Mideast hails Obama win amid mixed expectations of change
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Middle Eastern countries on Wednesday hailed Barack Obama's election as US president after the turbulent years of the Bush administration but Iraq said it does not expect any overnight change in policy.
The challenges facing Obama when he turns to the Middle East peace process were underlined by overnight bloodshed in Gaza, where six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes and dozens of rockets fired on the Jewish state.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Obama's win on Tuesday was "an evident sign" of the American people's demand for "basic changes in US foreign and domestic policy" after the two terms of President George W. Bush.
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations for nearly three decades since students took American diplomats hostage following the 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed shah.
Despite Arab calls for a perceived more even-handed approach to the Middle East, Israel's outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was certain US-Israeli ties would strengthen under Obama's presidency.
"Israeli-US relations are a special relationship based on values and common interest, with tight cooperation. Israel and the United States both desire to maintain and strengthen these relations," said Olmert.
In a message of congratulations, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Obama to accelerate efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
Abbas "hopes he will speed up efforts to achieve peace, particularly since a resolution of the Palestinian problem and the Israeli-Arab conflict is key to world peace," his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said.
Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key US ally in the troubled Middle East, sent Obama a cable congratulating him and said he looked forward to cooperation with Washington to "resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in line with a two-state solution."
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, whose country is also a staunch US ally, said in a message that he too hoped Obama would work toward a just peace settlement in the Middle East.
Saudi King Abdullah also sent Obama a congratulatory message, hailing the "historic and close" ties between the two countries.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa said he hoped for "an American policy based on honest brokership" in the Middle East.
That was echoed by Syria where Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said he hoped Obama's win "will help change US policy from one of wars and embargos to one of diplomacy and dialogue."
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, urged the Democratic Obama to learn from the "mistakes" of previous US administrations in dealing with Muslim and Arab countries.
Spokesman Fawzi Barhum accused the Bush's Republican administration of having "destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine."
The Iraqi government said it will cooperate with Obama "to achieve the joint interest of the two sides, preserve the security and stability of Iraq, maintain full sovereignty of Iraq and protect the interests of its people."
But Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari ruled out a US policy of "quick disengagement," dispelling hopes of many Iraqis of a rapid US troop withdrawal.
"There won't be quick disengagement here. A great deal is at stake," Zebari told AFP. "We don't think there will be change in policy overnight."
Obama has promised to withdraw US forces from Iraq over 16 months from his inauguration in January.
Many Iraqis urged the president-elect to make good on his promise and ensure the rapid withdrawal of the 145,000-strong American force from Iraq.
The movement of Iraq's anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also welcomed Obama's triumph. "We consider his victory as a wish of the American public to withdraw forces from Iraq," spokesman Sheikh Saleh al-Obeidi said.
Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah said he hoped Obama would "find a solution to the world's oldest political problem, that of the Palestinian people."
On Iran, he underlined the hopes of the US-allied Arab monarchies in the oil-rich Gulf for a peaceful settlement to the nuclear issue through the United Nations.
Lebanon's parliament speaker Nahih Berri praised America's "great democracy."
"Now it is up to the young president to bring about change starting with the Middle East crisis and by addressing the injustice done to the people of the region, notably the Palestinians," Berri said.
The initial mood on the Arab street was optimistic.
"It's historic. We didn't think there would be a black American president so soon, especially after Bush's eight years," said Cairo saleswoman Suzie Ahmed.
Other Arabs congratulated Obama with hopes his perceived Muslim links could alter US policy.
"I believe that his father is Muslim. Surely that will make a difference. There must be a change in policy towards Arabs and Muslims," said Saudi tourist Abdul Ilah al-Bakri in a Dubai mall.
