For Arabs, Year of Obama One of Disappointment: Dar al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia

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In the spirit of the season, it’s time for media outlets large and small to begin their reckonings of 2009. This article by columnist Elias Harfoush of Saudi Arabia’s Dar al-Hayat looks at the first year of President Obama’s Administration and to say the least – finds it wanting. Apparently he writes, Arabs are now suffering from a tremendous let down.

For Dar al-Hayat, Elias Harfoush writes in part:

Is the reason for our disappointment the fact that we put more hope than we should have in Obama’s election? Was it the “surprise” of Obama’s election as the first Black U.S. president that drove us to think we had a gateway to every solution? Or was it that we thought America’s revolution against itself would drive it to revolt against its previous policies; that it would give up its support of Israel to please us; that it would declare Israel’s defeat at the hands of the forces of “defiance” within our ranks [the ranks of Arabs], who for a while considered Obama’s victory to be their own – and a defeat America’s imperialist plans?

But Harfoush doesn’t put all the blame on President Obama:

The year’s disappointments don’t only relate to Obama. One must also recognize the disappointment felt by our region’s people over the failure to find solutions to the problems and crises they confront. Whether it’s the explosive domestic struggle in Iran, the seemingly impossible-to-resolve rift that exists within the ranks of the Palestinians, or the continuing series of bombings and death in Iraq – despite the withdrawn of U.S. forces from cities and announcement of their date of withdrawal – we can say that we live in a region, in a way unparalleled in the world, that lacks even a shred of hope. These aren’t crises that need a new president in the White House or a redrawing of the maps by international forces to resolve. They are crises that require the tiniest sliver of national pride that would strengthen us in the face of foreign greed and interests.

By Elias Harfoush

December 20, 2009

Saudi Arabia – Dar al-Hayat – Original Article (English)

The world, and our region of it, was expecting a lot around this time at the end of last year. We had been promised a new president in the White House, by all measures a historic leader in terms of skin color, the intelligence of his speech and his sincere manner of expression.

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