Posted on FoxNews.com-By The Associated Press-On May 19, 2011:
“President Obama, in a sweeping address tackling the uprisings in the Middle East and the stalled peace process, on Thursday endorsed Palestinians’ demand for their own state based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.
The break with longstanding U.S. policy is likely to aggravate the Israelis, who want the borders of any future Palestinian state determined through negotiations. The declaration comes ahead of a meeting in Washington between Obama and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The status quo is unsustainable,” Obama said. “A lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples.”
The U.S. had previously endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, but not the demand for permanent pre-1967 borders, with mutually agreed land swaps.
Though the shift will likely create tension as the president meets with Netanyahu and heads next to address Israel advocacy group AIPAC this weekend, Obama sought to assure that the United States’ commitment to Israeli security is “unshakable.”
He said Israeli’s right to defend itself will remain paramount, and suggested the recent unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas, which the U.S. deems a terrorist group, is problematic for negotiations. Though Israel occupied East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Six Day War, Obama said Thursday that the “future of Jerusalem” remains to be worked out, as does the fate of Palestinian refugees.
He also publicly rejected attempts by the Palestinians to gain recognition for their own state before the United Nations. “Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won’t create an independent state,” Obama said.
The border announcement, which came toward the end of the president’s 50-minute speech, was arguably the most significant statement in an address otherwise devoted to underscoring U.S. support for the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking at the State Department, the president sought to align the U.S. with the ambitions of protesters pushing for economic and political reform, while warning heads of state who resist this wave that the U.S. is losing patience.
“We cannot hesitate to stand squarely on the side of those who are reaching for their rights, knowing that their success will bring about a world that is more peaceful, more stable, and more just,” he said.
Obama, in his strongest words to date, offered an ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar Assad. “President Assad now has a choice. He can lead that transition or get out of the way,” Obama said.
He said Assad’s regime, which has killed hundreds in an effort to quell the unrest in Syria, must stop shooting and arresting its people.
Obama also called Al Qaeda and Usama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, a “dead end,” suggesting the push for reform will represent the future of the region. He sought to connect the death of bin Laden to the wave of protests, arguing that anti-western rhetoric and attacks are losing their audience. “The slaughter of innocents did not answer their cry for a better life,” he said.
Rather, Obama said: “A new generation has emerged and their voices tell us that change cannot be denied.”
The president is taking a carrot-and-stick approach as the Arab Spring turns to summer and protesters’ demands across the region are met with repression.
After sending U.S. forces into Libya two months ago to halt strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi’s advances against his people, the Obama administration sent a message Wednesday to Assad by slapping him and top officials in Damascus with financial sanctions over his regime’s brutal crackdown.
Obama, in his speech Thursday, addressed the standoff in these two countries, staunchly defending U.S. military involvement in Libya. But he also offered new levels of support to Egypt and Tunisia, countries where demonstrations ousted entrenched leaders and which the administration is holding up as a “beacon” in the region, according to one official.
He outlined specific dollar support for Egypt, where the nation’s tourism-fueled economy has fallen into a slump in the wake of the upheaval, in turn increasing the country’s projected deficit. Obama said Thursday the U.S. would forgive roughly $1 billion in debt owed by Egypt to free up money for job-creation efforts there. Plus he plans to guarantee up to $1 billion in loans for Egypt through the Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. government institution that mobilizes private capital.
Obama is pushing other steps to bolster loans, trade and international support in Egypt and in Tunisia. Protesters in Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and other nations have endured brutal setbacks. He said the changes in the region mark a “new chapter” for U.S. diplomacy and argued that America has an important role to play.
A new poll out of the Pew Research Center, though, found that the shifting political sands in the Middle East have not generally led to an improvement in the U.S. image in the region.“
Source:
Note: The following articles and/or blog posts and videos relate to this disturbing issue –You Decide:
Video: Netanyahu speaks from Oval Office-Posted on YouTube.com-By blazevid-On May 20, 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1fUhxQRKSCk
Netanyahu Rejects Obama Call for Palestinian State Based on 1967 Borders-Posted on FoxNews.com-By The Associated Press-On May 19, 2011:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/19/obamas-mideast-speech-offers-punishment-praise/
Hamas MP: The Jews Were Brought to Palestine for the “Great Massacre”-Posted on YouTube.com-ByMEMRITVVideos-On May 17, 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9Fic15V8ChE
Equal Rights or Equal Rites?-Posted on Nationa Review Online- By Paul Marshall-On May 19, 2011:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/267665/equal-rights-or-equal-rites-paul-marshall
Video: 'Today I Speak From My Heart' Obama's Guarantee To Never Divide Jerusalem-Posted on YouTube.com-By NakedEmperorNews1-On May 20, 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DMXzgBfQyc&feature=related
Note: My following blog post contains numerous articles and/or blog posts and videos that relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:
Is Israel the next Arab Facebook Campaign?
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/is-israel-the-next-arab-facebook-campaign/
Note: If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts, please copy web site and paste it on your browser. Sure seems like any subject matter that may be considered controversial is being censored-what happened to free speech?-You Decide.
“Food For Thought”
“God Bless & Keep Our USA Safe”
Semper Fi!
Jake
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