Obama Vows To Push For Middle East Peace
Ill. Senator Says U.S. Must Recognize Israel's Security Concerns And Palestinian Hardships
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The World Is Watching Obama
World interest in the election campaign has reached an all time high. And as Katie Couric reports, Barack Obama's foreign tour gives him a chance to share his vision with a global audience.
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Obama's Tour Of The Mideast
Barack Obama hopes to convince voters back home that he's comfortable on the world stage. Katie Couric reports on Obama's journey so far and the often precarious world of foreign policy.
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Eye To Eye: Obama's Iraq Tour
"Only On The Web": Katie Couric speaks with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, about the short and long term implications of Barack Obama's tour of Iraq.
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., gives a statement after he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Obama spoke of a "historic and special relationship between the United States and Israel, one that cannot be broken" and one that he hoped to strengthen as president. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, accompanied by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., speaks during a news conference at the citadel in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Barack Obama said "my goal is to have US troops no longer engaged in combat operations in Iraq." (CBS)
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In this photo released by the Governorate of the Anbar Province, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, 2nd left, talks with the governor of Iraq's Anbar province, Maamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani, right, in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. (AP)
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., center, hugs his foreign policy advisor Scott Gration as he arrives at Marka Airport in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Photo Essay
Obama in the Mideast
Democratic presidential hopeful holds talks in Iraq, Afghanistan
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Interactive
Iraq: 5 Years At War
Five years after the U.S.-led invasion, the war wears on.
In a news conference here before departing for Israel, he said any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel's security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians.
He said he would continue to regard Israel as a valued ally. "That policy is not going to change," he said.
"What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president to be actively engaged with the peace process and to be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now."
Arriving in Jerusalem later Tuesday, Obama said he hoped his administration would strengthen the historic special relationship between the United States and Israel and, citing a Palestinian attack in downtown Jerusalem earlier in the day, pledged "to work diligently, urgently and in a unified way to defeat terrorism."
Obama, in the midst of a weeklong high visibility foreign trek, also acknowledged the long history of Middle East tensions that would confront him if he were to become president.
"It's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," he said.
Obama was in Afghanistan and Iraq before arriving in Jordan on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah II. He planned to leave for Israel later in the day. He then is scheduled to travel to Europe.
In exclusive and separate interviews, "CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric spoke with Obama and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain about the troop surge in Iraq.
Jordan's king told Obama that an evenhanded U.S. policy would bolster America's credibility in the Middle East and that achieving Palestinian statehood is essential for ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, according to a royal palace statement summarizing Abdullah's remarks during a closed-door meeting with the Illinois senator Tuesday at Abdullah's private Amman residence.
Obama condemned an attack in Jerusalem on Tuesday, where a Palestinian man rammed a construction vehicle into cars and a bus near the downtown hotel where Obama was scheduled to stay later in the day. An Israeli civilian shot and killed the driver. Several people were injured in the attack, which resembled a deadly vehicle assault that took place in the city earlier this month.
"Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long," Obama said.
Campaign aides said Obama intends to visit a southern Israeli town that is a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
The stop in Sderot is part of a crowded day of events on Wednesday in which the Illinois senator has also arranged to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the West Bank and with Israeli leaders.
Susan Rice, a foreign policy adviser, said Obama wanted to go to Sderot because it is a "place in which Israel's security is every day at risk and threatened. And Sen. Obama will have the opportunity to see that first hand and get a very personal feel for the everyday" difficulties. His schedule indicates he intends to spend slightly more than an hour there.
Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan was an official congressional trip, paid for with federal funds. The balance of his travels are financed by his presidential campaign.
The Illinois Democrat is working to shore up support among U.S. Jewish voters, many of whom supported Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle for the party's presidential nomination, and some of whom have questioned his commitment to Israel.
Obama's schedule for Wednesday also includes a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Aides said a stop at the Western Wall, one of the holiest places in Judaism, was also a possibility.
In addition to Abbas, Obama's meeting list for the day includes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his Cabinet as well as Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the opposition Likud party and a former prime minister.
In his news conference, Obama alluded to the internal domestic problems facing Olmert, who is facing allegations of corruption, and the political schism among Palestinians.
"One of the difficulties that we have right now is that in order to make those compromises you have to have strong support from your people, and the Israeli government right now is unsettled," he said. "You know, the Palestinians are divided between Fatah and Hamas."
He compared the existing circumstances with those that permitted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to sign a peace treaty in 1979.
"Those leaders were in a much stronger position to initiate that kind of peace," Obama said.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.




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Let me simplify so you can understand. The Iraqis don''t want us occupying their country indefinitely and want us to commit to beginning a pullout that will shift control to their forces. They want that to occur at an accelerated pace to what they''ve seen so far. If we wait for perfect security to begin a significant reduction in our forces how will we ever know if Iraqi forces are up to the task?
