Barack Obama presented important signals of change during his inauguration in the White House, also on a discursive and symbolic level, starting with his own person, who embodies the change.
He was quite coherent with the promises made during his electoral campaign, which included, the shutdown of the maximum security prison in Guantanamo, a fast reaction to the global economic crisis and, above all, he successful recover of the image of the United States worldwide inaugurating also an incredible return to the multilateralism.
His first visit to Europe and the speech at the University of Cairo [1]on the 4th of June 2009, were the crucial stages in marking a new diplomatic orientation towards the European, Russian and Arabic partners. Also the Nobel Peace Prize [2]received nearly one year after his election , proves the strong engagement of Obama on the diplomatic front.
The USA president maintains that diplomacy must attempt to transform a blind alley into an object of negotiation. And this is why Obama was innovative; he was able to make use of a different diplomacy, based on a multicultural thought whose distinctive mark is the opening to other models, the acceptance of the differences, the will to relate directly with the others, and not a mono-cultural diplomacy that wants to convert the others, to change his identity creating xenophobic processes.
Obama’s diplomacy, thus, if we consider his multicultural past, is merely the result of his cultural background, made of ethnic melting, multiethnic schools and universities. He proposes to the Americans the beginning of a new deal in the American history, starting with the election of an Afro-American president; he engaged himself, besides, to pursue three fundamental principles so that all the States will be protagonists of the 21th century: respect, trust, will of intefration.
This conditions of change, created thanks to the new president Obama diplomacy, are inevitably found in his speeches: in Prague he asserts that only through the disarmament there could be a peace process, in Moscow he parties the Russians in the international partnership for democracy and human rights, in Africa he invites the states of the continent to come forward, to participate to the global events, and in Cairo he declares that Islam is not an enemy of America.
This is Obama’s intention; to create a modern diplomacy able to cooperate with the other countries achieving an international consent to face the global challenges every time it would be possible.
[1] Cairo University (Arabic: جامعة القاهرة, previously Egyptian University and later Fuad University) is an institute of higher education located in Giza, Egypt. Cairo University includes a School of Law and a School of Medicine. The Medical School, also known as Kasr Alaini (القصر العيني, Qasr-el-'Ayni), was one of the first medical schools in Africa and the Middle East. Its first building was donated by Alaini Pasha. It has since undergone extensive expansion. The first president of Cairo University, then known as the Egyptian University, was Professor Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed.
[2] The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts
On June 4th 2009, president Obama, during his very awaited speech at the University of Cairo, clearly said that all nations of the world can live in peace amongst them, and he affirmed that by quoting passages from Koran, Talmud and the Bible. And reaffirmed it more than once during his speech lasted for more than an hour obtaining many applauses and some booing, but he did put the basis for what he himself called “a new beginning” in the relationship between Western and Islam world.
Determined to change the tendency and to sooth the tensions accumulated during the eight years of Bush’s administration, Obama spoke about main issues that afflict East and West; he underlined the need to overcome the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to fight the violent extremism in all of its forms; he spoke then of a critical question for the global safety, the nuclear disarmament. He faced themes as democracy and religious freedom, and finally, but not less important, the women’s rights.
He also confirmed that United States have no intention of colonizing Afghanistan and Iraq with their military bases, rather, within 2012 the withdrawal from Iraq will be completed so to make an end to an involvement that Obama himself consider negative but that became necessary 9/11[1] was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable. But in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals”.
With this speech Obama proposes a politic of cooperation, addressed to the development of the two worlds, and not any longer to a politic of collision.
[1] The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.[2][3] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks.
Islam’s historic merits
One first important switch regards the recognition and the historic deserts of Islam in contributing to the humankind progress.
Obama refers then to the seven million American Muslims that gave a great contribution to USA fighting their wars, contributing to the development of key sectors as University and trade.
The second USA president John Adams wrote that the United States did not have a priori any reason for hard feelings toward Muslims laws, religion and order.
