Change we can what? pt. 2

Obama's first television interview as president was hosted by Al-Jazeera's Saudi rival, Al-Aribiya. From The Arabist:

...Arabiya is problematic - this is the channel dubbed Hibriya (The Hebrew One) because of its coverage of the Gaza crisis and that generally defends the views of Riyadh, Cairo and other problematic US allies. This confirms that Obama will not, like Bush since 2006, go against Egypt and Saudi on domestic issues and there won’t be a rethink of the US relationship with these. But if you thought that would happen, you’re stupid.

Marc Lynch provides a good context (and the aftermath), and the Angry Arab is, well, angry:

First, if the Bushama really wants to be different from Bush he would have selected AlJazeera and not al-Arabiyya. I mean, CNN does not know that Bush spoke to Arabic TV stations regularly, and Rice was a fixture on Al-Arabiyya TV. And they selected Al-Arabiyya because it is "friendly" to US interests and because on Al-Arabiyya TV US officials get softball questions. If Obama wanted to be different he would have chosen Al-Jazeera because it is the Arabs' favorite channel. Al-Arabiyya is the US government's favorite channel, and the US under Obama does not seem to want to respect the choices and preference of the Arab population.

And Mouin Rabbani and Chris Toensing in MERIP on "The Continuity of Obama's Change" hit it in half a sentence: "US diplomacy is hamstrung by being more pro-Israel than Israel itself."


Edit 31.01.09 -- Wajahat Ali in the Guardian writes:

In his historic interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel, President Obama's inclusive and respectful rhetoric towards Muslims attempted an elegant coup de grace to the divisive, insecure and arrogant bravado of the Bush administration. For many Muslims worldwide, however, the sincerity of such honey-coated words will only be legitimized by a responsible and balanced foreign policy that is no longer rooted in selfishness and historical amnesia.