The Middle East welcomed the victory of Barak Obama Thursday but cautioned that the damage caused by eight years of George W. Bush will not be repaired quickly, and doubted that the new president-elect would bring drastic policy change.Arab public opinion overwhelmingly hailed Obama's historic victory but tempered enthusiasm for the Democrat's win by noting that any change from his predecessor was a welcome one.
"I think most of the Arabs see it as a de-election of Bush rather than an election of Obama," 28-year old Egyptian blogger Tarek Amr told AlArabiya.net.
Egypt's independent al-Masry al-Yaom newspaper welcomed the president-elect with the headline: Obama founds a new "United States" and "Bush" kicks the Republicans out of the White House and the Congress."
The Emirati daily Khaleej Times headlined with, "A Momentous Mandate Yes, We Agree!" noting that world expectations had changed but warning that the new president would face severe problems including two wars, a severe financial crisis and a nuclear standoff in the Middle East. "Obama has scripted a truly American epic and he starts with huge advantages at home and abroad where people have looked at him in awe and applauded his victory," said the editorial. "Good Luck Mr. President-elect."
In Iran, a member of Bush's infamous Axis of Evil, the Tehran Times headline announced "The world's candidate wins," labeling him as such because "[p]eople around the world connected with Obama because they view him as a man of dialogue, not a man of dictates."
Many welcomed a change for the United States after eight years of George W. Bush's presidency and noted the historic election of the first African-American, but cautioned that Washington's regional priorities would always be Israel and oil.
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddhafi calling Obama's win a victory for former slaves who are "now becoming masters." "This can be considered the beginning of the victory of blacks in America, who were slaves but are now becoming masters," Qaddhafi said during a visit to Ukraine, speaking through a translator.
But he voiced fears that Obama, the United States' first black president-elect, might be assassinated, as were presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
The Egyptian state-owned al-Ahram daily described election night as "an evening to get rid of racism in an American way."
The Saudi daily Al-Riyadh hailed the significance of Obama's ability to "shatter the culture of racial discrimination" by grabbing the Oval Office, but warned Arabs and Muslims not to expect him to change US policies toward their causes unless they learn to uphold their own interests. "Obama will not roll out his prayer rug in a mosque," the paper said, "nor will he convert to Islam or be an enemy of Israel or pull his troops out of blazing spots such as Iraq and Afghanistan."
The Democrat's victory "does not mean that we're about to witness a radical change in American policy," wrote the Egyptian independent al-Badeel in an editorial, because change "doesn't depend on the color of your skin."