Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting today with international leaders at the United Nations, drumming up support for his bid to get the world body to recognize the state of Palestine.
The controversial move is further isolating Israel at the UN and putting the U.S. in a tough spot, since it supports the pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East known as the Arab Spring, but the Obama administration will veto any effort at the UN Security Council to unilaterally declare Palestinian statehood.
"We hope the United States will revise its position and be on the side of the majority of nations or countries who want to support the Palestinian right to have self determination and independence," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said at an impromptu press conference after meeting with Venezuela's foreign minister.
Abbas is angered by two decades of talks that have failed to reach a deal leading to Palestinian statehood, especially amid what he believes is further stalling tactics by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
The Palestinian leader is meeting today with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
In an 11th-hour plea, Netanyahu now says he is ready to get back to serious negotiations to try to head off a vote on statehood, as early as Friday, when Abbas addresses the UN General Assembly.
Netanyahu also plans to address the UN on Friday.
Conservative GOP presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is seeking to take advantage of the international tensions, meeting with Jewish and Israeli leaders to blame Obama for the Palestinians move to get statehood.
"Simply put, we would not be here today at the precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama Policy in the Middle East wasn’t naïve, arrogant, misguided and dangerous," Perry said in prepared remarks released ahead of his speech today.
Despite Obama's firm position that his Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice will veto Palestinian statehood at the UN Security Council, Perry blasted the President for his even-handed treatment of the Israelis and Palestinians.
"It must be said, first, that Israel is our oldest and strongest democratic ally in the Middle East and has been for more than 60 years," Perry said. "The Obama Policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a dangerous insult."
Perry, who has not addressed foreign policy matters very much on campaign trail, was dismissed by detractors as pandering to neo-conservative Republicans rather than adding anything meaningful to the dialogue.
Showing posts with label President Nicolas Sarkozy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Nicolas Sarkozy. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Libyan Rebels Appeal for Aid in Paris; West Wants Fighting to Fade Soon
Updated 4:15 p.m. edt
Rebel posturing on the ground signaled a shift towards diplomacy over rampant fighting in Libya, a gesture welcomed by the more than 60 nations, alliances and organizations meeting in Paris today.
"The work does not end with the end of an oppressive regime," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told gathering and expanding outgrowth of the Libya Contact Group. "Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows. What happens in the coming days will be critical."
Hearing the message of reconciliation, rebel leaders are trying to coax "the sons of Bani Waled" to turn over Moammar Gadhafi, if the deposed dictator, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi are indeed hiding out in the desert town.
The rebels have intelligence strongly suggesting Gadhafi and his entourage are in Bani Waled, a stronghold of Libya's largest tribe, the Warfallah.
The rebels are committed to trying to use kid gloves over an iron fist with the Warfallah. The leaders of the 1-million-strong tribe has long been allied with Gadhafi, but there are fresh opportunities with the city's young fighters who joined the rebel army.
"We cannot attack this tribe because many of our brigades in Benghazi and Zintan are from Bani Waled. The sons of Bani Walid hold the key," Abdel Majid Mlegta, coordinator of the rebel's war room in Tripoli, told Reuters.
The rebels also backed off a short Saturday deadline for Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of his Gadhadhfa tribe. The rebels will wait-out the city for another week, but they intend to surround Sirte and impose a blockade of supplies over the extended grace period.
"We're not in a rush to get in to Sirte. It has no economic importance and we're not going to lose casualties for it. We can cut supplies and wait, even more than a week," Mohammed Zawawi, spokesman for the Transitional National Council in the eastern rebel capitol Benghazi, told Reuters.
NATO airstrikes took out rocket launchers near Sirte overnight and an ammunition storage facility and a military command post near Bani Walid, the alliance reported.
"We are determined to continued with Nato strikes for as long as Mr Gaddafi and his supporters represent a threat to Libya," Sarkozy said at the "Friends of Libya" summit hosted in Paris.
