Seems like everyone is losing faith in Obama nowadays, and the Middle East is no different. While Israelis never seemed to like him much, the rest of the region is beginning to grow weary, starting with Palestinians.
The AP is reporting on a leaked memo from Fatah’s Office of Mobilization and Organization that says, "All hopes placed in the new U.S. administration and President Obama have evaporated," because the White House, "couldn’t withstand the pressure of the Zionist lobby." Although some think this might only be Abbas trying to rehab his nationalist bona fides, it would be hard to disagree with the gist of the memo. Jordan certainly doesn’t. Mark Lynch reports on how enthusiasm towards Obama is waning as the peace process stagnates:
When I was last in Jordan about six months ago, I found a great deal of optimism over the appointment of George Mitchell and the high profile Obama gave to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. But now those hopes seem to have largely evaporated. The launch of Israeli-Palestinian talks which they had expected by June continue to drift in limbo, while Obama’s failure to deliver on the settlement freeze has — just as so many predicted — eroded his credibility. How could the Americans have allowed Netanyahu to not only defy U.S. demands on settlements but to not even pay any significant price? Again and again, from all sectors of Jordanian political society, I heard the same refrain: Obama’s heart is in the right place and we want him to succeed, but he’s just not getting it done.
Wow, more evaporation. Ironically Obama could easily fix the situation by putting some bite behind his gentle bark. It seems he thought he could charm the Israelis into freezing settlements and restarting negotiations. Ain’t going to happen. The US holds incredible leverage over Israel which could push the process forward, but only if they decide to use it. The White House keeps saying that peace in Israel/Palestine is in US national interests. Are they ever going to show us they mean it?
