MEDIA REACTION: OBAMA'S FIRST YEAR

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000060

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO

STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: KMDR, KPAO, PGOV, OPRC, NP
SUBJ: MEDIA REACTION: OBAMA'S FIRST YEAR

1. SUMMARY: Nepal's state-owned English daily, The
Rising Nepal (circulation: 5,000),on Monday,
January 18 published an OP-ED piece titled "Obama's
first year in the White House," by a journalism
professor and former chief editor of the paper. The
piece analyzed President Obama's first year as the
U.S. President and the steps he had taken to address
the economic crisis, health care and foreign policy
and called it "generally positive."

2. EXCERPTS: "Barack Obama, the U.S. President, has
just completed his first year as the presiding
occupant of the White House. The euphoria with which
his victory in the 2008 November presidential polls
was greeted is being gradually assessed in a more
detached manner. This is usually the case with any
president."

3. "...Obama, 47, intends to be not only the man of
the moment but also a respected figure in history.
It may be recalled how his body language spoke after
his poll triumph weeks before actually taking over
the White House key from outgoing President George
Bush. Expectations were high from the American
public, in particular, and the rest of the world
audience, in general. The global economic recession
got splattered all over the place, and the world's
No. 1 economy was deeply affected. The task was to
tide over the crisis at the earliest possible, and
ease the hardships suffered by the people in
general. This was easier said than done and yet it
was a task the newly sworn-in president had to
strive for accomplishment."

4. "The crisis is far from over, but the general
assessment of the Obama administration's initiative
to deal with it has been satisfactory. His health
services reform program has made a significant
stride. People have decided to hold their patience
with many other issues chiefly because Obama has
barely completed his first year and has not
committed any major blunder so far. So they would
like to give him the benefit of the doubt that he
will translate into practice what he has set out to
deliver. These concern domestic policies."

5. "On the foreign policy front, the issues are
complex. Yet it was a personal boost for the
President that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee
decided to award him the 2009 edition of the coveted
prize... Washington has a withdrawal plan in Iraq.
In keeping with the schedule, most troops in 2009
were stationed outside populated areas.
Washington's assessment is that Al-Qaeda's presence
in Iraq has considerably weakened and that it was
trying to find a base elsewhere. ... How the Al-
Qaeda spreads its tentacles is indicated by its
recent activity in Yemen where the group appears to
have developed a network... "

6. "...Yemen might be the next country where
Washington will focus greater attention, though it
is too early to ascertain the extent such attention
will merit. ...Next door Cuba might also be in the
Obama administration's signal for some kind of
engagement. Cuba's non-inclusion in the 34-year-
nation summit of the Americas last year was a sort
of embarrassment, considering that many of the
summiteers wanted Havana's presence ..."

7. "In conclusion, the Obama administration has
taken a number of initiatives that have generally
sent positive messages in the past 12 months. Next
winter marks the mid-term, by which time more action
and substantive results will be expected."

ORDWAY