Middle East Concerns Dominate Opening of UN Assembly

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Obama said the recent attack on the U.S. consulate¹ in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed, was not just an attack on America, but upon the ideals on which the United Nations was founded.

He called the anti-Islam amateur video that triggered the attack and subsequent protests around the world “crude and disgusting” and reasserted that the U.S. government had nothing to do with the film, which was made by a man in California.

“There are no words that excuse the killing² of innocents.  There is no video that justifies³ an attack on an embassy.  There is no slander⁴ that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in Lebanon, or destroy a school in Tunis, or cause death and destruction in Pakistan," he said. 

Obama also sought to reassure⁵ Israel and warn Iran over its controversial nuclear program. “Let me be clear: America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy⁶, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so.  But that time is not unlimited," he said. 

He added that the United States would do what it must to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

On Syria, he said the future must not belong to a dictator who massacres⁷ his people.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin⁸ Khalifa Al-Thani, whose government supports the Syrian opposition⁹, said the situation has reached an “unacceptable phase,” and he urged Arab countries to intervene.  “In view of this, I think it is better for the Arab countries themselves to interfere¹⁰ out of their national, humanitarian¹¹, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria and the killing of innocent people and their displacement¹², in order to guarantee a peaceful transition of power in Syria," he said.  

France’s president, Francois Hollande, who made his General Assembly debut¹³, said his government will recognize a provisional transitional government in Syria as soon as it is formed.  “This government will itself have to give guarantees that every community in Syria will be respected and will be able to live in security in their own country," he said.

He also expressed deep concern about the violence and hunger in the Sahel region of Africa, and in particular Mali, saying the occupation of northern Mali by terrorist groups is “intolerable” and “unacceptable.”  “France, I am announcing here, will support any initiative that would enable Africans themselves to resolve this issue in the framework of international law with a clear mandate¹⁴ from the Security Council.  Yes, Mali must recover its territorial¹⁵ integrity and the terrorists must be eliminated from this region in the Sahel," he said. 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the weeklong proceedings¹⁶, telling leaders they are meeting at a time of “turmoil, transition and transformation” and urging them to use their voices to lower tensions, not raise them.

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