Live blog: Obama is making points:
1. World needs stable access to oil.
2. People of the Middle east needs to have their own opportuniyt to achieve.
3. Americans and Middle East Countries need to build trust.
4. The movements in Tunis and Cairo came from the pople, not from US. But we support democracy.
5. US supports universal rights: free speech, male female equality, freedom of religion, .. this is the TOP US priority.
- we will support democracy in Egypt and Tunisia. But, not all free governments will be like ours. We will support people’s effort to make their own changes in Libya, Yemen Bahrain, and Syria.
- Gaffafhi is going to fall. Syria will be next.
- Iraq told us that will not impose regime change from the outside. Our role is sto support the people’s peaceful protest.
- we insist that Syria, Bahrain and Yemen adapt or fall. This includes accepting international observers rather than depending on government force to maintain repression. Imprisoning opponents means there is no dialog.
- The movement for democracy did not begin in Tunisia and Egypt, it began in the streets of Tehran. Iran talks about democracy but feeds oppression. The Iranian people also have a right to democracy.
- Iraq’s multicultural democracy can be a model to others. In Tahrir Square, we heard “Muslims and Christians are one.” Shia in Bahrain, Copts in Cairo .. all need their rights to their forms of worship.
- He pus great emphasis on woman’s rights, especially their rights to eecuation and work.
- The US needs to support the youth and their needs to pursue entrepreneurial growth. This means US support not only for traditional freedoms and elections but for free access to the Internet. .. even if what is said disagrees with our point of view.
- America must back support for democracy with support for economic development. This starts with Tunisia and Egypt. We want them to eneter a free world market.
- America will, therefore, relieve Egypt of 1 billion in debt. We will also develop funds to invest in Egypt and Tunisia. The European bank, the EU and OPEC will join with this effort. We will encourage development of an EU style market.
Finally, Obama turned to the Palestine/Israel effort for peace. He relates the dismal state of
We hold these words to be self evident, "All men and women are created equal. People should govern themselves. "
the peace talks but turns to the inspiration from the people’s changes in the Arab lands. The Palestinians can not isolate and de-legitimize Israel’s right tio exist. Israel needs to accept the reality of a Palestinian state. Israel can not exist if Palestine does not have a State of its own.
- The borders should be based on the 67 borders. The settlements need to be be stopped.
- The Palestinian State needs contiguous territory and the ability to defned themselves.
- Border security must keep bombs and missiles out.
- Israel needs to know that it is secure, the Palestinians need to know they have a state. The tradeoff is mutual security.
- He cited Israels and Palestinian parents who have lost family but insisted on working with the other.
Responding to President Obama’s Middle East speech, APN President and CEO Debra DeLee said:
“Today, President Obama signaled to the world that he is still serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace and that he is a true friend of Israel. We welcome his clear statement that the U.S. position is that a permanent status peace agreement will be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed on land swaps, and that the outcome must be secure and recognized borders, with a sovereign, contiguous Palestinian state and robust security arrangements for Israel. We also welcome his statement that such an agreement must find a way to resolve the issues of Jerusalem and refugees that is just and fair and that respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.
“What derives from these positions is clear. Palestinian leaders must come to terms with the fact that a future agreement will involve adjustments to the 1967 lines to accommodate some settlements – and educate their people to understand why this is so. They must also accept the fact that a future state will be demilitarized and that arrangements ensuring Israeli security will be paramount.
“At the same time, the Netanyahu government must accept that Israel’s appetite for settlements must be balanced, inch for inch, against its readiness to give up territory that is inside what is now sovereign Israel. This applies not only in the West Bank but also in East Jerusalem, where Netanyahu’s defiant determination to continue to expand settlements continues to send a message that he cares more about settlements than peace. Moreover, President Obama’s clear statement that a Palestinian state must be contiguous and have recognized borders with Jordan underscores the impossibility of Israel maintaining permanent control over the Jordan Valley.
“We also welcome President Obama’s pragmatic articulation of his approach to Palestinian efforts to establish a unity government. It is indeed incumbent on the Palestinians to provide a credible answer to those who suggest that Israel cannot negotiate peace with a unity government. As we have long argued, any Palestinian government should be judged by its actions and positions, not it composition.
“By articulating these positions, President Obama demonstrated that he is a real friend to Israel – one who recognizes that Israel’s security and viability as a Jewish state and a democracy depends on peace. He has also made clear his understanding that Israel’s future cannot be divorced from the fate of the Palestinians or from its relations with the rest of the region. We welcome President Obama’s message of support for freedom, rights, security, and democracy in the Middle East – a Middle East that include both Israelis and Palestinians.
“We now call on President Obama to follow these words with concrete actions to make his vision of peace a reality. We also call on the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to rise to the challenge in the President’s words and demonstrate to each other and the world that they are ready to rise above pettiness, set aside grievances, and work to finally end the conflict. We know that most American Jews support President Obama in this effort. We call on leaders of AIPAC, who are hosting their major conference in Washington in a few days, to convey this support.”
Saudis call Obama speech meaningless drivel
RIYADH/DAMMAM: Saudis dismissed US President Barrack Obama’s much-anticipated “Arab Spring address” as meaningless, predictable drivel while Egyptians and other Arabs, to whom Obama offered some sops, also did not find anything new in the speech, which according to them focused on US interests. Egyptians and other Arabs also expressed their disappointment, saying the US president has not brought any concrete solutions to existing problems, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict.