Analysis: US views Abbas in a new light

Until 6 p.m. in New York on Tuesday, Israeli and American intelligence and most analysts regarded President Mahmoud Abbas as weak. But after US President Barack Obama demanded the end of the Palestinian membership bid in his UN speech and Abbas vowed to continue, a new image of the man is emerging in the US. Abbas’s critics said he was going to New York to take part in a political entertainment show or, as Obama said last week, for a new deal of Middle East political deals. The American administration tried to riddle his arrival with challenges. And since he arrived in New York, the US media have largely ignored the president and presented Abbas as weakly struggling under US pressure. His country doesn’t own billions of dollars or fuel reserves, and they thought he would not challenge Israel and America. Amazingly, the US public -- about a quarter billion of people -- are shielded from the truth about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict because of their media. Had it not been for English-speaking European TV channels such as the BBC and Euronews, American intellectuals would not have information what is going on in the world. The Arab public may or may not know that when a leader of an Arab country visits the US, it is usually covered on page 24 of the newspapers without a photo. Meanwhile, when any US official from the State Dept., regardless of his rank, arrives in an Arab country, he is warmly received by Arab leaders at the airports, and newspapers and TV channels will produce dozens of reports. Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki views the US media as divided. “Some outlets support the right wing and the Republicans who are pro-Israel, while others behave professionally as free media which reports objectively … and talk explicitly about the Palestinian people’s rights.” He continued: “We know how the US media and TV channels are run, and werealize that some of the most influential outlets are against us.” The Palestinian leadership adopted a proactive affront on these policies, he said. “We know they are giant media outlets, but we will continue with our attempts to break through the media strongholds which support Israel and are actually owned by Israel.” Today the media are searching for a new picture after Abbas rejected Obama's demands. A Fox News anchor -- from the most pro-Israel channel -- asked former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton how the world would receive the French and European position, which is supportive to Palestinians. Several analysts have begun to see Abbas as powerful and Obama as weak. Despite his boost through the news of Osama Bin Laden’s assassination, the US president cannot respond to the American people’s fears of economic crisis and world isolation. Palestinian member of Israeli Knesset Ahmad Tibi said that if Martin Luther King, jr "could wake from his grave, and see that Obama refuses to recognize the state of Palestine, he would prefer to die again.” Abbas has surprised politicl analysts with his serious moves, including calling for elections and putting responsibility on Hamas, freezing negotiations, and expelling a number of Fatah leaders. Now we ask, what is Abbas’ next move? What will he do after September?