President Barack Obama will address the new overtures from Iran, as well as steps being taken to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons, and—everyone’s favorite—Israel-Palestinian peace talks, in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday.
White House officials say he intends to speak about how the U.S. sees events and complex challenges in the Middle East and North Africa, including the situation in Syria, and how these relate to U.S. interests.
He will probably not discuss how his own meddling in Egyptian affairs has led to the worst havoc in that country’s recent history, complete with an emerging reign of terror.
On Monday, according to VOA, Obama offered a preview of what he may say about what he called “convulsions” in the Arab world:
“I want to affirm that over the long run, we will all be better off if that small shopkeeper or that small farmer or that young student or that disabled person or that gay or lesbian person or that ethnic minority or that religious minority, if they have a voice and their dignity is respected, that is what will preserve our dignity and that is what will preserve our security over the long term,” Obama said.
In other words, our president has no clue as to the needs of individual Arabs—gay or straight, much less the strategy of meeting said needs. Good luck to one and all.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani will address the General Assembly session Tuesday, after Obama speaks to the world leaders. Rouhani has recently promised that Iran has no intention to develop nuclear weapons. It’s all done for medical research, including the warheads.
VOA reported new pressure on Obama from key Republican and Democratic senators, who urging him to use his speech to state again that Iran will not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. That means he wasn’t going to say as much originally.
Obama will meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas tuesday, on the sidelines of the General Assembly session. Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on September 30.