The title of a recently released Yahoo! article is "Obama extends hand to Muslim World". The big question is: after this latest PR blitz, who agrees with the president now?

Some perceptions about the United States have indeed changed. An IRANIAN cleric described Mr. Obama's speech as "AN INITIAL STEP to removing misconceptions". The key words in this statement are "removing misconceptions" but this is only "an initial step", BUT IT IS STILL BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS AT ALL. Now, of course, we know that Iranian attitudes towards the US generally haven't been very positive lately, especially since Mahmoud Ahmedinejad came to power i0n 2005 and started ranting and raving against the US AS WELL AS DENYING THE FACT THAT THE HOLOCAUST TOOK PLACE.

The president said in a speech in Cairo that now is the time to "speak the truth" and "seek a new beginning". Obama's call to "speak the truth" is a direct challenge to Ahmedinejad and his Holocaust denial.

Obama added that "America and Islam are not exclusive and (therefore) NEED NOT BE IN COMPETITION. Instead, they OVERLAP and SHARE COMMON PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND PROGRESS, TOLERANCE AND THE DIGNITY OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS". Mr. Obama is clearly trying to separate Muslims from "extremists".

Now, it's time to see who were condoned by the presidents and who wasn't. According to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, "There is a change in the language between the language of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush. So all we can say is that there is a difference in the statements and the statements of today DID NOT INCLUDE A MECHANISM THAT CAN TRANSLATE HIS WISHES AND VIEWS INTO ACTION". "..a change in the language" could be either positive or negative so this statement is very vague.

However, the person called the Supreme Iranian Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed Obama's speech as SIMPLY "words, speech and slogan" which implies that Obama is trying to put on a show of sorts similar to what he did DURING the 2008 presidential campaign.

According to Mohammad Ali Abtahi, an Iranian cleric who was Vice-President under former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who, according to Wikipedia, ran on a platform of "liberalisation and reform" seemed to welcome the president's speech, calling it "compensation", to a certain degree. Specifically, here's what he had to say: "This can be an initial step for removing misconceptions between the world of Islam and the West". The key words here are obviously "can be" "an initial step", implying that there is still work to be done and nothing is guaranteed..

Obama continued: "Much has been made of the fact that an African American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president. BUT MY PERSONAL STORY IS NOT SO UNIQUE". Former rival Arizona Sen. John McCain alluded to this many times in the presidential campaign last year even though he didn't say this explicitly. The president is clearly trying to heal a rift between Islam and the negative impressions/images that many have now in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He is also trying to emphasize that, among other things, he is just like the rest of us.

As far as the seemingly endless conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians are concerned, Mr. Obama again called for restraint: "It is time to act on what everyone knows to be true. Too many tears have flowed. Too much has been shed", but this conflict has no end in sight. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Obama have essentially been pleading for the two sides to return to the negotiating table, but unfortunately, they have refused time and time again.

Moving onto social issues now, the president promised " to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear". Again, this is one of those statements that sounds good but Obama is a politician and most politicians come up short in fulfilling their promises, sometimes way short.

Obama also quoted the Koran: "..be conscious of God and always speak the truth". Unfortunately for some jihadists being conscious of God means carrying out suicide bombings and the truth is that these people hate the United States.

Then, in a rare display of personal emotion, the president reflected on his own youth: "As a boy I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. AS A YOUNG MAN I WORKED IN CHICAGO COMMUNITIES WHERE MANY FOUND DIGNITY IN THEIR MUSLIM FAITH". Obama seems to be a genius at showing empathy and saying the appropriate things at suitable times.

As far as battling the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is concerned, Obama said that "America's commitment will not weaken".

The president's most significant sentence was "AMERICA IS NOT - AND WILL NEVER BE - AT WAR WITH ISLAM". However, here's a major gaffe: "The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome IN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES, the sooner we will all be safer". The key words in this final part of Obama's statement is obviously "in Muslim communities" was a colossal mistake, because he is still tying Islam with extremism and terrorism when in fact they represent ONLY A SMALL FACTION OF RADICALS.

Finally, Obama said that the second Iraq invasion in 2003 was "a war of choice", taking a shot at former President George W Bush, former Secretary of State & National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice and above all, former disgraced former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Many extremist groups seemed to shrug (or laugh) off Obama's comments. According to a statement issued by a group of 8 terrorist groups based in Damascus, including Hamas, an organization that the US has called a terrorist group, "Obama's speech is AN ATTEMPT TO MISLEAD PEOPLE AND TO CREATE MORE ILLUSIONS to improve America's aggressive image in the Arab and Islamic world". Hamas, you are far more violent than the US. You probably supported bin Laden when he orchestrated the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and you are still operating on the ridiculous premise that jihad is justified WHICH IS WRONG.

Finally, according to Zahid Husain Gardezi, a small landowner in Multan, Pakistan, "IT IS THE FIRST TIME I have heard such affectionate words from an American for MUslims. Apparently, we can EXPECT AMERICA TO TRY TO BEFRIEND THE MUSLIM WORLD AS WELL. BUT LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO SEE THIS ON THE GROUND". Gardezi is a small business owner and Obama has been trained in winning these people over (keep in mind that Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton were both former rivals). However, as with everything else associated with the Obama presidency, we must adopt a "wait and see" approach, BECAUSE LATELY THE PRESIDENT HAS BECOME INFAMOUS (yes infamous) for making big grand promises that sound really good ONLY TO COME UP WELL SHORT OF THE TARGET. So "Let's see how long it will take" is the right attitude.