Mideast faces disappointment in US election

BEST HOPE: Obama, pictured, is candidate most likely to change US foreign policy towards the Middle East, Hudson said. (Getty Images)

US foreign policy towards the Middle East is unlikely to change with the election of a new president later this year, a leading political analyst said on Saturday.

Speaking at a American Business Council (ABC) roundtable in Dubai, Michael Hudson, director of the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, said on both the war in Iraq and the Middle East peace process none of the candidates had showed any real desire to change the status-quo.

"It is hard to see much reason to expect any significant change in US policy towards the Middle East," Hudson said.

"On the Iraq War for example although both [Hillary] Clinton and [Barack] Obama have announced their plans to withdraw American troops at some point, neither the Republican nor the Democratic candidates have expressed a principled objection to the invasion of Iraq.

"On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict too, the candidates’ positions in favour of Israel have provided no reason to expect any dramatic change on the ground.”

The whole Middle East has one eye firmly fixed on the US presidential race, the result of which will have huge implications for the region.

Iran, the war in Iraq, the Middle East peace process and soaring oil prices are all key campaign issues that tie the future of the region to outcome of the November 4 president vote.

Clinton and Obama continue to battle it out for the Democratic nomination, while John McCain gained enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination on March 4.

Hudson said neither McCain nor Clinton would mark a serious departure from the Bush era. Obama represented the best hope for change in US-Middle East relations, he said.

"...I believe that Obama can be more rational and provide creative approaches to the Middle East. But first he will face stiff resistance from powerful interests groups that wish to see US policy continue its current course,” he said.

Obama is the clear favourite presidential candidate of observers in the Gulf, with more than half of respondents to an ArabianBusiness.com spot poll in February preferring the Illinois senator over the wife of former president Bill Clinton.

RELATED: Gulf backs Obama in race for White House

Just over 50% of those surveyed said Obama, 46, would be the best president for the Middle East, stating he was "something new, and offers a clean break from the past".

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READERS' COMMENTS

McCain for President
Posted by Said G, Beirut, Lebanon on Monday 7 April 2008 at 10:57 UAE time


The Middle East needs a President who is ready to support efforts to topple the terrorist regime of Bashar al-Assad and to support the efforts of the Lebanese people for an independent state. It’s bad enough having Gulf regimes that are afraid to take real action in the face of adversity... we don’t need someone like that in the Oval Office too!

Obama Objected to Iraq Invasion
Posted by Mohammed Askari Chandoo, New York, NY, U.S.A. on Sunday 6 April 2008 at 10:59 UAE time


Michael Hudson is quoted as saying, "neither the Republican nor the Democratic candidates have expressed a principled objection to the invasion of Iraq."

That is incorrect. Barack Obama objected to the Iraq invasion before it occurred and has always done so. He made it clear that the enemy of the U.S. was Al-Qaeda, and that invading Iraq would actually turn more of the Muslim world against the U.S. and would be counter-productive. In fact, that is one of the clear distinctions between not only him and McCain but also him and Clinton.

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