Reactions to Obama’s Middle East Speech

Elliott Abrams, writing for the National Review Online, criticized President Barack Obama’s speech on U.S. Middle East policy given on Thursday.  Abrams accused the President of trying to “take credit” for the Arab Spring despite his continuing to engage authoritarian rulers.  He stated that Obama’s words suggested that the President still thinks Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is capable of leading a democratic transition despite his regime killing hundreds of peaceful protesters:  ”For President Obama to suggest that Assad might lead a transition to democracy is a gruesome joke to play on the people struggling for freedom in the streets of Syria.”  Abrams also criticized Obama’s outline of Israeli-Palestinian talks as “illogical” for focusing on border issues and security while putting off the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.  He also called on Obama to clarify his stance on former President George W. Bush’s letter to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, stating that the solution to the Palestinian refugee problem would be within the borders of an independent Palestinian state, not Israel; a position endorsed by both houses of Congress.

Shadi Hamid, in an op-ed piece for CNN, said that the speech contained “no surprises” despite promises from the White House on a “sweeping speech.”  Hamid stated that Obama’s speech promised, “more of the same – a largely ad-hoc policy that reacts to events, rather than trying to shape them,” missing his opportunity to “reframe” the debate.

Peter Beinart, commented that the speech demonstrated that unlike Bush, Obama is a true “moral universalist.”  Obama, he said, has dispensed with the “us versus them” mentality and what he said was the Bush administration’s selective democracy agenda foisted upon regional foes, while allowing allies to slide on democracy commitments.  The President did in fact criticize Bahrain and Yemen and although not mentioning Saudi Arabia,  he did not offer the justification of the “specter” of Iranian influence for Saudi Arabia’s behavior either.  Distancing himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Beinart claims that Obama has put himself on the side of Palestinian democracy as well.