Obama's speech-It's a funny old world

[billynomates]

Barack Obama vows to seize 'historic opportunity' in Middle East
President Barack Obama has vowed to seize "a historic opportunity" in the Middle East, pledging US support for human rights in the Middle East and serving notice on leaders who have "turned to repression to remain in power".



The wide-ranging speech from the State Department in Washington, the seat of American diplomacy, was billed by the White House as the most important one by Mr Obama since his address to the Muslim world in Cairo two years ago.

He sought for the first time to align the United States with the "Arab Spring" of uprisings across the Middle East that the White House has been reluctant to embrace fully, proclaiming that America has "a stake not just in the stability of nations, but in the self determination of individuals" in the region.

Mr Obama compared the upheaval in the Middle East and Africa to the American Revolution and the Civil Rights movement, stating that the US was "founded on the believe that people should govern themselves."

"Sometimes, in the course of history, the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat."

Mr Obama was more explicit about the parameters of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that ever before. He told Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, that Israel had to accept the Palestinian demand for it to accept the 1967 borders, insisting that a Jewish state "cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation" of Palestinian lands.

"Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognised borders are established for both states," he said. "The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state."

The embrace of a key Palestinian demand is likely to anger Mr Netanyahu on the eve of his visit to the White House on Friday.

Mr Obama, however, stopped well short of outlining a specific American peace plan. This had been urged on him by George Mitchell, Mr Obama's Middle East envoy, who resigned last week after becoming disillusioned by White House foot-dragging.

Following the speech, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called a meeting of senior officials to discuss the implications.

The speech began 25 minutes after it was scheduled to start. The delay was said to be due to a debate over what to include, particularly whether a reference to the 1967 borders should be made.

Hailing the "young vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi" from Tunisia who " was devastated when a police officer confiscated his cart" and then set himself alight, Mr Obama stated that "it will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy".

He said: "We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech, the freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of religion, equality for men and women under the rule of law and the right to choose your own leaders – whether you live in Baghdad or Damascus, Sanaa or Tehran."

Mr Obama also announced that he was relieving Egypt of up to $1 billion in debt whil also guaranteeing a similar sum "to finance infrastructure and job creation".

At the same time there were tough words for the region's dictators. He told Syria's President Bashir Assad that his people had "shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy" and he was now faced with "a choice – he can lead that transition, or get out of the way"

But the only penalty he outlined for failing to "stop shooting demonstrators" beyond the sanctions announced on Wednesday was that Assad's "regime will continue to be challenged from within and isolated abroad".

There were stern words for traditional US allies in the Middle East, Bahrain and Yemen. "If America is to be credible, we must acknowledge that at times our friends in the region have not all reacted to the demands for change that are consistent with the principles that I have outlined today.

"That is true in Yemen, where President Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power. And that is true, today, in Bahrain."

So Obama agrees with bin Laden that the uprisings are good. Gives a $1billion of your money to the regime that has already started killing Christians and burning Churches.
He mentions most countries in the Middle East aprt from one. Can anyone explain why Saudi Arabia not mentioned?

[Nynus]

I watched the speech and shook my head. It's going to be a long hot summer.

Can anyone tell me WHEN appeasement has EVER worked? I'm serious, I can't think of one, but some of my history is a bit fuzzy.

[Mastro]

it worked from 1933 until 1939 in Europe.......

[maverick35]

Old Mav realizes exactly some things do no not never change and so Obama like all presidents before him has conceded every thing to the Arabs no not nothing to Israel always it is the same old demand return to 1967 borders butt that is just the point there r no not any 1967 borders because there r no not any borders the Arabs recognize as borders they claim all of Palisteine thus this return to 1967 borders thing is just to concede every thing to the Arabs butt luckily America does no not use utilize military force to try to bring this about although it does bring monetary and so economic strangulation against me old Mav to do it and so old Mav has no not any say about borders as for a Palisteinian state they already have it whut the H*ll do you think they gota Abbas is the head of the Palisteinian state which ironicialy does not quite recognize Hamas thus they r at odds with each other some times atack each other although old Mav is no not exactly aware whut realy hapens in the middle east butt alas too many apeasers who geta every thing and so if old Mav ever geta a miracle before it is too late for old Mav they may pay dearly for trying to solve things by strangling old Mav and so America may geta to be the beach bullys there r no not any police that would help old Mav and so if old Mav ever geta the miracle old Mav needs they may pay dearly for strangling old Mav luckily at 66 they think it is too late for old Mav and so old Mav is over the hill and so ready to buy the farm and so they beter be right RIGHT cuz if they r wrong and so a miracle does save old Mav before it is too late for old Mav they may regret the 66 years they have strangled old Mav cuz they r beach bullys and so beach bullys have all the money muscle brains power right RIGHT and so u Americans British Caucasians world may have the beach bully advantage over old Mav right RIGHT now butt they beter hope no not nothing happens and so no not any miracle twist of time happens that changes that advantage luckily for old Mav they may no not never know if they do lose that advantage and so that they lost that advantage cuz old Mav and so exactly sure as H*ll is no not gona tell explain educate enlighten them right RIGHT and so old Mav is lucky they do no not take old Mav seriously and so old Mav needs a miracle sorry right... sorry old Mav

