"Last week President Obama introduced the new U.S. State Department, including two new special envoys - George Mitchell to the Middle East and Richard Holbrooke to Afghanistan/Pakistan. Early this week the President gave his first sit-in interview in power - to an Arab TV network. He has promised a new partnership with the Arab world based on mutual respect. As groundbreaking as this may seem - compared to the Bush administration's approach - Pepe Escobar argues that the overall strategy may not be substantially different." [/real news]