President Obama recalls then his personal history as an example of cohabitation amongst diverse people, asserting that it is really thanks to his life experience that he still is more convinced that a partnership between America and Islam could be possible. On the other hand, however, also the Islamic world must have a similar perception of America.
Freedom of religion
Furthermore, USA president also debated on the freedom of practicing one’s own religion, underlining the fact that in every American state there is at least one mosque and that totally there are counted approximately 1200 inside the American borders. Besides, the American government addressed to the tribunals to safeguard the young and adult women’s right to wear the hijab[1] and punish whoever wants to forbid it.
Violent extremism
A key point faced by Obama during his speech in Cairo, was the one of fighting every kind of violent extremism, that is to say all the Islamic extremist groups[2] that kill innocent men, women and children. He said that this is what people from every religion disapprove.
The president restated the fact that America is not at war with Islam but with all kinds of extremists organizations that threaten the individual safety. On September 11th 2001 Al Qaeda killed 3 thousand people; victims were innocent men, women and children, from America but also from other countries that didn’t do anything wrong, but Al Qaeda decided to commit that massacre anyway.
Actually nobody should tolerate this extremists, they hit and killed in many areas of the world, assassinated people of every religious faith, and, more than everyone else, exterminated Muslims.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Obama also spoke of another important question, that of the problematic situation between Israel and Arabic world.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict originates from the fact that the two groups, the Arabic-Palestinian and the Jewish-Israeli, both reclaim national rights over the same area.
Wars begin in 1948 when the Jewish state arise. Palestinians reject the division plan of the United Nations, and a coalition of Arabic states, among which are Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, attack Israel, that succeed in defending itself and forcing back the opponents.
The areas that, according to the UN pertain to Palestine are the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza strip. In regards to this, president Obama affirms that America will never turn its back to the legitimate aspirations of a nation to dignity, equal opportunities and its own State.
Everything has been still for years and to make the war there are two nations with legitimate aspirations. Obama, besides, said that until this conflict will be considered to one side rather than to the other, we will remain blind without chances to see the truth: the only possible solution for the aspirations of both the parties is the one of the two states, where Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and safety. This solution, says Obama, is in behalf of Israel, of Palestine, of America and of the whole world.
On September 2nd 2010, after twenty months of stall, the peace negotiations between United States, Palestine and Israel restarted. The Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and the president of PNA (Palestinian National Authority) Abu Mazen met face to face in Washington before Barack Obama to start direct conversations between Israelis and Palestinians.
At the meeting also participated the king of Jordan Abdallah and the Egyptian president Mubarak. The aim is to conclude the peace negotiations within one year.
Nuclear weapons in Iran
Another reason of tension not only for the United States, but also for the entire world, is the problem of nuclear weapons. The problem primarily regards Iran, that at all times distinguished itself for its hostility against America. Obama affirmed that it will be difficult to overcome years of mistrust between the two countries, but with honesty and determination an arms race in the Middle East could be avoided, arms race that, otherwise, could bring the entire world through a dangerous slope. All the nations, Obama goes on, should be provided with nuclear energy for pacific purposes, respecting the Non Proliferation Treaty[3].
[1] The word "hijab" or "ḥijāb" (Arabic: حجاب, (he-zjab) refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general.
[2] Islamic terrorism is terrorism committed by Muslims aimed at achieving varying religious or political ends in support of their co-religionists who they believe are oppressed or who threaten their chosen religion or way of life. There are also historical dimensions to the phenomenon, and the history of Western influence and control after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, is a commonly stated reason used within some terrorist groups to justify and explain its use of violence as resistive and retributive against western influences.
[3] The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT) is a treaty to limit the spread (proliferation) of nuclear weapons. The treaty came into force on 5 March 1970, and currently there are 189 states party to the treaty, five of which are recognized as nuclear weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council).Four non-parties to the treaty are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel has had a policy of opacity regarding its own nuclear weapons program. North Korea acceded to the treaty, violated it, and in 2003 withdrew from it.
