Obama Criticizes al-Qaida, Encourages Fresh Start with Muslim World

Everyone expected stark contrasts between the foreign policies of President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush - but few expected that the dramatic differences would be playing out this quickly. President Obama gave his first official television interview as president to an Arab television station, and during the interview he addressed the Muslim world directly and suggested that there is hope for improved relations under his administration. Even some Palestinian leaders were quick to point out that Obama is saying all the right things at this point - but they also cautioned that his actions would ultimately determine whether he would earn the trust of Muslims.

And in a more subtle break from the policies of the Bush administration, Obama refrained from declaring al-Qaida "evil" or pointing out their destructive intentions. Rather, Obama took a more pragmatic approach in pointing out that no Muslim children are receiving better educations or better health care because of the actions of al-Qaida. This message goes immediately to the core of the problem in the Middle East and in developing nations around the world. Give them economic prosperity and opportunity - and cooperation will immediately follow. Idealist and religious rhetoric are simply the tools of those attempting to mobilize people to fight their perceived oppressors.

Obama has deployed George Mitchell as his special envoy to address the crisis in the Middle East. He has instructed Mitchell to meet directly with all of the major players and to simply listen to their positions. After such time, the U.S. will formulate its position and articulate it to the world.