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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.