'US dupes Arabs, Muslims'

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The new US administration has deluded Arabs and Muslims into believing it would chart a course away from the policies of the Bush era, one of the leading religious authorities in Shia community said.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who spoke earlier this year of the sincerity of US President Barack Obamas message to the Muslim world, criticised US policies across the Middle East and in Afghanistan and urged Arabs and Muslims to forget the US presidents foggy words.
It appears that the American administration, which deluded Arabs and Muslims into believing it would tread a path different to that of the previous administration, ... has begun, bit by bit, to reveal its true face, Fadlallah said.
The American presidents speech, in Turkey or Cairo, is behind us, Fadlallah said in a statement received on Sunday. Practical American steps have begun to define the course the new administration is taking in dealing with our issues.
Fadlallah accused the US of involvement in events in Iran after its disputed presidential election, adding that it aimed to bring about a deep fracture in the Islamic Republic, where the disputed vote triggered mass protests. Fadlallah said the region had entered a new phase after events in Iran.
He also spoke of US interference in Lebanon during and after its June election, and negative US movement in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Fadlallah said the US administration was attempting to show the face of America the warrior.
On the Palestinian issue, Fadlallah, who is from south Lebanon, spoke of complete collusion with Israel.
Obama has tried to change Muslim perceptions of the US, damaged by the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan under the administration of Bush.
He gave a speech in Turkey in April, saying the Us was not at war with Islam, and another in Egypt in June, saying he sought a new beginning between his country and Muslims.
In an interview with Reuters after the Turkey speech, Fadlallah said Obama did not lack sincerity in what he is saying about Islam and appeared to be a man of human values. But he said Obama would be judged by his actions.
In his statement, Fadlallah called on Arabs and Muslims to forget the gentle or foggy words which the American presidential speech contained and to begin real preparation to confront the coming period, which might be the most difficult of periods.