Russia, meanwhile, recognized the TNC as the legitimate government of Libya just before the conference opened. Russia was a leading opponent of military intervention, abstaining in the UN Security Council vote in March authorizing the NATO-led air campaign.
end update
---[
Rebel Transitional National Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil is opening today's largest-ever gathering of the Libyan Contact Group nations, meeting in Paris to plot a road map for post-Gadhafi Libya.
Co-hosts President Nicholas Sarkozy of France and British Prime Minister David Cameron have invited Western partners, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
European Union, Arab leaders like the Emir of Qatar and the King of Jordan, African leaders, and representatives of Russia and China are also on the guest list.
Jalil plans to discuss the TNC's need for money to get the country up and running, and he also intends to present outlines for new constitution and elections within a year and a half.
Western nations also expect to hear TNC plans for avoiding further fighting and bloodshed. TNC allies were hoping for a long-shot deal, but there are no indications negotiations are moving forward.
The timing of the meeting coincides with a deadline Saturday for Gadhafi loyalists to capitulate or face reprisals from rebel forces massing for attack.
Jabril plans to join Sarkozy and Cameron at a press conference at the conclusion of the summit.
Rebel posturing on the ground signaled a shift towards diplomacy over rampant fighting in Libya, a gesture welcomed by the more than 60 nations, alliances and organizations meeting in Paris today.
"The work does not end with the end of an oppressive regime," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told gathering and expanding outgrowth of the Libya Contact Group. "Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows. What happens in the coming days will be critical."
Hearing the message of reconciliation, rebel leaders are trying to coax "the sons of Bani Waled" to turn over Moammar Gadhafi, if the deposed dictator, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi are indeed hiding out in the desert town.
The rebels have intelligence strongly suggesting Gadhafi and his entourage are in Bani Waled, a stronghold of Libya's largest tribe, the Warfallah.
The rebels are committed to trying to use kid gloves over an iron fist with the Warfallah. The leaders of the 1-million-strong tribe has long been allied with Gadhafi, but there are fresh opportunities with the city's young fighters who joined the rebel army.
"We cannot attack this tribe because many of our brigades in Benghazi and Zintan are from Bani Waled. The sons of Bani Walid hold the key," Abdel Majid Mlegta, coordinator of the rebel's war room in Tripoli, told Reuters.
The rebels also backed off a short Saturday deadline for Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of his Gadhadhfa tribe. The rebels will wait-out the city for another week, but they intend to surround Sirte and impose a blockade of supplies over the extended grace period.
"We're not in a rush to get in to Sirte. It has no economic importance and we're not going to lose casualties for it. We can cut supplies and wait, even more than a week," Mohammed Zawawi, spokesman for the Transitional National Council in the eastern rebel capitol Benghazi, told Reuters.
NATO airstrikes took out rocket launchers near Sirte overnight and an ammunition storage facility and a military command post near Bani Walid, the alliance reported.
"We are determined to continued with Nato strikes for as long as Mr Gaddafi and his supporters represent a threat to Libya," Sarkozy said at the "Friends of Libya" summit hosted in Paris.
Russia, meanwhile, recognized the TNC as the legitimate government of Libya just before the conference opened. Russia was a leading opponent of military intervention, abstaining in the UN Security Council vote in March authorizing the NATO-led air campaign.
end update
---[
Rebel Transitional National Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil is opening today's largest-ever gathering of the Libyan Contact Group nations, meeting in Paris to plot a road map for post-Gadhafi Libya.
Co-hosts President Nicholas Sarkozy of France and British Prime Minister David Cameron have invited Western partners, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
European Union, Arab leaders like the Emir of Qatar and the King of Jordan, African leaders, and representatives of Russia and China are also on the guest list.
Jalil plans to discuss the TNC's need for money to get the country up and running, and he also intends to present outlines for new constitution and elections within a year and a half.
Western nations also expect to hear TNC plans for avoiding further fighting and bloodshed. TNC allies were hoping for a long-shot deal, but there are no indications negotiations are moving forward.
The timing of the meeting coincides with a deadline Saturday for Gadhafi loyalists to capitulate or face reprisals from rebel forces massing for attack.