Obama has made it clear that he wants to begin an accelerated withdrawal and that so long as the country doesn''t degenerate into total chaos(which is unlikely)that pace can continue unabated.
At a pace of 1-2 brigades per month coming out we can hold a significant force in theater(in Kuwait)to go back in if conditions warrant. Meanwhile, we can better rorate our forces and bolster our forces in Afghanistan.
The only way to ever determine the true capabilities of Iraqi forces to provide their own security is to begin a withdrawal that will test their readiness. The baby steps of the administration won''t do that, particularly when the goal of maintaining a U.S. combat and occupation presence is still being clung to with the thought of permanent bases. That was never the mission and shouldn''t be now.
Although I am very happy that violence for both our troops and Iraqi civilians is down, I am not sure it was totally as the result of the additional troops. According to 2 Iraqi Parliament members speaking at a House Foreign Affairs Sub Committee meeting, they attribute the decease in violence to Tribal Chief militias going after Al Quaedi terrorists.
Ref: http://c-span.org/search.aspx?For=iraq+parliment&By=Relv
House Foreign Affairs Subcmte. Hearing with Iraqi Parliament Members
Sunday, June 8, 2008 : Washington, DC : 2 hr. 55 min.
However, as everyone remembers, the Surge wasn%u2019t about decreasing the level of violence. The mandate of the Surge was to provide security while the Iraqi government reached political agreements, most of which have now been accomplished.
I would argue that it has been Barack Obama%u2019s tough talk about pulling our troops out that has FINALLY forced the Iraqi%u2019s to begin to reach political reconciliation.
After SIX years in Iraq, it is about time that someting ''kind of'' worked.
I would argue that the below excepts from news articles is the (biggest) reason violence is down:
"%u2026Sunni tribal leaders who have joined U.S. and Iraqi forces in the fight against insurgents.
Obama traveled to Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province west of Baghdad, to meet with Sunni leaders of the so-called Awakening Councils that rose up last year against al Qaeda in Iraq. "
Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/22/politics/main4281088.shtml
"Tribal sheiks last year began an uprising against insurgents that is credited with uprooting extremist strongholds and helping bring violence around Iraq to its lowest levels in four years."
Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/22/politics/main4281267.shtml
It''s still going to take decade to put the country back together.
But, at least now, we''ll be able to go fight terrorism where it should have been fought...
AFGHANISTAN.
And, what is with not wearing a suit when he''s meeting with other officials? A real loser.
After Visit To Iraq, Dem Candidate Says Security Has Improved, Emphasizes End To Combat Operations
Of course it does...that is what the PRESIDENT has been working on for months!
Why does this idiot think this is some kind of new concept and he''s the only one that thought it up?
Is it really possible that our federal legislators are planning to pass Barack Hussein Obama''s Global Poverty Act while they think we aren''t looking?
Here''s what conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly said:
"Rumors have been circulating around Capitol Hill that a few activist groups have renewed their surge and have begun lobbying full force for a bill introduced by presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). The bill has already passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without any public hearings, and it also passed the House earlier this year. It is important to note that both of these votes were ''voice votes,'' which was a deliberate strategy of the congressional majority so that no record would be kept of those who voted in favor of this problematic bill."
Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media recently issued the following report:
"While Senator Barack Obama struggles to keep the public in the dark about the nature of his pro-U.N. Global Poverty Act, a recent ''Bay Area Interfaith Leaders'' Luncheon'' was held to lobby for Senate passage of the bill, whose cost has been estimated at $845 billion..."
Posted by notblue
They didn''t exist in Iraq until we opened the doors for them. Afghanistan/Pakistan is the logical choice to hunt these ragheads. We should have finished weeding them out before leaving.
After Visit To Iraq, Dem Candidate Says Security Has Improved, Emphasizes End To Combat Operations
Of course it does...that is what the PRESIDENT has been working on for months!
Why does this idiot think this is some kind of new concept and he''''s the only one that thought it up?
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Posted by RowdyWicca at 10:57 AM : Jul 22, 2008
As a matter of fact, those negotiations have been going on since the WAR was won...and the occupancy began!
Does this idiot not even know what political solution means?
ronnierayjenkins.com
Posted by RowdyWicca
Bush didn''t.
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Posted by Displeased at 10:58 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Of course they didn''t! They were hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan in caves and then slipping into Pakistan when we got near them!
That is one of the reasons Bush took the war into Iraq and got rid of crazy old Saddam at the same time! So we could fight these bastwards out in the open desert and could find their arse!
And now the great majority are dead, and the stragglers running back to hide in Afghanistan!
