According to ABC News, Barack Obama’s first formal television interview will be with Al-Arabiya, the Middle East cable channel.  Al-Arabiya is based in Dubai and has an estimated potential audience exceeding 23 million in the Gulf region.  I know he wants to reach out to the Arabs in the Middle East, but I wonder about the wisdom of this.  One of the things we need to remember is that there are cultural differences between western and Arab societies.  Any action in an Arab culture seem as weakness results in an attack on the person perceived as being weak.  I hope this interview is not viewed by the Arab street in that light.