Daily Lesson from Life 05 June 2009

"Obama speech widely hailed but foes still scepticalPosted: 05 June 2009 1520 hrs

PARIS: International leaders hailed President Barack Obama's speech on ties with the Muslim world as opening a "new page" but arch foes called for Washington to deliver action rather than words.

Washington's closest allies in the Middle East greeted Obama's speech in Cairo with hope while its most bitter rivals expressed scepticism at his call for a "new beginning" to end a cycle of "suspicion and discord".

The US leader laid out a new US blueprint for the Middle East, including a new Palestinian state and efforts to defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran. UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed hope that the speech would have a "positive impact" on the moribund Middle East peace process and "herald the opening of a new chapter in relations between the United States and the Islamic world." EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana hailed it as a "remarkable speech" that "without any doubt is going to open a new page in the relation with the Arab-Muslim world and I hope in the problems we have in so many theatres in the region."

Israel, the top US ally in the region, said it hoped Obama's "important speech" would spark a "new kind of reconciliation" between Arabs and Israelis, but warned that its security was key in any peace drive. The Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers cautiously welcomed Obama's speech, in which he also urged the militant group to recognise Israel's right to exist, but it called for his words to be followed by action. "This address must be judged not on its form, but by the policies that Obama will apply on the ground to respect the freedom of people and their democratic choices and the right of the Palestinian people to its land," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not mention Obama's address, but in his own speech said the United States was detested across the Middle East. "The new US government seeks to transform this image. I say firmly, that this will not be achieved by talking, speech and slogans," Obama said the showdown with Iran over its nuclear programme had reached a decisive point but that Tehran had the right to peaceful nuclear power if it abided by international treaties. Iraq welcomed the "positive direction" showcased in Obama's speech, saying it would help fight extremist ideology in the Middle East. But Iraq's radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said he would trust Obama "only after their (US) withdrawal from our beloved Iraq and Muslim Afghanistan and their withdrawal of support for the Israeli enemy, and I hope for this from him." Obama's speech was greeted with optimism in other parts of the Islamic world. "The relationship between the West and Islam - the years of tension and confrontation should come to an end now," Arab League chief Amr Moussa told the BBC."

A historical President and a historical speech on the relationship between US and the Muslim world. An appropriate place to make that speech too - Cairo, Egypt!

Lessons for me are:

1. untying a few decades of hatred built from wars and the accompanying loss of lives and properties is never going to be easy. Using the same approach to the same situation and expecting a different result is foolhardy and futile. President Obama recognized this and is trying a new approach;

2. his speech has a balanced edge to it. Slamming some of the policies by the Israel government as well as many of the Muslim countries' leaders' policies and actions. All parties involved must consciously allowed the new initiative to take root and take flight. The detractors asked for actions to go with the rhetoric is a fair one. Actions speak louder than words. The words have been spoken, let the actions begin!;

3. the supporters of the speech in position of responsibilities and authorities must not leave any stones under in facilitating this new initiative to gain momentum. Give the new initiative the benefits of doubt and support any actions that reinforce and demonstrate people are serious about ending this long ancient conflict that spilled from politic to economic fronts.

I applaud President Obama for his new initiative. I hope that peace, stability, and prosperity will come to the Middle Easter soon!