Obama urges unity against extremism
President Barack Obama challenged the international community Tuesday to confront the causes of turmoil in the Middle East, saying the attacks on U.S. citizens in Libya “were attacks on America” and the world faces “a choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common.”
Obama’s speech to an annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly was his last before the November election, and campaign politics shadowed his words as he also spoke forcefully on Iran’s nuclear program, the violence in Syria, the peace prospects between Israelis and Palestinians and the tensions that can come with freedom of speech.
“I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism,” Obama said.
The president condemned the amateur anti-Muslim video made in the U.S. that helped spark the recent protests that killed dozens of people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, calling it “cruel and disgusting.”
“There is no speech that justifies mindless violence,” Obama said.
But he strongly defended the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of the freedom of expression, “even views that we profoundly disagree with.”
The foreign minister of Indonesia, the nation with world’s largest Muslim population, said Obama’s speech was a “clarion call” for all nations to shun intolerance, and he expected Muslim nations to react positively.
“There will be a lot of sympathy. It is an issue that galvanizes all of us,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press. But he added that freedom of expression should be exercised with consideration to morality and public order.
Obama also warned that the time to peacefully curb the Iranian nuclear crisis is running out. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but fears that it is pursuing nuclear weapons have led Israel to threaten an attack.