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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
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30

Obama Seeks 'New Beginning' for US, Muslims

Calls for end to 'cycle of suspicion and discord'

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(Newser) – Speaking in Cairo, President Obama called for a “new beginning” for the US and the Muslim world, the BBC reports. The “cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” he said at Cairo University, urging a “sustained effort...to respect one another and seek common ground.” Acknowledging that “no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust,” he said “we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts.”

Obama called the US bond with Israel “unbreakable,” but noted that the “situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable.” Pointing to the Iraq war, he said “no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.” He said the US wasn’t looking to establish permanent bases in Iraq or Afghanistan. “Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Barack Obama waves to the audience as he arrives at the podium at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, June 4, 2009.
President Barack Obama waves to the audience as he arrives at the podium at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, June 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009. In his speech, President Obama called for a
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009. In his speech, President Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims", declaring...   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Obama speaks at Cairo University, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Obama called for a
President Obama speaks at Cairo University, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims", declaring "this cycle of suspicion and discord must end".   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. - President Obama

America does not presume to know what is best for everyone. - President Obama

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NovThird2010
Jun 4, 09 6:50 AM CDT
Chairman Barry is truly naive. The radical muslims cannot be reasoned with because they are blinded by their hatred of anything which doesn't fit their skewed view of the world. Maybe they should spend their resources on improving the lives of muslims instead of randomly killing civilians so they can get the 72 virgin payoff. Reply
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-5
IN RESPONSE:
JaneMP
Jun 4, 09 8:13 AM CDT
Wow, infidel, you really do hate Muslims, don't you? Have you ever considered that communication can change things? Or do you prefer to wipe out the entire religion because murder is so much more effectiveA? It's embarrassing that someone so prejudice and filled with hate considers him/herself to be a patriotic American.
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
Reader38
Jun 4, 09 9:08 AM CDT
I don't think he's trying to reason with the radicals. I think he's trying to isolate them. By appealing to Muslim moderates he can acheive a lot more to this end than he can with military action.
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
BeatBlaster
Jun 4, 09 9:25 AM CDT
What's with the "Chairman Barry" nonsense? He's your president and deserves a little more respect than that. Geez. I didn't like Bush but I didn't run around and call him names while sitting behind mhy computer screen either. Everyone's so brave when they're sitting in from of a PC. All of this hate doesn't work. We need to work with people not piss them off and act like a bully.
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+5
IN RESPONSE:
Clarke
Jun 4, 09 10:10 AM CDT
You are wrong, its not Chairman Barry, its Comrade Barry. Other than that, you are right. But of course, looking at your score, there seems to be a lot of Americans that forget 9/11 was an attack on innocent civilians by radical muslims, the very people you speak of. But to actually name your attacker is not politically correct, and might even be racist. I don't know.
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-2

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