All Barack Obama had to do to make history in America was to become the first black President in a country run mostly by whites who kept blacks down for centuries. But making history in the world will be a rougher ride.

Experts need more time to fully study whether his victory means Americans have durably turned away from racism or it was mostly a wave of panic by voters stunned by the massive current crises of political, war and financial governance.

Did they turn to him as a drowning person clutches at a straw in reaction to the mess made by white-dominated politicians, bankers and financiers?

Whatever the reasons, Obama can make this historic incident durable by being a great President as most Americans hope. They hope he can restore the mythical principles of fairness, competence and financial acumen, which were synonymous with their country but were shattered over the past seven years and particularly after the summer of 2008.

Whether he earns a place in world history is much more complex because America’s enemies predate George Bush’s shortsighted incompetence. Most hate America because of the cumulative impacts of successive US governments.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban were implacable US enemies long before the invasion of Afghanistan after September 9, 2001. The invasion happened because the Taliban gave prolonged shelter to Al Qaeda operatives who conducted numerous brutally violent attacks against the US outside and inside starting years earlier. 9/11 was the culmination so far.

Successive US governments had a hand in spawning the Taliban and its precursors to conduct a proxy war against the former Soviet Union. They helped create Al Qaeda by using Osama bin Laden as the CIA’s chief front-line fighter against Soviet control of Afghanistan.

In the Middle East, the mess in Iraq and Israel’s muscular wars against Palestinians including Gaza have destroyed any pockets of trust favourable to Washington in the Arab and wider Muslim world. The distrust began soon after Israel’s creation in 1948. The Egyptian, Saudi Arabian and Jordanian regimes are fair weather friends sitting on domestic volcanoes that might topple them suddenly.

Iran has a fierce hatred of Washington since the early 1950s when the CIA installed the late Shah of Iran and helped his awful secret police to terrorize opponents. Many people welcomed Ayatollah Khomeini as a liberator and see militant Shiite Islam as a shield against the US.

In Africa, fear and hatred of the US in Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia go back at least three decades because successive American governments have meddled in the internal affairs of these strategic Horn of Africa countries to counter leftist or Islamist influence. Congo, Mozambique and Angola mistrust Washington because of its meddling in proxy wars over their minerals and resources especially during the Cold War.

In the wider world, Russia and China also do not trust Washington. Their fear and suspicion began many decades ago and worsened after the Cold War’s end well before George Bush’s appearance.

In Europe, the new Eastern and Central countries are US friends but expect Americans to willingly die to defend them. Western European countries, including France, are slightly more sincere friends but want to push back Washington’s tutelage. Unlike during the Cold War, they refuse to see the world through the White House lens.

Among America’s neighbours, almost no government trusts Washington. Some in Latin America are openly hostile because of America’s long history of hegemony and covert perfidy. Even Mexico and Canada, on America’s doorstep, are wary of Washington and have been for several decades.

Indians are probably the only ones with an open mind towards Washington because Delhi’s experiences with Bill Clinton and Bush were positive after over 30 years of estrangement.

But the current government may be replaced in the May 2009 elections by coalitions containing larger segments of left parties that viscerally distrust Washington. India’s people will also become less enamoured of the US if the current economic recession becomes more painful.

Being a black President has little or no significance for people outside the US. Obama will have to perform policy miracles to win their trust to implement his foreign agenda.