Posted by RowdyWicca
Bush didn''''t.
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Posted by Displeased at 11:02 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Sure he did...he''s been trying to build up the damned Iraqi security and negotiate with these bastwards since 2003!
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Posted by notblue at 11:03 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Well said! And a racist too boot!
Does this idiot not even know what political solution means?
Posted by RowdyWicca at 10:59 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Oh PLEASE! MY Six Year Grandson knows what happened to the stupid Red Necks here. Bin Laden KNEW them as well as anyone on the planet. He KNEW the Greedy Oil Men couldn''t resist attacking Iraq and he lead them on, giving him time to rebuild his forces that had been seriously hurt in Afganistan. Sir LIES-A_LOT lied to all of us to do JUST exactly what the Enemy wanted him to do. NOW we have a Military Extended beyond belief AND the REAL Enemy is waiting for them in the Hills of Afganistan. Now everyone remember that the Soviets fought with these people that Bush/McSame allowed off the hook for 6 years!! We''d better get someone in office who has a little more INTELLIGENCE and someone that the Enemy won''t know what or when they are going t come at them. Sieg Heil Bush
McVet, how would you describe life for the Iraqis under Sadam? Peaceful?
Posted by notblue at 11:04 AM : Jul 22, 2008
I''ll answer that one. It was more peaceful and even more prosperous and comfortable for the average Iraqi citizen. This war and occupation has been a total disaster for the Iraqi people.
Posted by b48151 at 11:02 AM : Jul 22, 2008
It would seem the rest of the World and the Majority of American''s do NOT agree with you?? Say YOU haven''t been playing with your Magic Swastika again have you?? Now you''ve been told over and over that it doesn''t work!! SIEG HEIL BUSH
ritewingnut
Why don''t you sign up and go fight in Iraq since you think we should keep our sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers there fighting and dying for nothing.
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Posted by MCVet at 11:08 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Oh really? Seems like Obama can''t get the majority vote of the democrats, and the republicans haven''t even had a chance to vote against him yet!
Like Americans are going to let this Islamofast hugging bastward near the White House!
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McCain will never get it. While we cannot lose in Iraq, we cannot win either.
Posted by notblue at 11:04 AM : Jul 22, 2008
I''''ll answer that one. It was more peaceful and even more prosperous and comfortable for the average Iraqi citizen. This war and occupation has been a total disaster for the Iraqi people.
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Posted by singingrick at 11:08 AM : Jul 22, 2008
+ report
I think there are some Kurds over there that were lying in mass graves after they were shot full of mustard gas that just might disagree with you!
Posted by notblue at 11:03 AM : Jul 22, 2008
NOW THIS is a typical Bootlicker!! THEY can''t think for themselves enough to KNOW when they have been played for a sucker!! As an NCO, the United States Marines taught me to NEVER open a fight on TWO fronts and to NEVER leave your enemy when they are in retreat. IF we do NOT turn this fight over to people who want to defeat that enemy and we leave it to simple minded LOSERS like this fascist we are doomed. THE code is simple and has been with us as long as anyone can remember. SOMEONE attacks you, YOU go after them, you send EVERY nut on the planet a message. YOU attack us, we WILL hunt you down. ANYONE thinking, in hopes of some end of the world insanity, that we can POSSIBABLY track down and destroy all "Radical''s" on the planet is simply out of their small minds. Sieg Heil Bush
Rasmussen Tracking 07/19 - 07/21 3000 LV 46 46 Tie
Posted by notblue
this poster must be suffering from permanent brain damage- he still equates the bush war on iraq with 9-11 despite the fact iraq had nothing to do with it.
what can we do for these unfortunates? not much, as anyone dumb enough to continue this lying neocon charade, is simply a hopeless ***. sorry notblue, you haven''t learned at thing.
Can anyone Say Unbeleivalbe. You would think OBAMA would run away with this election with 200 reporters and the MSM in his pocket. I guess america are not sheep as I thought before. Not to mention Obama has outspent Mccain 3 to 1
Rasmussen Tracking 07/19 - 07/21 3000 LV 46 46 Tie
Please stop trying to bring America down with your hateful posts...the troops need our support!
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Posted by jh6379 at 11:12 AM : Jul 22, 2008
Then support them and let them get the job done and stop spewing your racist krap!
They''ve got the Islamofast bastwards about whipped in Iraq and sent the stragglers running back to Afghanistan!
All you people want to do is run like bunch of chicken ******...and leave Iraq...when it''s almost stable enough to support itself because of the efforts of our troops!
ritewingman
Bush, McBush and Petreus have all said that Iraq needs a political solution. That''s because it''s the truth.
Obama was right about this war. It was a moronic mistake from the beginning and has been run with criminal incompetence since.
