Obama Administration Tests New Approach to Muslim World

As President Obama's Mideast envoy George Mitchell heads to Israel following a meeting with the Egyptians, the new administration appears to be loosening a key plank of the Bush Doctrine: promoting democracy as a counterweight to terrorist recruitment.

In his first televised interview since taking office -- with Dubai-based Al-Arabiya -- Obama did not once mention democracy.

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy," he said, noting in the 17-minute interview that he has Muslim relatives and lived in Indonesia, a Muslim country.

"The same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that," Obama said.

In a meeting with two top Egyptian officials Monday, Mitchell focused on getting Cairo to work harder at cutting off the flow of weapons to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, never mind that Egypt, an autocratic state with few freedoms, has turned a blind eye to the smuggling through its shared border with Gaza, a point the State Department refused to acknowledge.

"It's not for me to stand here and, you know, make a judgment on -- on whether the Egyptian effort has been, you know -- you know, good or not enough. Let us just say that those tunnels have been a problem," said acting State Department spokesman Robert Wood.

He flatly denied that the promotion of democracy abroad is taking a back seat to any specific policy initiative, but he hinted that the emphasis in the Middle East may shift.

"Clearly, we have an interest in seeing democracy promoted throughout the world, and not just the Middle East. But in terms of strategy and policy, those are still to be developed," Wood said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her first session with reporters, said Obama's early foreign policy direction has prompted "a great exhalation of breath ... around the world."

The administration sees a great deal at stake, and not just the future prospect for Arab-Israeli peace. The stakes stretch to Afghanistan, the Central Asian launching pad for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and where tens of thousands more U.S. troops are likely to be fighting in the months ahead.

At least as important is Pakistan, the nuclear-armed Muslim nation whose largely ungoverned areas along the border with Afghanistan are a haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorists.

Also on the list are Syria, Lebanon and Iran.

Obama came into office convinced, based in part on intelligence briefings he received during the presidential transition, that reaching out to the far-flung Arab and Muslim worlds was not only important but urgent, according to Denis McDonough, Obama's deputy assistant for strategic communications.

The president wants to repair America's image in the eyes of the billion-strong adherents to Islam, McDonough said.

"We're a country under threat. The challenge is to reach the billion while also making clear that you're not going to tolerate the hate," McDonough said.

Almost daily, Obama has pushed the buttons of Muslim diplomacy. In his inaugural address, he assured Muslim dictators, "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Other gestures were his early phone calls to friendly Arab leaders and his dispatching Mitchell, the son of a Lebanese immigrant, to the Middle East on a "listening tour."

Asked whether he would prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, Obama answered that he is looking for "potential avenues for progress" so the two nations can discuss their differences.

FOX News' James Rosen and The Associated Press contributed to this report.