Obama Arrives For "Truth-Telling" In Egypt

President To Give Long-Awaited Speech Aimed At Mending America's Image In Muslim World

(CBS/AP)  President Obama discussed the quest for Middle East peace and Iran's disputed nuclear ambitions with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday before delivering a dose of "truth-telling" about the often fraught relations between Americans and Muslims.

Aides said Obama's long-promised speech to a vast, electronically linked-in global audience would blend hopeful words about mutual understanding with carefully chosen language on Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, plus blunt talk about the need for Muslims to embrace democracy, women's rights and economic opportunity.

But first, Obama and Mubarak met privately on a range of topics. Chief among them: Iran's suspected efforts to build a nuclear bomb and the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

In brief remarks, Obama said they spoke about "how we could move forward in a constructive way to bring about peace and prosperity to all people in the region." He said he emphasized that "America is committed to working in partnership with countries of the region so that all people can meet their aspirations."

Mubarak added: "We opened all topics with no reservations."

After spending the night at Saudi King Abdullah's horse farm in the desert outside Riyadh, Obama arrived at Egypt's imposing, ornate Qubba Palace on a lush property in the middle of Cairo with nearly two dozen horses leading his motorcade down the wide, palm-lined palace drive.

The U.S. president jogged up the steps to greet his Egyptian counterpart with a handshake and the region's traditional double-cheek kiss. As the two leaders stood on a balcony, a military band in blue dress uniforms played both countries' national anthems.

Later, Obama was delivering his long-promised speech to an audience at Cairo University.

Obama said he was "very much looking forward" to that part of his trip, but that he wanted to meet with Mubarak first because he is someone "who obviously has decades of experience" on a range of issues.

His speech, Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif told CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan in an exclusive interview, could not come at a more critical moment.

"Time is working against us," Nazif said. "I think time is of the essence - we need to work fast and this is the message we've been getting from the administration. They're hopeful to see something - see something before the end of this year and I think it's very important that it would happen in the first year of this administration."

What Nazif was talking about, first and foremost, is the creation of a Palestinian state - an end to violence between Israel and the Palestinians - and how much pressure President Obama will be willing to put on Israel's conservative prime minister to achieve that.

"The Israeli-Palestinian issue is the core - you solve this problem and you'll find that many other issues have to fall in line," Nazif said.

His brief stay in the city also included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study, and a tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza on the capital's outskirts. Aides said the schedule also would afford Obama time to talk to Egyptian journalists and young people.

By the time Obama had arrived, some of Cairo's main thoroughfares, normally packed with cars in the morning rush, were near empty. Many residents chose to stay home rather than try to navigate the sprawling city of 18 million with the heavy traffic restrictions.

The independent newspaper Al-Dustour ran a front-page banner headline that read: "Today Obama visits Egypt after evacuating it of Egyptians." Another paper's headline said: "Cairo closed."

Some major streets around areas Obama was visiting were closed to traffic and lined with police in white uniforms and central security forces. Sidewalks and bridges around the airport road and the presidential palace were freshly painted and cleaned. Near the Sultan Hassan mosque, Egyptian authorities moved an entire bus station to keep crowds far away. Traffic police spread flyers to let drivers know which roads were closed.

Even though he's been promising this speech since the election campaign, in recent days Obama has sought to downplay it.

"One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," he told a French interviewer. "Expectations should be somewhat modest."

Yet there was little doubt Muslims were listening closely. From the souk stalls of Baghdad to the Internet cafes in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama spent part of his youth, Muslims sought to parse the words of the first American president, whose father was one of their own.

And lest any miss Obama's outreach, the tech-savvy White House planned a communications onslaught: a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up to get - and answer - speech highlights; and plans to push excerpts out to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

One likely listener replied early: Osama bin Laden, who in a new audio tape accused President Obama of sowing "new seeds to increase hatred and revenge" by encouraging Pakistan's military offensive in the Swat Valley. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed the tape as a bid "to shift attention away from the president's historic efforts."

Below, CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports on the bin Laden tape:

Denis McDonough, a deputy national security adviser, said Obama's address would contain "a good deal of truth-telling about our range of issues and concerns, as well as our common and mutual interests across the board."