Where is the political reconciliation which was the entire purpose of the surge in the first place?
I''ll answer for you since you don''t seem to know anything that isn''t a neocon talking point. Political reconciliation ain''t happening. Until it does, we will be stuck playing referee indefinitely.
Newsflash - Your holier-than-thou Obama wants to send tired troops into Afghanistan to get another 4,000 killed.....how''s it like with the new War-monger Obama ?
Now, a little history lesson for you lib. You would call it ancient history cause it goes way, way, way back to 1992. This was before the goracle became the pope of your new religion, global warming. The goracle, known as al gore back then, was giving a campaign speech and ripped ole Bush 1 for not taking out evil saddam when he had a chance. Now, you can find this on youtube if you care to look it up. Why al said saddam was vile, evil, killing his own people AND amassing WMD''s. Ole al swore that when he and bubba took over the WH they would be sure to take him out.
Now, as per usual, the left tends to rewrite history. So, singinrick, how come bubba and the goracle didn''t take the evil saddam out??? Oh yea, the Iraqi''s were happy, flying kites, young women weren''t raped, young men weren''t throw from rooftops and the Kurds, my God, the Kurds were the best off of all.
Idiot!!
Has mccain figured out the difference between sunni and shiite yet?
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Posted by jh6379 at 11:16 AM : Jul 22
Has Obama figured out where Austwitcz is yet, and when the Selma march actually took place???
Can anyone Say Unbeleivalbe. You would think OBAMA would run away with this election with 200 reporters and the MSM in his pocket. I guess america are not sheep as I thought before. Not to mention Obama has outspent Mccain 3 to 1
Rasmussen Tracking 07/19 - 07/21 3000 LV 46 46 Tie
Posted by jh6379 at 11:16 AM : Jul 22, 2008
+ report abus
LOL Helll he doesn''t know what''s next to Pakistan either!
Has Obama figured out while on his trip, that we don''t have 57 states ? hopefully he didn''t open his mouth during the trip, or he''s sure to be embarrassed
All you people want to do is run like bunch of chicken ******...and leave Iraq...when it''''s almost stable enough to support itself because of the efforts of our troops!
Posted by RowdyWicca at 11:16 AM : Jul 22, 2008
So?? You are saying we should just force ourselves upon these people... stay there if they like it or not? You fascist think you are so "Superior" and you really aren''t. THEY, the PEOPLE of IRAQ, could make it no more clear! They want us OUT! We had NO business there to begin with and THEY WANT US OUT!! SIEG HEIL BUSH
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Posted by MCVet
Yes - immediately - so we can send the troops to Afghanistan. Moron Alert - Moron Alert. Lights flashing all around and all these blinded by light supporters of the deliverer Obama have jumped on the bus to Iraq2. Yes it is true and extremely political party IGNORANT.
Posted by notblue
I''d say there''d be about 650''000 more living iraqis, and 2''000''000 less exiles.
Mighty big difference - iraq has 20 million, 650''000 dead are almost 3% of their population -
translated to America that^d be about 9''000''000 dead Americans -
my gawd, you guys have no conception of human life.
Posted by Minuteman-1 at 11:16 AM : Jul 22, 2008
YOU are a liar!! Plain and simple! You are a LIAR!! Obama wants to END these war''s and McSame hasn''t a clue even where the enemy is for gods sake... HELLL man he doesn''t even know Where Pakistan is!! SIEG HEIL BUSH
Let''s go over this one more time for those of you (neocons) that are slow.
The Iraqis want us out of Iraq. The American people want us out of Iraq. We had no business going in in the first place.
Got it?
ummmm chamberlain said the same thing nancy,,,
GO HOME & GET A NICE QUIET SLEEP!!
sound familiar??? it should!!!
THERE IS NO PEACE WITH FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM!!!!
NEVER HAS BEEN,,, NEVER WILL BE,,,
PEACE FOR OUR TIME WITH FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM...LOL...
RIGHTTTTTTT,,,
SOUNDS LIKE FAMOUS LAST WORDS
1938: ''Peace for our time'' - Chamberlain
The British Prime Minister has been hailed as bringing "peace to Europe" after signing a non-aggression pact with Germany.
PM Neville Chamberlain arrived back in the UK today, holding an agreement signed by Adolf Hitler which stated the German leader''s desire never to go to war with Britain again.
The two men met at the Munich conference between Britain, Germany, Italy and France yesterday, convened to decide the future of Czechoslovakia''s Sudetenland.
My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is "peace for our time." Go home and get a nice quiet sleep
http://britannia.com/history/docs/peacetime.html
Both Wright and Obama have been involved with this organization. They claim to be a peace group. Decide for yourselfs.
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