President Barack Obama gave his first major television interview since assuming office to Arab cable TV network Al-Arabiya. See the full video, transcript and photos. The interview was broadcast on January 26, 2009 at 11pm ET, thus airing on January 27, 2009 in Dubai, which is where the network is based, and throughout the Mideast where the broadcast is estimated to reach more than 23 million.
In the interview, which was conducted by Hisham Melhem, Washington, DC Bureau Chief of Arabiya News Channel, the President addressed a number of the pressing issues that are of concern in the Arab world, including the present crisis in the Gaza strip and the prospect of negotiating peace as well as the Iranian government’s aggressiveness in the region and attempts to become a nuclear power.
As is characteristic, the President sought to appeal to common ground. He said, “In all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith – and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers – regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.”
See the video and transcript below for more.
The interview is part of the President’s plan to address the Middle East Crisis. Towards that end, in a briefing, earlier in the day, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East Envoy former Senator George Mitchell, (as pictured above and below) he outlined his intentions in sending Mitchell to several cities in the region for meetings with leaders, including Cairo, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman, Riyadh, Paris and London.
“Compared to steroids, this is going to be a breeze,” said President Obama, referring to special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell’s investigation of steroid use by Major League Baseball players in 2006 and 2007.
Source: President Obama Sends Off George Mitchell to Middle East – visit to read more and to see video of the briefing the President gave to the press.
Obama Interview video is below. Here is the Obama Interview Transcript. More pictures of Obama below.
YouTube Video Link
YouTube Video Link
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Obama Interview Al-Arabiya Video: Obama Arab Interview 1-26-09
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“But if you look at the track record, as you say, 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.”
Hummm…? So let’s try and recall..just how wonderful our respect and partnership’ was going..some 20-30 year back…
30 years ago, American diplomats were being held hostage in Iran, Soviet troops were seeking to annex Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein was preparing to invade Iran, Saudi Arabia was under siege by Muslim militants,
and Syrian troops were preparing to invade Lebanon.
20 years ago saw the U.S. arming the mujahedin in Afghanistan, Iraq gassing thousands of Kurds and preparing to invade Kuwait, Iranian mullahs arming Hezbollah units in Lebanon, Turkey launching all-out attacks on Kurdish secessionists, and the Libyan terror network killing American soldiers in Europe and blowing up U.S. jets.
Obama needs to brush up on his history a little.
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