It is no secret that America is unpopular with the rest of the world. In addition to a long history of international interference (see: Vietnam War), after launching two costly and perhaps unsanctioned wars that harmed innocent civilians and led to innumerable human rights violations, the United States has tarnished its name, lending itself to global resentment. After the events of the past Tuesday, however, America may be poised to improve its reputation. "From the front lines of Iraq to...Paris," Alan Cowell writes in The New York Times, "the election of Barack Obama unlocked a floodgate of hope that a new American leader will redeem promises of change, rewrite the political script and, perhaps as important as anything else, provide a kind of leadership that will erase the bitterness of the Bush years."
It is also no secret that Barack Hussein Obama shares one of his names with the infamous dictator Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti. Though, amid the unfortunate anti-Muslim sentiment in America, the McCain-Palin campaign attempted to use this to their advantage by drawing tenuous links between Obama and terrorism - Palin, for instance, has accused him of "palling around with terrorists" - the identical name did not prevent the Democratic candidate from winning Tuesday. In fact, it may have held an advantage for Obama and for America; that is, it may help the Middle East view America in a new light.
As Moroccan Ahmed R. Benchemsi writes in Newsweek, America has garnered plenty of hate. "Under the George W. Bush presidency, an Arab-Islamic country was attacked for no valid reason," he said, adding: "American citizens didn't see many of the unbearable images of wailing mothers and angry mobs that have been broadcast every day for the past five years on Al-Jazeera and other pan-Arab channels. We did. How could we not be hypnotized by them? How could we not sympathize with them?" For this reason, the US needs a radical shift in leadership. It needs someone who will remove troops (as Obama promises to do) and ease tension, someone with whom the international community can relate and like. "It would be far tougher for the Islamists to point the finger at America if it were led by a man whose middle name is Hussein," Benchesmi concludes.
"Hussein" tells the world that the leadership is not just in the hands of "conservative WASP upper-class folks," as Benchesmi calls the tradition of American leaders. Now, the eyes of the entire world are on Obama, waiting for the changes he promises to bring.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Middle eastern countries are definitely happy with Obama's election. Syrians call President Obama "Abu Hussein," or father of Hussein, as is traditional in the Muslim world, and hope he will "be a savior for the Arabs." There is no doubt that Bush's policy not to communicate with Syrian leaders has been unproductive for both of our countries. Members of Obama's campaign have made it clear that the future president is going to reverse this policy once he enters into office.
This faith in our new president is not limited to Syria. Syria can influence groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, and help the US find solutions for our conflict with Iran over its nuclear weapons program.
It is also significant, as you mentioned at the end of the entry, for the world to see how the United States has overcome racial discrimination to the extent of electing an African American as our president. This portrays the image that our country will need if it is to decrease our unpopularity worldwide.
Post a Comment