"It's conceivable," said then-presidential
candidate Barack Obama in 2008, "that there are those in the
Arab world who say to themselves, 'This is a guy who spent some time
in the Muslim world, has a middle name of Hussein, and appears more
worldly and has called for talks with people, and so he's not going
to be engaging in the same sort of cowboy diplomacy as George
Bush.'"
A 2008 Zogby International poll surveyed those in the
"friendly" Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Eighty-three
percent viewed the United States "somewhat" or
"very" unfavorably.
Enter President Barack Hussein Obama, a man with a
keen and learned understanding of the Arab world -- a man who
promised to restore our image through outreach based on mutual
respect and understanding. Bush, Obama believed, governed with a
swagger and aggressiveness that alienated friends and hardened the
hearts of enemies. To forge a "new beginning" and find
"common ground," Obama apologized for America's
"mistakes."
Candidate Obama said Bush offended would-be allies in
the "good war," Afghanistan, by diverting resources to the
"stupid" war, Iraq. After winding down the war in Iraq,
Obama expected that allies committed to Afghanistan would stay and
that new ones would join. He would close down the American
"gulag," Guantanamo, and reverse the offensive, civil
rights-subverting policies of the Bush administration. He would
fight not a "war on terror," but an "overseas
contingency operation."
Ronald Reagan became president at 69 years of age,
having lived long enough to shed naive notions of hope and change.
Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" -- and
acted accordingly. He increased military spending, launched the
Strategic Defense Initiative and, along with like-minded leaders
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II,
helped consign the totalitarian regime to, as Reagan put it, the
"ash heap of history."
Jimmy Carter urged Americans to ditch our
"inordinate fear of communism." President Carter kissed
Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev on the cheek to show his desire, as
the Obama administration would put it, to "reset" the
relationship. Brezhnev returned the kindness by invading
Afghanistan, igniting a chain of events that essentially led to
9/11.
Obama's first presidential meeting with a foreign
leader was not with that of Great Britain -- one of our two closest
allies, whose prime minister stood down opposition within his own
party to join the effort in Iraq. Obama met with Palestinian
National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Fatah
party, to stress the importance of restarting the
Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" -- which Obama
considered essential to moderate Arab and Muslim views.
Obama chastised Israel, the other of our two closest
allies, for building "settlements" in east Jerusalem --
even though, pre-Obama, the Palestinian leadership had already
accepted construction in that area as part of any future deal. Obama
gave his first presidential sit-down interview to Al-Arabiya
television network, where he asked "countries like Iran ... to
unclench their fist." He hoped to deter Iran from obtaining a
nuclear bomb, something candidate Obama called a "game
changer" and "unacceptable."
But those daily morning threat assessment briefings
can change a president.
The Obama administration, to prevent public exposure
of intelligence-gathering sources and methods, used the same
"state secrets" defense in court as did the Bush
administration. Obama continues the policy of rendition, the
much-maligned practice of transferring a terrorist prisoner of war
from one foreign country to another country that utilizes far
harsher interrogation techniques. Guantanamo remains open because
the prison contains some vicious terrorists that no country wants.
The terror surveillance phone-monitoring program remains, as does
the Patriot Act. Obama stepped up the use of drone attacks in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even Obama's declaration to halt
waterboarding contains wiggle room.
To the shock of Bush-haters, the Obama Justice
Department -- while disagreeing with the conclusions of the Bush
lawyers who drafted the so-called "torture memo," which
provided a legal basis for waterboarding -- cleared the lawyers of
wrongdoing.
Obama negotiated "tough" sanctions against
Iran, although Russia, China, India and Turkey continue to trade
with that country or have announced plans to do so. Iran remains
committed to its nuclear program, continues to threaten Israel, and
claims to have dug mass graves in which to deposit bodies of
American soldiers should the U.S. use military force to stop its
nuclear program.
Despite Obama's request, NATO allies refuse to commit
more combat troops to Afghanistan and some countries announced an
end to their involvement. Iraq appears to be winding down along the
terms negotiated by the Bush administration, but allies are no more
eager to help out in Afghanistan.
Now 20 months into the Obama presidency, the question
is this: After Obama's "detente" -- and after alienating
our two closest allies -- how does the Arab and Muslim world now
view America? What percentage in the same six Arab nations --
compared with Bush's last year in office -- now views the United
States "very unfavorably" or "somewhat
unfavorably"?
The answer: 85 percent -- 2 points higher than Bush.