I happen to come from the Muslim world, and I now know it by heart that America is not our enemy. Bush told us about that when the US invaded Iraq and turned it into a bloodbath. He announced not being Iraqis enemy in a televised speech in 2003. He had also told Afghans so when the US-led coalition invaded their country, where chaos and insecurity would prevail until today. Yet another reiteration was made by Barack Obama in his first televised interview as US president, which he gave to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel on Tuesday, January 27. I am grateful for the analysts who told us not to expect much from Obama. Otherwise, I would have been frustrated now as I see his statements and messages to the Muslim world. I failed to pinpoint a sign of change from Bush s rhetoric that I am already used to - other than the drawdown of [US] troops in Iraq - from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to terror and Al-Qaeda. Some - like the Muslim Brotherhood s Essam El-Arian in a Reuters interview - expressed happiness that Obama promised relations with the Arab world based on mutual respect. But at the end of the day, former president George W. Bush never expressed disrespect for the Muslim world. He, too, said he respected us. Even a few days after September 11, 2001, when America hadn t yet recovered from shock, Bush stated, we must be mindful that as we seek to win the war, that we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the respect they deserve . We should not hold one who is a Muslim responsible for an act of terror. A few weeks later, US aircraft started showering Afghanistan s people with bombs. Thousands of Afghan civilians have died so far as a result of the US-led military operations in Afghanistan. As for Iraq, Obama has promised us to drawdown US troops in the country and to let Iraqis start taking more responsibility. According to previous statements over the past 16 months, US troops will pull out completely. Six years ago, millions around the world, including myself, raised our voices against the then upcoming war on Iraq. I wrote, marched, and rallied to protest the invasion. Sadness and shock prevailed among us as the US troops stormed into Baghdad and invaded the country. But as Obama is getting the troops to withdraw, I find it hard to celebrate. As a result of the US war and invasion, thousands of Iraqi civilians have died. Destruction has been inflicted and rebuilding efforts haven t been successful enough. Yet, Obama is just walking away. Simple. Meanwhile, on Al Arabiya, he criticizes Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden for destroying and not building: There s no actions that they ve taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them, he said. In my inauguration speech, I spoke about: You will be judged on what you ve built, not what you ve destroyed. And what they ve been doing is destroying things. And over time, I think the Muslim world has recognized that that path is leading no place, except more death and destruction. It s no wonder Obama chose Al Arabiya to give his first televised interview as president, continuing to resonate Bush s alliance with Saudi Arabia. Yes, he chose an Arab satellite network that targets Arab audiences, signaling the Arab world s significance to his administration. But he didn t choose the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera, which is popular and widely watched among Arabs and is infamous among American circles, having constantly shown harsh criticism of the Bush administration. Obama made his first formal appearance on Al Jazeera s rival. Al Arabiya is Saudi-oriented, according to the International Herald Tribune s Robert F. Worth. The station is owned by the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, which is based in Saudi Arabia, and to some extent the Saudi rulers see it as a vehicle for their own designs. We obviously have no choice but to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, as Reuters Jonathan Wright put it. Sara Khorshid is an Egyptian journalist who has covered Middle East politics, culture, and society for the past seven years. Her articles are published in the Middle East Times, IslamOnline.net, Znet, and other media outlets. She is the managing editor of IslamOnline.net s Politics in Depth section. Email: [email protected]
