Now the Middle East is a priority

The voice at the end of the line said: "Whatever I tell you now will either make your day or ruin your day." Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief for Al Arabiya, the Arab news channel, was just starting work last Monday morning when he took the call from an American national security council official. The message was that the veteran reporter might need to rearrange his schedule because the newly inaugurated president of the United States would like to see him at 5pm that afternoon in the Map Room of the White House.

"I think I can accommodate him," replied Mr Melhem wryly. It was an offer that meant Al Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel broadcast from Dubai, had scooped the world - including the elite American networks - and landed the first television interview with President Barack Obama. It was also a master stroke of diplomacy for Mr Obama as he reached out to the Muslim world in frank and conciliatory tones that touched on his Islamic heritage.

"Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect," he said. "I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries." As the 17-minute interview was broadcast across the region on Tuesday night to an intrigued audience of millions, his newly appointed Middle East envoy George Mitchell was already in Cairo, deep in negotiations to hold together a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

The timing of the Al Arabiya interview, granted during Mr Mitchell's nine-day tour of the Middle East which ends on Tuesday, appears to be a part of a carefully choreographed plan to show that Mr Obama is serious about repairing America's credibility in the region. He has already been called Abu Obama by one American pundit. The last notes of "Hit the road, George", sung by the crowds on the Washington Mall during the Jan 20 inauguration, had barely faded before Mr Obama began issuing orders to reverse or halt his predecessor's policy decisions that had been feeding the perception America was waging a war against Islam.

In his first 10 days of office, he ordered Guantanamo Bay to be shut down, banned the torture of terrorism suspects and appointed two seasoned diplomats as special envoys to the Middle East and to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr Obama also promised he would address the Islamic world from a Muslim capital sometime in the next three months, an unprecedented gesture. There is speculation it will be in Jakarta because he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia and it is the world's most populous Muslim country, although no precise location has been given.

Mr Obama has not yet offered concrete solutions to any of the problems he faces but the key message of the last week is that he is listening. Indeed, Mr Mitchell's visit to Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia - he is not talking to Hamas - has been billed a "listening tour". When it is over, the diplomat will report back to the president so that policy can be drawn up. "This interview is the curtain raiser," said Ahmed Rashid, the distinguished Pakistani journalist and terrorism expert, speaking from Lahore.

"I just flew back from Washington and Obama officials told me he sees his most important foreign policy moves in the first 100 days. We will see speeches, diplomatic moves and initiatives like aid and the revamping of regional institutions. It will be multi-layered, multi-national and it will appeal to governments and regimes. It will not just be calls for greater democracy like Bush made." Richard Holbrooke, the new special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, is expected to arrive in Islamabad in the first week of February, where the Pakistani establishment is waiting with "trepidation", says Mr Rashid.

"US officials are deeply worried about Pakistan. His trip will be vitally important. But the military here doesn't know what the Americans will come up with. However, this administration is much more transparent than the old one. Dick Cheney [the former vice president] was running Pakistan and no one knew what he was doing. We will now see a much more transparent policy." Public animosity towards America has been so high in Pakistan that after 9/11 one of the most popular video games was one in which players flew aeroplanes into the twin towers. But the country is watching Mr Obama with great interest.

"Among the public there is a lot of welcome. People are intrigued, interested, and asking, 'what will he do?'" said Mr Rashid. After eight years of watching Afghanistan and Pakistan spiral into chaos, Mr Rashid said Mr Obama had a receptive audience for his "grand bargain" for Central Asia. Drawn up with Barnett Rubin, an eminent American academic, the plan sets out how to secure Afghanistan, settle the Kashmir border dispute between Pakistan and India and convince Iran that an American military presence next door was not a threat to its existence.

In Tehran, the subject of American-Iranian relations is always a contentious dinner party topic but these days it is possibly even more popular, said a prominent businessman in Tehran who did not wish to be named. "The reaction so far to him is wait and see," he said. "People are encouraged that his language and discourse are more restrained and positive sounding compared to Bush, but there is apprehension about whether it is a fundamental change or simply a way of getting the international community more united in order to put pressure on Iran."

In a nuanced rebuke against Iran, Mr Obama acknowledged the greatness of Persian civilisation - nationalist Iranians had particularly resented the "axis of evil" label - but he said Iran's threats against Israel and pursuit of nuclear weapons was not conducive to peace in the region. The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said on Wednesday, in his first reference to the US since the inauguration, that he welcomed the possibility of dialogue but that America would have to "apologise" for "past crimes against Iran". The Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Obama was drafting a letter to the Islamic republic.

The most pressing priority for the new president, however, remains the Gaza-Israeli crisis Mr Obama's first telephone call after inauguration was to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, followed by several other Arab leaders, including King Abdullah of Jordan. Jordan, a friendly American ally, was under pressure during the three-week assault on Gaza because of its large Palestinian population and fears that mass demonstrations on its streets organised by Islamists could upset the balance of power in the kingdom. Mr Mitchell was expected to arrive the capital Amman last night, where he will be warmly received.

"President Obama's first week in office is testimony to a man who wants to get the job done," said Akel Biltaji, a senator, speaking from Amman. "He's not abandoning Israel but he has not abandoned the hope of Palestinians. George Mitchell is someone with patience, early knowledge of the situation. In American Jewish lobby circles he also has respect." The president's decision to grant his first televised interview to Al Arabiya may have surprised some, but it was seen as a safe choice because of the tone of its coverage, particularly of the recent Gaza crisis. It was considered more restrained than its rival Al Jazeera, which had broadcast blanket coverage of civilian casualties. Another option would have been Al Hurrah, but the American-funded network has little credibility among the Arab public.

Marc Lynch, an influential blogger on regional politics, wrote that the choice of Al Arabiya was also an attempt to smooth ruffled feathers in Riyadh after an initial perceived snub from the new administration. The Saudis were not on the list of Arab leaders Mr Obama rang immediately after taking office. "Al Arabiya is the Saudi contestant in the Arab media wars, and scoring the first interview with Obama is a major coup. It has lost a lot of ground because of Gaza, and this will help it regain some buzz."

Mr Melhem said the crucial thing to remember was the president was trying to undermine his critics in the region such as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri who were trying to demonise him and America. "That is why he spoke of respect. The message is 'I'm extending my hand to the Muslim world'." Meanwhile Mr Melhem, a Lebanese-born American citizen, is still basking in his success. Like every other journalist on Capitol Hill he had put in a request to interview the president but said he had expected to be offered a shot at Mr Mitchell, after pushing for an interview through mutual Lebanese contacts.

Landing the president was a real coup. "I told him beforehand that my daughter was a big fan," said Mr Melhem. "He wrote her a note on White House notepaper, 'keep dreaming big dreams'." @Email:hghafour@thenational.ae