Atlantic Community:Global Must Read Article "Obama is the Middle East's Candidate of Choice"

Thomas Friedman, New York Times | June 12, 2008

Perhaps by electing Obama as president, pro-American reformers in the Middle East will no longer feel so alienated. ++ According to expat experiences in Egypt, locals are hoping for an Obama victory because of his ethnicity and Muslim background. ++ Such a groundbreaking turnaround, only seven years after 9/11, would be unthinkable in those Mideastern countries whose futures are buried in the past. ++ By electing Obama, America will be sending a clear message to the world that it is a land of radical new beginnings.

I like this Article! What's this?

Comments

Sat, Jun 14th 2008, 00:22

Carel Kauffmann

I like this comment! What's this?

By electing Obama as president of the United States doesn't mean that world is going to change. We have to lower our expectations to prevent disappointments. Didn't Obama recently said that Jerusalem should be the undivided capital city? Didn't he said that he would only talk to Iran if it was in USA interests? He really sounds like McCain on a lot of issues, except with regard to Iraq. Obama will withdraw the troops from Iraq, but in Afghanistan he will demand more help from Europe, since this is a global battlefield, where all kinds of countries are involved!

Further, if Obama is elected president of the United States, he would be a very different president then the last one. But that doesn't mean that, that is good in all aspects. With regard to the American policy towards Europe, Obama will not bring heaven on earth or a whole new approach. Rather, he would take protectionists measures, since his message is pretty anti-globalistic and anti-free trade. With McCain we know he is a fervent supporter of free trade, and I think it is in better interest for Europe (and for America) to choose before such a direction.