Campaign Statements — Barack Obama
Saturday July 07, 2012
On behalf of the American people, I extend my congratulations to the people of Libya for another milestone on their extraordinary transition to democracy. After more than 40 years in which Libya was in the grip of a dictator, today’s historic election underscores that the future of Libya is in the hands of the Libyan people. Across Libya today, voters turned out to exercise their hard-earned freedoms, most participating in an election for the first time in their lives. They cast ballots for representatives of a National Congress that will lead the next stage of Libya’s transition.
The United States is proud of the role that we played in supporting the Libyan revolution and protecting the Libyan people, and we look forward to working closely with the new Libya – including the elected Congress and Libya’s new leaders. We will engage as partners as the Libyan people work to build open and transparent institutions, establish security and the rule of law, advance opportunity, and promote unity and national reconciliation. There are still difficult challenges ahead and voting needs to be completed in some areas. As they begin this new chapter, the Libyan people can count on the continued friendship and support of the United States.
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CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Barack Obama |
Wednesday June 27, 2012
““We expect the transition to continue as has been promised by the (military) and we expect president-elect Morsi, as he forms a government, to demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity that is manifest by representatives of the women of Egypt, of the Coptic Christian community, of the secular non-religious community and, of course, young people……We hope that full democracy is understood to be more than one election,”
“One election does not a democracy make. That’s just the beginning of the hard work and the hard work requires pluralism, respecting the rights of minorities, independent judiciary, independent media…We know a lot of work lies ahead. They have to write a constitution, they have to look at how they are going to deal with the judicial decision about the parliament and seating a new parliament.”
“We are going to work with the leaders in support of that transition…we have heard some very positive statements so far, including about respecting international obligations which would, in our view, cover the peace treaty with Israel, but we’ll have to wait and judge by what is actually done.”
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CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Barack Obama |
Sunday June 24, 2012
This represents “A historic opportunity” for the United States “to pursue the world as it should be.” He said America must promote “change that advances self-determination and opportunity.”
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CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Barack Obama |
Sunday June 24, 2012
The United States intends to work with all parties within Egypt to sustain our long-standing partnership as it consolidates its democracy. We commend the Presidential Election Commission and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) for their role in supporting a free and fair election, and look forward to the completion of a transition to a democratically-elected government. We believe it is essential for the Egyptian government to continue to fulfill Egypt’s role as a pillar of regional peace, security and stability. And we will stand with the Egyptian people as they pursue their aspirations for democracy, dignity, and opportunity, and fulfill the promise of their revolution.
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CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Barack Obama |
Monday June 18, 2012
“We agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war.”
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CATEGORIES: Barack Obama | Syria |
Sunday May 27, 2012
“The fundamental premise is that neither the United States or the international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. We will do everything we can to prevent them from developing a weapon.International community’s been unified. We’ve put very tough sanctions on them as a result of that, and we are – you know, we are prepared for any contingency in that part of the world. But our hope is that these matters can be resolved diplomatically.”
- Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary
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CATEGORIES: Barack Obama | Iran |
Sunday May 27, 2012
“You know, I think without getting into the campaign rhetoric of what [Romney’s] asserting, I think you’ve got 50 nations in NATO that agree to a plan in Afghanistan. It’s the Lisbon agreement, an agreement that, you know, others, President Bush, President Obama, everyone has agreed is the direction that we go in in Afghanistan.
What is that direction? It’s to take us to a point where we draw down by the end of 2014. That is the plan that has been agreed to. And it’s a plan that is working.
And very frankly, the only way to get this accomplished in terms of the transition that we have to go through is to be able to set the kind of timelines that have been set here in order to ensure that we fulfill the mission of an Afghanistan that governs and secures itself. That’s what this is about.”
-Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary
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CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Barack Obama | War on Terror |
Sunday May 27, 2012
“Well the most important point is that we’re not going anyplace. We’re gonna, we have an enduring presence that will be in Afghanistan. We’ll continue to work with them on counterterrorism. We’ll continue to provide training, assistance, guidance. We’ll continue to provide support.
We are making good progress. I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened. We have not seen them able to conduct any kind of organized attack to regain any territory that they’ve lost. We’ve seen levels of violence going down. We’ve seen an Afghan army that is much more capable at providing security. We’ve seen transitions take place where we’re beginning to transition. Now we’re at about 50 percent of their population that’s been transitioned to their control.”
- Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary
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CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Barack Obama | War on Terror |
Saturday May 26, 2012
“We are revitalizing America’s alliances, and particularly NATO, the greatest military alliance the world has ever known because—because, as the President has rightly said, Europe is the cornerstone of our engagement with the world.
We learned during the Libya campaign, which saved thousands of innocents and helped topple a murderous dictator, that there is almost nothing we cannot accomplish when NATO and our partners act decisively, and when we actually share the burden of the responsibility.”
- Joseph Biden, Vice President
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CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Barack Obama | War on Terror |
Saturday May 26, 2012
“When President Obama and I came to office, we were convinced that our nation had reached a strategic turning point, requiring us to rebalance our foreign policy. While we will maintain a substantial, vigilant presence in the Middle East—and partners with the Afghanis—that will outlast our combat mission, we are now able to begin to focus our attention and resources on other regions and other challenges that will be incredibly critical to our nation’s future in the 21st century.”
- Joseph Biden, Vice President
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CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Barack Obama | War on Terror |
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Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