One thing Muslims were likely to listen closely for was Obama's discussion of a hoped-for Palestinian state. He's long backed one, and has been urging Israel to freeze West Bank settlements as a prelude. "He will discuss in some detail his view of the (Arab-Israeli) conflict and what needs to be done to resolve it," National Security Council speechwriter Ben Rhodes said.

Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture here for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University. The lectern was set up in the domed main auditorium on a stage dominated by a picture of Mubarak.

Human rights advocates found that symbolism troubling: an American president watched over by an aging autocrat who's ruled Egypt since 1981.

"Egypt's democrats cannot help being concerned," wrote Dina Guirguis, executive director of Voices for a Democratic Egypt.

The university's alumni are among the Arab world's most famous - and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz. Saddam Hussein studied law in the '60s but did not graduate. And al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earned a medical degree.

Ahead of the speech, al-Zawahri posted his own Internet video warning that Obama's words cannot drown out the "bloody messages" sent by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[ladypirate2]

It belonged to the Canaanites.
Posted by ladypirate2 at 9:19 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The gods of the native Americans told them that the land of America belonged to them, and they to the land, but you still murdered them and stole it, didn't you?
Posted by hower4 at 7:37 AM : Jun 5, 2009

I didn't murder anyone! I wasn't born then and neither were you!

[ladypirate2]

bet they were not pleased when your god gave their country away! By the way, where did your god define the borders of Israel when he gave it to the Jews?

You didn't answer my question about how your god speaks to you.
Posted by hower4 at 12:17 AM : Jun 5, 2009

To answer your question about Israel' borders Genesis 15: 18 says "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:"

Exodus 23: 27 - 33 Says (This is God speaking to Abraham) I will send my fear before thee, and I will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. I will send hornets before thee, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. Little by little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee."

In short Israel was given all of the land from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers and from the Mediteranean Sea to the Red Sea. Of course today they don't claim all of that area but it was given to them. God drove most of the inhabitants out with hornets. The Bible doesn't say how the rest of the inhabitants were driven out.

Yes, I did answer your question about how God speaks to me. I said that he doesn't speak to me in an audible voice. I said that his spirit, the Holy Spirit speaks to me. He speaks to my heart. His spirit speaks to my spirit when I go to Him in prayer. He also speaks to me through His Word, the Holy Bible.

When I need answers, when I need comfort I just go to Him in prayer and I open my Bible and I read. I always find the answers and the comfort that I need there.

[hower4]

It belonged to the Canaanites.
Posted by ladypirate2 at 9:19 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The gods of the native Americans told them that the land of America belonged to them, and they to the land, but you still murdered them and stole it, didn't you?

[hower4]

It belonged to the Canaanites.
Posted by ladypirate2 at 9:19 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I bet they were not pleased when your god gave their country away! By the way, where did your god define the borders of Israel when he gave it to the Jews?

You didn't answer my question about how your god speaks to you.

[ladypirate2]

So who did it belong to before there were any Jews?
Posted by hower4 at 2:07 PM : Jun 4, 2009

It belonged to the Canaanites.

[hower4]

As far as the land actually belonging to them, yes they are! The land belongs to the Jews because God gave it to Abraham who in turn gave it to his youngest son Isaac, the father or ancestor of the Jews. He blessed his oldest son Ishmael but he gave the land and the bulk of his blessings to Isaac. Therefore, I beleve the Palestinians and the Muslims should be treated decently and they should be allowed to own their own homes and property there but Israel as a whole should always belong to the Jews!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 1:17 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So who did it belong to before there were any Jews?

[hower4]

I thought you said that you speak for most people? You just said that most Americans are Christian!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 1:00 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It appears that like most Americans you don't give a thought to the rest of the world!

[hower4]

To answer your question, yes He does speak to me! Not in an audible voice that can be heard, but through his Spirit and in the Holy Bible, which I read. And yes I do speak to Him daily in prayer!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 12:34 PM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How does he speak to you through his Spirit?

