Obama: Step by Step with the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ghassan Al-Imam - (Opinion) June 3, 2009 - 12:00am


Europe sees in Obama another John Kennedy, and the United States sees in him Abraham Lincoln, who reconciled the country with itself after a bitter civil war, and then compares him to Franklin Roosevelt, the author of the "New Deal" who got the country out of its economic crisis in the thirties.


US policy needs to change
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) June 3, 2009 - 12:00am


There are great expectations that a new, friendlier era of US policy towards Arab and Muslim countries will be ushered in by Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East. Not only will he make an important visit to Saudi Arabia, but also he is due to give a major address in Egypt, underlining his administration's praiseworthy attempt to engage the Arab and Muslim world to a degree unmatched by his predecessors.


Tensions in J'lem ahead of Obama's speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am


Jerusalem will be listening intently along with the rest of the world to US President Barack Obama's speech Thursday in Cairo, hoping his outreach to the Muslim world does not come at Israel's expense. "Like everyone else we will be following the speech very closely," one senior official said Wednesday. While officials in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office did not see a draft of the speech, nor were they asked for their input, they were briefed on the overall content, the official said.


Obama Hopeful on Mid-East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
June 2, 2009 - 12:00am


US President Barack Obama has told the BBC he believes his country can help to get serious Middle East peace negotiations back on track. Mr Obama's first interview with a UK broadcaster comes on the eve of a trip to the Middle East and Europe. On Iran, he said he hoped to see progress by the end of the year, through "tough, direct diplomacy". But he said, rather than imposing its values on other countries, the US should act as a role model.


The Difficult Questions Concerning Obama's Middle East Visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Bilal Hassen - June 1, 2009 - 12:00am


The Palestinian catastrophe [Al-Nakbah] anniversary month, May, has come to an end with American President Barack Obama receiving Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, and by the end of this month - which has been a month of meetings and discussions - the American president immediately starts his practical moves to concretize the results of his meetings and consultations. This will be done with two visits: A first visit to Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday 3 June 2009, and a second visit to Egypt, on Thursday 4 June 2009.


Obama's Full Interview With NPR
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris - (Interview) June 1, 2009 - 12:00am


Steve Inskeep: And I'll just say to you formally, Mr. President, welcome to the program. President Barack Obama: Thank you so much. Michele Norris: We're so glad you could join us, or we could join you, in this case. If you want to improve relations with the Muslim world, do you have to change or alter in some way the strong U.S. support for Israel?


A Historic Opportunity for Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


When US President Barack Obama gives his awaited speech in Egypt next Thursday on June 4, it will be in his interest to have thoroughly examined the speech given by his predecessor, George W. Bush, on April 4, 2002, which was the most powerful speech given by a US President concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.


Egypt Must Preserve its Strategic Ties with US While Addressing Security Threats, Says Asali

ATFP President Ziad Asali called on the Egyptian government to protect its strategic relations with the United States, and avoid playing into the hands of those who want to see those ties compromised.



TAGS:
Foreign Policy Address at the Council on Foreign Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm


Thank you very much, Richard, and I am delighted to be here in these new headquarters. I have been often to, I guess, the mother ship in New York City, but it’s good to have an outpost of the Council right here down the street from the State Department. We get a lot of advice from the Council, so this will mean I won’t have as far to go to be told what we should be doing and how we should think about the future.



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