Since President Obama delivered his speech in Cairo on June 4th, numerous commentators and analysts have dissected the real effect and intent of his message on Arab and Muslim populations, remarks Col. Norvell B. DeAtkine for American Diplomacy.

As the Iraqi sociologist Ali Al-Wardi wrote, “Arabs love words over deeds, and the president’s use of symbols and analogies (a style used in the Qur’an) was enthusiastically received by the people in attendance.”

Above all, the appeal sprung from the fact that the message was intended for the people and not the elite. However, DeAtkine points out that in terms of advancing American interests, little has been achieved by President Obama’s speech since America’s image in the Arab world has barely ameliorated.

Egyptian journalist and politician Mohamed Hussein Haykal believed that the speech was only a "public diplomacy gambit” given the numerous expert speech writers involved. Haykal adds, “If it were a speech meant to change US policy the only input would be that of the president with others only supplying the necessary words.”

DeAtkine notes that one of the more prescient analyses of the Obama speech from a more reasoned Arab viewpoint was written by Azmi Bishara in the recent edition of the Al-Ahram Weekly. Bishara stated “The US president did not have to mount a public relations campaign… The problem is a lack of agreed Arab interests and the lack of a strategy for attaining them. Without these things, the Arabs have little hope of reaping the benefits of changes in the US.”

Morgan Roach, a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation, observes that the administration has also been moving at a glacial pace to formulate a strategy for American public diplomacy. “For example, the late nomination and subsequent Senate confirmation of Judith McHale, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs raises many questions over Obama’s dedication to public diplomacy,” comments Roach.

Roach adds that very little has been done as well beyond the “eloquent speeches” to establish a strategic policy and map out a clear foreign policy. He warns that until the US takes a more active stance, it will “continue to find itself disadvantaged by a credibility gap in the international community.”

However, Muqtedar Khan, the Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware, argues for Alt Muslims that President Obama will eventually deliver and that he significantly contributed to a decline of anti-Americanism. While intellectuals and politicians do recognize that Obama has ignited hope that US-Muslim relations will change, skepticism persists.

Noting that today the US administration is willing to assert its position in “the face of a public disagreement with the Israeli government,” when it comes to the settlements, Khan emphasizes that the change is palpable, especially in the new US “posture,” which displays a willingness to engage in diplomatic processes.

“These skeptics must realize that both language and posture in foreign policy cannot be altered without significant adjustments,” says Khan. He asserts that Obama has a different vision of America’s presence on the world stage and that actions will soon/eventually follow. President Obama’s cautiousness is only denoting that he may not want to lose what was gained by his eloquence and positive overtures towards the Muslim World.