THE "OBAMA EFFECT" IN LEBANON

While it's far too early to make any long term projections, it appears that President Obama's approach to the Middle East and his Cairo speech may be paying dividends.


In Lebanon voters handed an American-backed coalition a victory in Lebanese parliamentary elections on Sunday. Regional political experts cite domestic issues for the results but are also giving a nod to President Obama’s outreach efforts to the Arab and Muslim world. According to the NY Times ...

Most analysts had predicted that the Hezbollah-led coalition, already a crucial power broker in the Lebanese government because of its support from Shiites who make up a large part of Lebanon’s population, would win handily. In the end, though, the American-aligned coalition won 71 seats, while the Syria-Iranian aligned opposition, which includes Hezbollah, took only 57.

Talk of the "Obama Effect" in the Middle East will get a significant boost on Friday if Iran's hard-line anti-American President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad loses against his main moderate challenger, Mir Hussein Moussavi.

Stay tuned.

- Mark