More Of The Same
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 6:24 am by Susie
You know, if I thought his Middle East policies would be different, I could be a lot more enthusiastic about Obama:
AMMAN, Jordan — For what feels like forever, Israelis and their Arab neighbors have been hopelessly deadlocked on how to resolve the Palestinian crisis. But there is one point they may now agree on: If elected president, Senator Barack Obama will not fundamentally recalibrate America’s relationship with Israel, or the Arab world.
“What’s going to be different?” says Jasser Shehadi, who sells shoes in Amman.
From the religious center of Jerusalem to the rolling hills of Amman to the crowded streets of Cairo, dozens of interviews revealed a similar sentiment: the United States will ultimately support Israel over the Palestinians, no matter who the president is. That presumption promoted a degree of relief in Israel and resignation here in Jordan and in Israel’s other Arab neighbors.
“What we know is American presidents all support Israel,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, 23, a university student who works part time selling watermelons on the street in the southern part of this city. “It is hopeless. This one is like the other one. They are all the same. Nothing will change. Don’t expect change.”
actually, i think they will be a little different. but just a little. an obama administration will probably engage in the mideast peace process a lot more than the bush administration. (but that’s not hard, considering how W was more disengaged that any president since the process began). i expect the obama administration will look a bit like the clinton administration, favoring israel, but not completely ignoring the palestinians as the current president has done.