[billynomates]

He's a true socialist- giving away things that don't belong to him.

[maverick35]

Old Mav realizes exactly and so some people in this world geta every thing and so disease death no not bothers them and so death is like a wealthy rich politicial retirement pension fund and so trust supported thing to them and so no not death right RIGHT and so old Mav realizes socialist who can believe how that word works and so meaning they geta every thing butt then they have the brains for it the world feeds them right RIGHT and so even prision food feeds them right right RIGHT and so butt they beter hope old Mav no not geta the miracle old Mav needs if they think W W II Japanese prision camps wuz bad and so they wuz Sunday church picnics compared to whut old Mav would do and so luckily they do no not take old Mav seriously and so think old Mav is a crazy senile simple minded mentaly ill old J*wish minority person with delusions and so luckily for old Mav they do no not think old Mav at 66 may do any thing cuz old Mav is too old and so lucky to have this senior apartment much less be a danger and so old Mav no not gona write a leter to the president threatening to kill him and or any thing like that and so no not nothing more than chat post rant rave and so nothing that the Caucasians African Americans others may regard as a serious threat and so no not gona write a threatening leter to Q E II about how the British r gona pay dearly for the 66 years they have cheated old Mav so on and so old Mav is smart enough enuff to know to some degre the diference between laughed laffed at and so taken seriously and so thus they r no not gona catch old Mav how do they word it red handed doing any thing anti American and so anti British and so anti Caucasian and so anti African American and so so on and so nothing beyond chating posting ranting raving that is all they deserve all the notice they deserve they give old Mav no not even that much notice butt then old Mav is a man and so no not a beach bully like all of the Americans British African Americans so on and so after 66 years they think it is too late for old Mav whether u call it private beach bullyism and or public beach bullyism and so it is government beach bullyism and so they r no not fooling old Mav about that right RIGHT and so 66 years good food good housing so on butt no not nothing for old Mav until till old Mavs own nice niece helped old Mav geta this senior apartment and so if they think old Mavs own boat and so ship leaks and so wait until till old Mav geta the miracle if old Mav ever does before it is too late for old Mav and so if old Mav may recover to the degre needed they may sufer far worse than they have ever sufered and so if the Arabs and so Jews acept old Mavs own more than generous offer the world may pay more dearly than they think is posible and so luckily they think old Mav is just that old thus senile thus crazy thus simple minded and so no not nothing more and so turning 67 they will probably feel even more safe and so secure from old Mav and so butt then may be they r may be old Mav is just that and so a 66 crazy simple minded mentaly ill old J*wish minority person and so with delusions cuz old Mav has no not any shoes to wear and so old Mav does no not know how to cook and so butt then they all think they r like Samson and so cuz they all have their own women who feed them house them reproduce them do every thing for them one 1 Caucasian African Hindu Oriental women is worth more than a 100 and so 1 000 Arab and so J*wish and so Israeli women when it comes to cooking and so money and so if they lose that advantage and so then they may end up worse off than old Mav and so pay dearly for the 66 years they have cheated atacked old Mav right RIGHT and so old Mav is lucky it seems no not any N**is read old Mavs own chats posts and so do no not take old Mav seriously and so with all the money and so gold the world has and so oil and so they probably feel safe and so secure and so they beter be right RIGHT and so cuz if they r wrong and so they may pay dearly for it and so butt take away their own women and so they may no not be and so tough tuff and so butt then they probably think old Mav is crazy senile simple minded demented mentaly ill and so could no not never do any thing to them right RIGHT and so they beter be right RIGHT and so cuz right RIGHT and so thus old Mav is lucky they do no not take old Mav seriously and so old Mav needs a miracle sorry right... sorry old Mav