Layalina Productions, Inc. | The Layalina Review: "Obama's Speech in Cairo Reflects a New Direction of US Foreign Policy"

The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 13, June 05-June 18, 2009

Obama’s Speech in Cairo Reflects a New Direction of US Foreign Policy

On June 4, 2009, President Obama gave a groundbreaking speech in which he laid out his vision for a new relationship between the US and the Muslim world. Al-Jazeera has referred to Obama’s address in Egypt as a “landmark speech.” In addition, CBS News writes that the speech “was exceptionally moving and delivered the right message.”

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs asserts that the speech is yet another step in the Obama Administration's continuous effort to reach out to Muslims who have been alienated by US policies during the last decade. The White House utilized all of its technological and communications influence to ensure that as many people as possible saw Obama's almost one-hour address.

The White House has employed various new media tools to help disseminate Obama’s important message. According to the Associated Press, the tech-savvy White House sought to reinforce Obama's message in every way possible, including distributing a transcript in 13 different languages and using Twitter and Facebook.

More than 20,000 people outside the US received free text messages about President Obama's speech to Muslims in Cairo. The text messages, which were part of the State Department's Free Message Program, helped spread Obama's words of engagement to countries with predominantly Muslim populations.

The messages were available in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and English. However, the text-messaging service was not available in the United States because of the SmithMundt Act.

USA Today reports that Press Secretary Gibbs claims that the effort to disseminate Obama’s speech in Cairo is the administration’s “broadest outreach to date.” Gibbs, explains that the White House additionally set up an event page online at www.whitehouse.gov, where people were able to watch live video and chat at the same time.

The American Free Press declares that President Obama stole the spotlight on television stations across the Middle East. At least 34 Arabic language channels broadcast the keynote address, including channels run by US foes, such as Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The address is part of an extensive effort by Obama to redirect US foreign policy which, under George Bush, alienated allies and fuelled anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world. Marwan Bishara, Al-Jazeera's senior political analyst, supports that Obama’s message did help undo "the harm done by the Bush administration".

The speech further reflects current aims of Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East, such as his attempt to build a coalition of moderate Muslim governments to help renew stalled Middle East peace talks. Obama additionally seeks help from Middle Eastern governments in curbing Iran's nuclear program.

According to the Washington Times, White House deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, Denis McDonough claims that the Cairo speech built on the President’s call for a “new comprehensive strategy” aimed at destroying terrorists’ base of support. The strategy is focused on countering terrorist "lies" about the US, McDonough says, and to "tell the real story about the country [and] our interests.”

However, some specialists of international public diplomacy argue that Obama missed an opportunity to directly critique the roots of Muslim extremism and to counter its ideology of hate. James Glassman, who left the government in January as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, claims the speech fell short by failing to offer a new strategic direction.

Mr. Glassman argues that the President should have focused on defeating the small group of violent reactionaries that is trying to force Muslims to adopt a broad, totalitarian doctrine that is not in line with the tenets of Islam.

Additionally, the speech demonstrates a break from traditional US-Israeli relations since it suggests that the US will take a more fair and balanced approach to the conflict.

Journalist Sabria Jawhar, from the Huffington Post, explains that for the first time she is “beginning to sense that Israel will be held accountable for its actions and its failure to embrace the two-state solution,” because “unlike previous presidents, Obama spoke of ‘Palestine’… of Israel's ‘daily humiliations’ on Palestinians and Israel's ‘occupation,’” noting that “these words can't be dismissed as rhetoric.”

Additionally, Ray Hanania, also from the Huffington Post, points out that “this is the first time an American President visiting the Middle East did not make a stop in Israel, and, did not provide a copy of his major policy address ahead of time to the Israelis.” While Arabs may appreciate these signs of increased even-handedness, Obama’s message left many Israelis uneasy.

Although it is too soon to determine the overall impact of President Obama’s speech, the speech is certainly a promising first step in improving US relations with the Muslim and Arab worlds. Yet, as Gibbs acknowledges, "all our problems and all of our outreach efforts are not going to either be solved or culminated in one speech."

Helene Cooper of The New York Times, further explains that “while Mr. Obama’s strong words may resonate today, on the Arab street and in the madrassas and the tea shops and dining tables where the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims congregate, the future actions of Mr. Obama will be far more important.”

President Obama must now prove that his message to Muslims is more than just words by changing US foreign policy.

Back to articles