CAIRO: The new US President Barack Obama has assumed his duties in the White House and here we are waiting for him to solve all the world's political, economic, social and perhaps emotional, problems, too. Anyone who has a problem with his partner doesn't need to write to his favorite agony aunt for advice or even go to a psychiatrist, because Barack Obama has now become the President of the United States and this means that all problems will be solved. If the new US president is able to solve the economic crisis that has gripped the whole world in the last days of the Bush administration, why wouldn't he be able to solve the problem of a young man whose girlfriend has deserted him or a woman abandoned by her husband? This, I said, to a tormented young man who sought my advice on his emotional problems. I also said it to a political analyst, who asked me about my expectations for what Barack Obama will achieve in the Middle East, stressing that the conflict, which has been going on for more than 60 years without a solution in sight, has finally found someone to resolve it and that the Arabs can now rest easy because all our problems are about to disappear since Barack Hussein Obama has come to the White House. But my friend, the analyst, said strange things that will only kill the present euphoria resulting from having the first black man as president of the United States. He said that only the people of the Middle East themselves will determine the outcome of the Middle East conflict and that unless Obama finds a strong united Arab position that forces him to take the issue seriously, he is more likely to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors who have pledged absolute support for successive Israeli governments, which they never even got from their own Israeli citizens. Anyone who has been following the Israeli press such as Haaretz will find caustic criticism of Israel's policy as well as the blind American support it has received, which does not seek a settlement of the problem as much as it seeks Jewish electoral votes. Indeed, although what my friend the political analyst has said is true, it is unnecessary, because it is painful like all truths. The most painful part of this analysis is that the US takes this position fully aware that it does not risk jeopardizing its interests with the Arab states, which exceed those interests with Israel. Therefore, the US manages, through its lopsided policies, to fully protect interests with the Arab and Israeli sides alike. US policy in the Middle East under former President George W. Bush had gone further: it absolved itself from any move to bring about a settlement in the region, content with giving Israel carte blanche to do whatever it wanted. If the international community protested against some of its brutal actions, the United States was always ready with its veto power in the UN to override any UN security council resolution attempting to condemn or bring Israel to account. This is the naked truth. "But who says that the Arabs want the truth? I asked my friend. "In the old days it was said that one day when truth walked naked down the street some turned away their faces while others hurled abuses at her, so she covered herself up, henceforth commanding respect from everyone. "You are living in a dream, my friend said, "which will soon turn into a nightmare. "The nightmare is the ugly truth you are speaking about and those impossible efforts you are demanding from us, such as uniting the Arabs in a strong and clear position, I replied. "Why should we do this as long as Obama will solve all our problems for us? He is responsible for us, the whole world, he is our O'Papa and O'Mama. Mohamed Salmawy is President of the Arab Writers' Union and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo.
