Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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A recent white paper from the Chinese government explains that China is committed to climate change mitigation and adaptation, through both national and international efforts. As a country that is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, China has set ambitious goals for both adaptation and mitigation, and in recent years it has taken important steps toward these goals.
The Democrats’ landslide victory over their Republican opponents in house and senate races and Obama’s seizure of the White House represent a harsh indictment of Bush’s presidency, one that has seen the highest disapproval ratings (71 percent) recorded by Gallup. Will the Democrats’ victory in 2008 mark an ideological transformation similar to the one initiated by Reagan’s election in 1980?
Many issues will force themselves onto the new administration’s Middle East agenda. This commentary will only focus on security in the Arabian Gulf in view of Iran’s nuclear program and Obama’s exit strategy from Iraq. For 30 years the Gulf region has been volatile for two reasons: the imbalance of military power, which is the result of strictly political factors, and the U.S. military presence.
Amid the overwhelming popular enthusiasm and unprecedented media coverage in the Arab world that accompanied the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, the Carnegie Middle East Center provided an open forum for distinguished Arab observers to share their thoughts on future American policies in the Middle East.
If the Obama administration wants to serve U.S. interests in the region and transform its image from that of an ally of dictators to that of a friend of the masses, then it has to avoid mimicking previous administrations and dispel one of the most common myths surrounding the Arab and Muslim conflict: that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is too complicated and impossible to resolve.
What President-elect Obama has to know is that he won overwhelming support not only in the United States but also in the Arab world, where people embraced him with equal enthusiasm. What does President Obama need to do in order not to disappoint Arabs? The answers focused on three issues: Palestine, Iraq, and political reform.
The U.S. election was not merely a local affair as the world awaited its outcome with great intensity. The current U.S. election opened our eyes to the merits of American democracy in particular and those of Western democracy in general.
The most important issue to test how differently Obama will approach foreign policy is Iran and its nuclear program, both of which top U.S. and Middle East priorities. Obama’s willingness to hold direct talks with the Iranians is one reason for the positive perception of him among Arabs.
U.S. policy toward moderate Islamist movements has been inconsistent. The hope for a tangible change often clashes with a complex legacy. This in turn gives the impression that all options have been exhausted, and thus strengthens the choice of avoiding dealing with the Islamist movements. However, U.S. progress in the Middle East hinges on abandoning this uncertainty.
What inspired the political enthusiasm for Obama, especially among the youth? In order to understand Obama’s rise to power, we have to view it in two contexts. The first?the disastrous policies of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. The second context is the resurrection of the centrist liberal trend in the Democratic Party.