MIDDLE EAST: Watching Iowa from Arabia

In between coverage of crises in the Gaza Strip, Iraq and Lebanon, Arab news channels and websites followed U.S. political news from Iowa, where two upstart candidates bucked conventional wisdom and came out on top in the presidential caucus.

Though domestic economic issues are playing the dominant role in the U.S. race, events in the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, also figure strongly on the American agenda, and the Arab world has taken notice.

Throughout Thursday and today, the main Arab news channels, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera, aired the results in short news bulletins. They included sound-bites from Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, vowing to bring change to America. In one clip Qatar-based Al Jazeera featured shots of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Republican winner, with a voice-over noting that he was a former preacher.

An Al Jazeera commentator concluded that the caucus "sets the tone" for the rest of the race.

Dubai-based Al Arabiya's coverage tonight featured correspondent Mona Shakaki reporting live from Iowa. After a graphic animation introducing the network's "Race to the White House" coverage, Shakaki described the impact of Obama's victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y,), who finished third behind Sen. John Edwards."The voters said 'yes' to the candidate of change and hope and 'no' to the candidate of experience who represents the U.S. establishment."

She described Huckabee's victory as a triumph for religious conservatives, but noted at the end that the race is far from over.

Angry Arab News Service predicted that a wounded Clinton "will now claim that Sen. Obama has pledged to ask Mahmoud Ahmadinajad to be his running mate if he wins the nomination."

Obama and Clinton differ starkly on foreign policy, with the Illinois senator saying he'd be willing to talk to the clerical leaders of Iran while Clinton saying she wouldn't. As'ad AbuKhalil, the sharp-witted southern California scholar who runs the

On the Al Jazeera website, the comments in response to the Iowa caucuses showed a diversity of views about America and its democratic ways.

"Unfortunately, none of the candidates is really independent," wrote Mishmish from Egypt. "They are politicians and will be subjected to the influence of major corporations and private groups. They will never be able to deliver all their agenda no matter how good it is."

"To my Muslim brothers, do not get deceived by this democracy," wrote Boy Ahmed Nafae from Mauritania.  "It is only in appearance, but what happens behind the curtain is more serious...There is neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but there is an evil bandit who envies Islam and Muslims."

— Raed Rafei and Borzou Daragahi in Beirut, and Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Comments

[Non-Arab Arab]

Ummm, you'd be best translated the name of that guy from Mauritania as simply "Ould Ahmed Nafae" if you're translation there is making the mistake I think it is. "Ould" in places like Mauritania is simply the equivalent of "Ibn" or "Bin" in other Arabic dialects, marking lineage as "Son of" and is not meant to mean simply "Boy". Hence "Ibn Saud" in Saudi Arabia and the like.