Obama extends olive branch to Middle East
Barack Obama speech in Cairo: Live
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Thursday, 04, Jun 2009 11:20
Barack Obama has outlined the seven key issues standing in the way of what he sees as the beginning of peace on earth in a major address at Cairo University.
The US president's continued attempt to reverse the disastrous breakdown in relations between the United States and the Muslim world that characterised the Bush administrations reached new heights in the Egyptian capital today.
The speech has now concluded but stay tuned for live updates, analysis and comment here on inthenews.co.uk.
Full story: Obama seeks new beginning with Middle East
Comment: Obama's lesson
Obama's Cairo speech in full
In pictures: Barack Obama in Cairo
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(All times BST)
12:05 - "The people of the world can live together in peace. That is God's vision and now that must be our work here on earth." Here endeth the lesson.
12:00 - "The issues I've described will not be easy to address." Perhaps the president's biggest ever understatement.
"If we choose to be bound by the past we will never more forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of everry faith and country. You more than anyone have the ability and opportunity to remake this world.
"All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. Do we spend that time focusing on what pushes us apart or commit to a sustained effort to find common ground to focus on the future we seek for our children and respect the dignity of all human beings.
"It's easier to start wars than to end them, it's easier to blame others than to look inwards. It's easier to see what is different about someone than find the things we share.
"We should choose the right path not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others what we would have them do unto us.
"This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new. It's a faith in other people and it's what brought me here today. We have the power to make the world we seek but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written."
11:56 - And the economy is the seventh and final issue. There need not need be contradictions between tradition and progress, Obama says, citing the example of South Korea and Japan.
Obama admits America's main focus in the Middle East has been oil and gas. He says the country now seeks a broader approach, beginning with education, pledging apprenticeships and scholarships to Muslim students in America. A contentious issue back home.
On economic development, he pledges a new corps of business partnerships, while the green stimulus he began this year in the States will spread globally, including the Middle East.
11:53 - Women's rights is issue number six. A woman who chooses to cover her hair is not less equal, the president says. The key discrimination is on education. Issues of women's equality are not unique to Islam.
"I am convinced our daughters can contribute to our society just as much as our sons." It is uncertain how much weight the president's words will carry in a sceptical region. The erosion of women's rights are ingrained in the national psyche of Saudi Arabia, arguably America's strongest Arab ally.
11:50 - Issue number five, freedom. Islam has a long tradition of tolerance, Obama opines, once again invoking the historical precedent. But how relevant is the tolerance afforded faiths in medieval al-Andalus to the 21st century Middle East?
Once again, however, President Obama says the ideals work both ways. He appears to back a Muslim's right to wear Islamic dress no matter what country they live in. Deeply controversial.
11:47 - Short shrift to Iran? Issue number four is democracy. The president has already spoken widely on this issue; he does not intend to force a system of governemnt on anyone. But he believes all people yearn for certain things, including the ability to speak your mind, having confidence in rule of law, being able to contribute to government, having a transparent government, having the freedom to live as you choose. These are not American ideals they are human rights.
Human rights: Something Obama's host President Mubarak is accused of violating over the last three decades years in Egypt. A coded message to the 81-year-old?
Vocal support from the audience on this issue.
11:44 - Nuclear weapons, issue number three. A source of tension between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran has defined itself by its opposition to Washington.
"Courage, rectitude and resolve" is Obama's approach to the Iranian question. He has previously committed to direct talks with Iran; a small price to pay to avoid a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
11:34 - Next up is Palestine, issue number two. America's and Israel's bond will never be broken, the president insists. Heavy silence in the auditorium. These next words are for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, holocaust denies are hateful and threats of destruction are deeply wrong.
The situation for Palestinians is intolerable. Dignity, opportunity and a state of their own is the president's pledge to the Palestinian diaspora. Resolving a decades-long stalemate is his task.
But:
- Palestinians must abandon violence
- The Palestinian authority must expand its ability to govern
- Hamas must recognise its responsibilities - Hamas must end violence and recognise past agreements, recognise Israel's right to exist (Hamas is a dirty word for US presidents and rarely mentioned)
- Israel must end the construction of illegal settlements
- Israel must end the blockade of Gaza
- Israel must take concrete steps to improve the quality of life of Palestinians in the West Bank
- Arab states must see the roadmap to peace as a beginning and not an end
- America must, and will, say in private what it says in public
11:26 - Obama is to outline the key issues in the region. Issue number one: Violent extremism in all its forms; America is not at war with Islam but will fight to the last to protect the American people. America did not choose to pursue al-Qaida or Taliban but did so out of necessity.
Obama's speech is taking a different tack than when in the Turkish parliament in April. Recalling the death-toll from the September 11th attacks is a bold stroke. He reassures his audience the US has no intention of establishing a permanent base in Afghanistan. Can he say the same for Iraq? Unlike Afghanistan, the president says, Iraq was a war of choice. His enduring conclusion from the war is that superiority of diplomacy over military action.
"Iraq's sovereignty is its own." All American troops are due out of the country by 2012. Iraq still comes under Obama's 'combating violent extremism' umbrella. He does say the war was contrary with America's "traditions and ideals". Torture banned, Guantanamo to be closed: These words get even more applause than his Qur'an quotations.
11:25 - "Whatever we think of the past we must not be prisoners to it, our problems must be dealt with by partnerships, our progress must be shared." Obama vows to not be held hostage by the policies and actions of his immediate predecessor.
11:23 - "Words alone cannot meed the needs of our people." A universal craning of necks follows this line, if words are not enough then what is? What will the president do?
11:20 - Warm applause for the president when he vows to fight the negative stereotypes of Islam, less so when he says the same must be true for how Muslims view America. This segment is for the folks back home, but Obama is in no doubt himself that he has no reason to apologise for America itself. More applause for the "Barack Hussein Obama" line. He says his story is no different (sic) than the seven million American Muslims.
11:15 - Whether the rhetoric lacks substance or not, but the power of the image of a US president quoting the Qur'an in an Islamic university cannot be understated.
11:14 - Obama says he is in Cairo to seek a "new beginning". Early days in the speech but fears he would skirt clear of the real issues are looking like they could be realised. The president says he does not have the time in today's address to discuss all the problems afflicting US-Middle East relations. Improved relations must begin with mutual respect he says.
11:12 - Obama evokes the historical context to the current "tension" between the US and the Muslim world. He is right, the suspicion with the west goes back a long time before George W Bush.
11:10 - Right on time, the president begins with his familiar series of 'thank yous'.
10:30 - Obama heads to Cairo University after visiting the Sultan Hassan mosque in the city's old Islamic quarter
10:10 - The streets of Cairo are virtually empty with a strong police presence. Thousands of US secret service agents are reportedly in the capital
09:30 - Hosni Mubarak greets President Obama as he arrives at the Qubba Palace. The two men held talks last night
09:00 - President Obama is mindful of the balancing act that begins with his speech at 13:10 local time (13:10 BST).
Conservatives in America are uncomfortable with their commander-in-chief's apologetic tone, while Muslims are unlikely to be swayed by his rhetoric alone.
If the president is to capitalise on Washington's improved standing in the Islamic world since his election, he must address specific areas of concern in the region, with the Palestinian question looming largest.