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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 12, May 22-June 04, 2009

US Image Still Negative in the Arab World

As the Obama administration is starting to outline its policies in foreign affairs, the world is poised for changes in US policy regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economy, Mahboob A. Khawaja writes in an article at Media Monitors. She argues that financial bankruptcy and dependence on other nations like China, Japan and Saudi Arabia, for both domestic funding and the war, illustrate the end of America’s “superpower” status.

Khawaja explains that the neo-conservative Bush administration behaved in a mindset reflecting that America “owns the world,” and came across as an over militarized foreign policy in the Middle East to maintain world dominance and oil control.

Khawaja concludes that this demonstrates America continued to lose money, power, and global opinion in the wars, while the extremists remain fighting. They have no bank accounts that are going bankrupt, while smaller developing countries rise.

Kevin McCauley posts on O’Dwyer’s Blog that the propaganda used to support and maintain the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Bush administration was a “colossal waste of money, effort.” A recent poll of 4,000 Arabs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Jordan by Zogby International illustrates that most people say the driving factor’s of America’s presence are “protecting Israel” and “controlling oil,” versus the propaganda message of “spreading human rights” and “fighting terrorism”.

Polls do indicate that many are hopeful of the new administration, particularly in Saudi Arabia, and support President Obama’s 2011 plan to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Scott MacLeod writes in Time Magazine’s Middle East blog that Obama’s reach out to the Arab world and his Muslim background improve his image, though countries like Jordan and Egypt have not been fully convinced. Polls further show that Obama did not make the top 12 world leaders Arabs “most admired,” outside of their own countries, whereas President Chavez of Venezuela got 36 percent.

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