Joel Beinin: The Voice is Obama's; the Hands are Bush's

Joel Beinin is Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University. His most recent books are "Social Movements, Mobilization, and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa" (Stanford University Press, 2011) co-edited with Frederic Vairel; and "The Struggle for Worker Rights in Egypt" (Solidarity Center, 2010).

US President Barack Obama's June 2009 speech in Cairo was widely received as a sincere expression of his desire for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." He acknowledged the historic injuries of colonialism, quoted the Quranic injunction to "speak always the truth," recognized the plight of the Palestinian refugees, allowed for the possibility of Hamas participating in realizing the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and clearly called for a halt to Israeli settlement, even as he reaffirmed the US cultural and historical ties and commitment to the security of Israel. Far less bombastically than his predecessor, Obama also proclaimed US support for freedom of speech, the rule of law, transparent government, and personal liberty as universal human rights.

Then came the failure to stand firm on his call for a West Bank settlement freeze, the failure to close Guantanamo, the inability to acknowledge that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and proliferating hints that perhaps 20,000 US soldiers and an indefinite number of contractors will remain in Iraq past the December 2011 deadline set for their withdrawal.

In his May 2011 speech at the State Department, the president acknowledged the "extraordinary change" that has taken place in the Middle East. But having failed to fulfill most of the Middle East policy promises he made previously, his verbal support for democracy in the Arab world sounded like a more articulate version of Bush-era rhetoric. Departing from his Cairo pledge to speak the truth, Obama did not acknowledge that the balance sheet of his administration on the "Arab spring" is far less rosy than he claimed and not very different than what any post-Vietnam president would have done.

The president lauded Muhammad Bouazizi, the Tunisian fruit and vegetable vendor whose self-immolation ignited popular movements across the Arab world. In real time, he said virtually nothing about Tunisia until its despot and long-time US ally, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, departed on January 14....