Much has been made across the web and in print about President Obama’s decision to grant his first television interview as president to an Arabic-language  news organization based in Dubai, Al-Arabiya. While this whole interview can be seen here, a portion of it can be viewed from the link below, care of YouTube and the Associated Press.  

Highlight of Obama interview

In the interview, the President discussed matters of importance regarding American foreign policy in the Muslim World. Many of the responses given by the President are things with which he can find agreement among Republicans. President Obama is correct to say that the United States is not an enemy of all Muslims or all Muslim states, and that the foes the country faces are terrorists who may profess to be Muslims, but are employing violence against innocents abroad, and training others to do the same. While the President was right in his call for a return to negotiations among Israelis and Palestinians amidst renewed violence, his remarks regarding Iran were overly vague. Reactions among those in and around western Asia were mixed, and reflected the magnitude of challenges in the region.

While there are legitimate criticisms of the President’s decision to interview with Al-Arabiya, and new questions have emerged regarding George Mitchell, partaking in such an interview is worthy of praise. Agreeing to interviews by foreign media entities is a good way too sell the message of the United States and its leaders to the wider world. Participating in interviews with foreign media entities provides a way to potentially present a clearer view of the United States, its values, and its people to the world.

Last 5 posts by James Kane

• A November to Remember - November 8th, 2010
• On hope and fear - October 18th, 2010
• Expecting Different Results - September 12th, 2010
• A glaring omission on Iraq - August 31st, 2010
• Employing a losing strategy - August 7th, 2010