[ladypirate2]

Therefore, to me and to most Christians Israel is the Holy Land!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 3:42 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So anyone else who says it is THEIR Holy Land too is wrong, are they?
Posted by hower4 at 3:59 AM : Jun 4, 2009

As far as the land actually belonging to them, yes they are! The land belongs to the Jews because God gave it to Abraham who in turn gave it to his youngest son Isaac, the father or ancestor of the Jews. He blessed his oldest son Ishmael but he gave the land and the bulk of his blessings to Isaac. Therefore, I beleve the Palestinians and the Muslims should be treated decently and they should be allowed to own their own homes and property there but Israel as a whole should always belong to the Jews!

[ladypirate2]

Sadly, you are wrong. Most Americans are Christian, racist, violent and stupid. This sad fact will dictate American politics for many years to come. The last election was just the American people reacting to the Bush administration being ****ing useless, not because they disagreed with their morals. The next US president will be another neocon, because that's what most American people really want.
Posted by hower4 at 4:11 AM : Jun 4, 2009

I thought you said that you speak for most people? You just said that most Americans are Christian!

[ladypirate2]

Do you realize you do not speak for most people?
Posted by TPS2 at 10:00 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Actually, in this case, I do.
Posted by hower4 at 10:15 AM : Jun 4, 2009

You don't speak for me or any of my friends! You only speak for a very tiny minority in this country called atheists. Most people in this country still believe in God and the majority of us still attend church at least occasionally!

[ladypirate2]

Jesus and his disciples were thought to be lunatics, too. I'm in good company!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 3:46 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'm curious - Does your god talk to you, and you to him?
Posted by hower4 at 3:54 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As usual - the Christians like ladypirate2 just run away as soon as anyone asks them a question. If you have so little confidence in your religion, how can you still believe in it?
Posted by hower4 at 4:37 AM : Jun 4, 2009

I haven't ran away from anything. I'm still here. I just had to take a break. I'm human. I have to eat and sleep sometimes. To answer your question, yes He does speak to me! Not in an audible voice that can be heard, but through his Spirit and in the Holy Bible, which I read. And yes I do speak to Him daily in prayer!

[hower4]

Do you realize you do not speak for most people?
Posted by TPS2 at 10:00 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Actually, in this case, I do.

[TPS2]

Do you realise that to most people you sound like a raving lunatic?
Posted by hower4 at 3:28 AM : Jun 4, 2009

Do you realize you do not speak for most people?

[ReallyMeanIt]

obama and the truth is like oil and water, or rev. wright and racial harmony, or michele and patriotism, or bill ayers and dalai lama, or biden and intelligent thoughts, or olberman and reality, or maddow and heterosexual, or...................

[impeachbhb]

Obama = treason

[hower4]

Jesus and his disciples were thought to be lunatics, too. I'm in good company!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 3:46 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'm curious - Does your god talk to you, and you to him?
Posted by hower4 at 3:54 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As usual - the Christians like ladypirate2 just run away as soon as anyone asks them a question. If you have so little confidence in your religion, how can you still believe in it?

[hower4]

is it any reason that conservative lost these last two elections. this clown is still calling names; and incorrect names at that. neocons are so doomed; as is the republican party.
Posted by bigsk8fan at 4:03 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sadly, you are wrong. Most Americans are Christian, racist, violent and stupid. This sad fact will dictate American politics for many years to come. The last election was just the American people reacting to the Bush administration being ****ing useless, not because they disagreed with their morals. The next US president will be another neocon, because that's what most American people really want.

[bigsk8fan]

Obama telling the truth? That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one. The ONLY one's that will be telling the truth on this trip are the arabs. If Obama wasn't a muslim himself, My question would be why does the president of the US give a sh** about what the rag*heads think? But he is a muslim and he must appease his muslim supporters.
Posted by libsRlost

is it any reason that conservative lost these last two elections. this clown is still calling names; and incorrect names at that. neocons are so doomed; as is the republican party.

[hower4]

Therefore, to me and to most Christians Israel is the Holy Land!
Posted by ladypirate2 at 3:42 AM : Jun 4, 2009
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So anyone else who says it is THEIR Holy Land too is wrong, are they?