I’d be very interested in knowing your reaction to the very first appointment made by Mr. Obama. I may sound a bit over the edge here, but forgive me if I’m a bit sceptical. Indeed I’m more than that: My blood was boiling and I was deeply frustrated to the announcement of Rahm Israel Emanuel as chief of staff. Yes! because I somehow secretly hoped that this guy (Obama) would deliver and that -as Jill pointed out in a recent comment- his public stance may be different from what he really thinks. The fact is that Obama appointed a man not only deeply involved in the financial crisis (he was member of the board of Freddy Mac at the time it went through serious trouble, ” and recuses himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant” according to time.com) but who also served in the Israeli army; therefore an Israeli citizen and a de facto Israeli officer, whose background suggests where he comes from as far as the Middle-East is concerned (His father was member of the Irgun: the infamous terrorist organization that killed women and children during the first half of the 20th century in the name of Zionism.)
So I’m deeply sceptical and profoundly frustrated. Where do we go from here?
Hisham Almiraat 
Et pourtant Obama avait annoncé la couleur avant son élection quand il était encore en campagne et lors de sa visite du PO il avait déclaré que Jérusalem est et restera la capitale d’Israel ! avancer cela et dire que vous êtes pour les négociations est assez antinomiques. Surtout que le statut de cette ville ainsi que le retour des réfugiés de 48 sont les deux points les plus chauds des négos. C’est pour ça qu’à chaque fois ils étaient reportés.
On commence à déchanter…
Tout à fait d’accord. Mais beaucoup s’accrochaient à l’idée qu’Obama était plus pragmatique en vue de son élection plutôt qu’autre chose, car ses positions et ses anciens collaborateurs ainsi que son background, tout cela laissait entendre que ses déclarations à l’AIPAC et lors de sa visite en Palestine étaient plus de l’ordre du tactique.Mais tu sais quoi? Tu as raison d’être sceptique. Nous somme face à une machine (les USA) corrompue jusqu’à l’os!
I was a bit disappointed as well. Not only by the appointment of Rahm Emanuel, but by all this buzz around appointing Hillary Clinton to the position of secretary of state.
Domestically, Hillary Clinton and other people from the Clinton era did have ties to lobbyists and special interest groups, and this might conflict later on with his message of a government that works directly for its citizens.
On the foreign policy aspect (which is what interests and affects me most), Hillary Clinton does not strike me as a person who would push for the Middle East peace process in an even-handed way. I didn’t expect his appointment to be neutral to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, realistically everybody expected continued unwavering support for Israel .. but some how i hoped things would be different this time around.
All in all, i think we should not judge the book by its cover. Let’s give him some time and see what he does, and then we can judge him if he lived up to his promises or not. I hope he does. I am sick of all this stalling in dealing with the Middle East Conflict.