The oil-rich Gulf region produces 40 percent of the world's total oil output every year. All countries along the Gulf are Muslim countries. One of the important aims of all U.S. officials' visits to the Middle East is to try to persuade oil-producing countries in the region to increase oil output and cut oil prices to ensure America's oil security. Although Obama has pledged to develop new energy to lessen America's oil dependence on the Middle East, it will take a long time for this vision to materialize. The Obama administration has to secure America's oil interests by developing friendly relations with Muslim nations.

Israel's security has always been of vital interest to the United States in terms of its domestic politics and global strategy. As discussed earlier, Islamic nations' cooperation is essential for Arabs and Israelis to live together in peace.

Moderate Muslim nations are those that uphold a pro-U.S. policy and do not vehemently reject peace talks between the Arab world and Israel. These nations lay the foundation for America's presence in the Middle East. The Bush administration pushed for a "democratic transformation of the Middle East" in a bid to rein in troublemakers in the region by using force and nurture pro-U.S. forces by fostering U.S.-style democracy. While refraining from Bush's rhetoric, Obama continues to look for allies for the United States in the Middle East. He cozies up to the Muslim world just to make more friends.

The Middle East has long been a point of contention for major world powers. Although it has secured a leading position in the region, the United States still finds the close relations between Russia and China and countries in the Middle East, especially Iran, unsettling. It is worried that Russia, China and European countries may penetrate the region if its hostile policy results in a "power vacuum" there.

Obama's new foreign policy framework has become increasingly clear in the past 100 days since he took office. His decision to befriend the Muslim world not only aims to help the United States cope with short-term troubles against the backdrop of the financial crisis but also serves America's long-term strategic interests.