels offered live coverage from the moment the polls opened until the two American candidates gave their victory and concession speeches. Critics say the interest in this US election was unprecedented, thanks to the unparalleled damage that the George W. Bush administration brought to the region as a result of the so-called "war on terror and by pressurizing the United States' Arab allies into submitting to his unpopular militaristic policies. In their congratulatory messages to Obama, some Arab leaders said they hope the Democratic president-elect would engage positively in bringing a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said: "We await your constructive participation toward a solution to the Palestinian question and the realization of a just and comprehensive peace, which is the main condition for security and stability in the Middle East. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been stumbling through peace negotiations with Israel since Bush re-launched them at Annapolis a year ago, almost echoed Mubarak's words to Obama. Abbas said he hoped the new president would "speed up efforts to achieve peace, particularly since a resolution of the Palestinian problem and the Arab-Israeli conflict is key to world peace. Israel seemed more confident that an Obama administration would not change US policy and apply pressure on the Jewish state to make peace with the Palestinians by stopping the settlement activities, removing roadblocks and ultimately withdrawing from the West Bank. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he expected US-Israeli ties to become stronger, because of the "special relationship between the two countries. Hamas, the Islamic Palestinian political movement that rules the Gaza Strip and is on the United States' "terrorist list, said it hopes Obama will "learn from the mistakes of the previous administrations, including those of Bush, which have destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, according to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. The Iraqi government, meanwhile, said it did not expect any policy change under Obama that would see a quick withdrawal of more than 140,000 US troops from the country, invaded by US-led forces in 2003 in a war that the newly-elected president had opposed from the outset. But the anti-American "Sadrists, followers of Iranian-backed Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, saw in Obama's victory a "wish of the American public to withdraw forces from Iraq, in line with this group's demands. Iranian politicians also welcomed Obama's election as a positive development, saying his win against McCain reflects an expression of the failures and defeats of Bush's foreign policies. They hope that the next administration will learn from the mistakes of the outgoing government in Washington. On an official level, Tehran will wait and see if Obama's foreign policy will be different from Bush's hostile approach toward Iran. But reports from Tehran indicate cautious optimism that Obama will make good on his call for dialogue with Iran to resolve the nuclear standoff with the West, and perhaps pave the way for restoring ties that have been severed between the two since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Syria, which the Bush administration had blacklisted as a "sponsor of terrorism, hoped Obama's election will "help change US policy from one of wars and embargos to one of diplomacy and dialogue, according to Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai called on the next administration in Washington to change its strategy in the so-called "war on terror, saying it "cannot be fought in Afghan villages . but should be directed to [terrorist] nests and training centers. Karzai urged Obama to end civilian casualties in Afghanistan, where 70,000 US-led NATO forces have been unsuccessfully battling the Taliban and other armed insurgents. Sana Abdallah is a Jordanian journalist who works for UPI in Amman. This abridged article originally appeared in the Middle East Times and is distributed with permission by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The full text can be found at www.metimes.com.
