World

Barack who? Mixed Bag of Reactions as Obama Takes It to The Middle East

by PEP | July 21, 2008 at 12:17 pm

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It's a feisty, contradictory mix of politics, religion, and personal views now sitting as Barack Obama's judge on his Middle East tour. As this article shows, one person may think he'll improve things by with-drawing U.S. troops from key areas.

But someone else says that the U.S. presence has improved conditions, increased security for residents, and he's worried that Obama might signal the dumping of commitment to freedom in the Middle East.

Several copies of Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" are prominently displayed in Jarir Bookstore here. They have not moved in weeks.

Browser Najla Khaled doesn't change that. Standing before the same shelf and lifting her full-face black veil to survey her choices, she grabs novelist Jeffrey Archer's latest release and walks away.

It's not that she dislikes presidential contender Obama. "I saw him on Tyra Banks's show and I think he has great opinions," says the 17-year-old high schooler. But his policies have not roused Najla, who's only heard "some random stuff ... here and there."

Senator Obama's campaign may have launched groundswells of hope, ardor, and optimism at home and in Europe. But at the start of his closely watched trip to the Middle East, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee is little known in the Arab world, and has yet to generate widespread interest or enthusiasm.