On the basis of public announcements made during the campaign and of what President Obama’s advisers and supporters have written, the President’s options should not totally oppose the political choices made by the previous government. However, there should be a change in the way America deals with the problems in the “arch of crisis”: Iran, Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli question and Iraq. It is precisely on the last two points that the statements made by President Obama are so far unclear and almost contradictory.

Antoine Coppolani is teaching at Université de Montpellier III.

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