Obama tells Muslim world 'America is not your enemy'
US President seeks to restore respect of Muslim nations, calls on Iran to 'unclench' fist for diplomacy.
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Monday told the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy" and renewed his pledge to travel to make an address in the capital of a major Muslim nation.
Obama noted that he had lived in Indonesia for several years while growing up, and said his travels through Muslim nations had convinced him that regardless of faith, people had certain common hopes and dreams.
"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy -- we sometimes make mistakes -- we have not been perfect," Obama said in an interview with the Al-Arabiya satellite television network.
"But if you look at the track record ... America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that."
During the 2008 election campaign, Obama vowed to improve US ties with the Muslim world and said he would travel to a major Islamic forum abroad to send that message.
"We're going to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital," Obama said in the interview with the Dubai-based channel.
"We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do a more effective job of reaching out, listening as well as speaking to the Muslim world," he said.
Obama did not give a time, or a venue for his visit to a major Muslim capital.
He was also asked about the highly personal tone of recent Al-Qaeda messages released since he was elected president in November.
He agreed with his interviewer that the tone of recent videos seemed "nervous."
"What that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt," he said.
Obama calls on Iran to 'unclench' fist
Obama on Monday said that the United States would offer Iran an extended hand of diplomacy if Tehran's leaders "unclenched their fist."
Obama said he would in the next few months lay out a general framework of policy towards Tehran in an interview with Al-Arabiya.
"As I said in my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."
"It is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of US power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran," Obama said.
Earlier, Susan Rice, the new US ambassador to the United Nations made her debut and pledged vigorous" and "direct" nuclear diplomacy with Iran but warned of increased pressure if Tehran refuses to halt uranium enrichment.
"We will look at what is necessary and appropriate with respect to maintaining pressure toward that goal of ending Iran's nuclear program," she added.
"Dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council and its continued refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase."
Time for Israelis and Palestinians to return to talks
Obama told Israelis and Palestinians Monday it was time to return to the negotiating table, as he dispatched his new special envoy George Mitchell on a debut tour of the region.
The US president, a week after his historic inauguration, cautioned however that he did not want expectations raised too high of swift progress in the volatile region, following the Israeli war on Gaza.
"I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people," Obama told Al-Arabiya television network.
"Instead, it's time to return to the negotiating table."
The new US president had earlier met Mitchell at the White House along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, before sending him off on a mission to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, London and Paris.
Obama, who has promised to directly address Middle East questions at the start of his presidency, rather than waiting for years like his predecessor George W. Bush, warned however against expectations of quick results.
"I want to make sure that expectations are not raised so that we think that this is going to be resolved in a few months," the president told the Dubai-based satellite television channel.
"But if we start the steady progress on these issues, I'm absolutely confident that the United States, working in tandem with the European Union, with Russia, with all the Arab States in the region -- I'm absolutely certain that we can make significant progress."
He said in the interview that he would formulate a "specific response" to recent events in the Middle East once Mitchell has reported back to him.
Mitchell begins his Middle East tour in Cairo Tuesday with a brief from Obama to "engage vigorously" to achieve real progress in Arab-Israeli peace efforts.
"The charge that Senator Mitchell has is to engage vigorously and consistently in order for us to achieve genuine progress," Obama said after the talks at the White House attended also by Clinton.
Source: Middle East Online
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