Obama Voices Hope for Mideast Peace in Talk With Al-Arabiya TV

[Douglas Carpenter]

Obama Voices Hope for Mideast Peace in Talk With Al-Arabiya TV

By Michael D. Shear and Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 27, 2009; Page A03

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602035.html?hpid=topnews

President Obama expressed optimism yesterday about the prospect of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but he said a peace accord will take time and require new thinking about the problems of the Middle East as a whole.

Obama's comments came during his first formal television interview as president, with a correspondent from al-Arabiya, the Dubai-based satellite network that is one of the largest English-language TV outlets aimed at Arab audiences.

The president sat for the interview, at the White House, moments after officially dispatching George J. Mitchell, his special envoy for Middle East peace, to the region last evening.

"All too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues -- and we don't always know all the factors that are involved," Obama told al-Arabiya. "So let's listen. He's going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response."

snip:'But in tone, his comments were a stark departure from those of former president George W. Bush, who often described the Middle East conflict in terms that drew criticism from Palestinians.

"By contrast, Obama went out of his way to say that if America is "ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress."

snip:""Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries," Obama said in the interview. "

link to full article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602035.html?hpid=topnews