Jabril plans to join Sarkozy and Cameron at a press conference at the conclusion of the summit.
Friday, May 27, 2011
G-8 & Russia Agree Gadhafi Must Go
Updated at 2:15 p.m. edt
British Prime Minister David Cameron contends the time is right to bear down on Moammar Gadhafi, hoping the use of attack helicopters in Libya will deal a death blow to the fractured regime.
"Now there are signs that the momentum against Gadhafi is really building. So it is right that we are ratcheting up the military, the economic and the political pressure," Cameron said a news conference today at the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France, on the Normandy coast.
The political pressure behind upping the firepower is keeping the NATO war partners engaged. The air campaign has gone on for more than three months, and for some counties that is long enough. Some have said they need to see definitive results, or will have to withdraw, as Norway intends to do, The New York Times reports.
end update
---[
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an "intensification of the military intervention" in Libya today as NATO warplanes for a fourth straight day bombed Tripoli, including Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
Even the Russians, who met this week with a delegation representing the rebels Transitional National Council, have seen enough of Moammar Gadhafi, offering today to help facilitate his exit.
"We think Gadhafi has himself of his legitimacy and it is necessary to help him leave," said Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to The New York Times.
Sarkozy, hosting the annual summit of leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, said he was open to discussing a new proposal by Russia to mediate an end to the Libyan conflict.
The G-8 leaders said in a joint summit statement that the bottom line on Gadhafi is, "He must go."
The alliance believes it has Gadhafi running scared. Reports say he has been hopping from hospital to hospital, seeking a safe haven from NATO smart bombs.
NATO is about to add to its arsenal 12 French and four British helicopter gunships that would provide heightened close-in precision ground attack ability to the alliance.
"Ministers have given clearance in principle for the deployment of attack helicopters in Libya. It is a matter now for military commanders to make decisions on deployment," a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC.
The NATO strikes overnight in Tripoli were a stark rejection of the Libyan government's latest ceasefire proposal. The Libyan rebels and NATO were not convinced the proposal floated yesterday guaranteed Gadhafi would leave power.
Gadhafi loyalists, meanwhile, launched a counter-attack in Misurata, dropping mortars on rebel and civilian targets in the war-mauled city. It was said to be the worst fighting in weeks in Misurata, where rebels recently pushed out Gadhafi forces in what appeared to be a game-changing offensive.
"We fired on them and advanced. They fell back and started firing mortars," said rebel spokesman Suleim Al-Faqih told Al Jazeera.
British Prime Minister David Cameron contends the time is right to bear down on Moammar Gadhafi, hoping the use of attack helicopters in Libya will deal a death blow to the fractured regime.
"Now there are signs that the momentum against Gadhafi is really building. So it is right that we are ratcheting up the military, the economic and the political pressure," Cameron said a news conference today at the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France, on the Normandy coast.
The political pressure behind upping the firepower is keeping the NATO war partners engaged. The air campaign has gone on for more than three months, and for some counties that is long enough. Some have said they need to see definitive results, or will have to withdraw, as Norway intends to do, The New York Times reports.
end update
---[
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an "intensification of the military intervention" in Libya today as NATO warplanes for a fourth straight day bombed Tripoli, including Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
Even the Russians, who met this week with a delegation representing the rebels Transitional National Council, have seen enough of Moammar Gadhafi, offering today to help facilitate his exit.
"We think Gadhafi has himself of his legitimacy and it is necessary to help him leave," said Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to The New York Times.
Sarkozy, hosting the annual summit of leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, said he was open to discussing a new proposal by Russia to mediate an end to the Libyan conflict.
The G-8 leaders said in a joint summit statement that the bottom line on Gadhafi is, "He must go."
The alliance believes it has Gadhafi running scared. Reports say he has been hopping from hospital to hospital, seeking a safe haven from NATO smart bombs.
NATO is about to add to its arsenal 12 French and four British helicopter gunships that would provide heightened close-in precision ground attack ability to the alliance.
"Ministers have given clearance in principle for the deployment of attack helicopters in Libya. It is a matter now for military commanders to make decisions on deployment," a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC.
The NATO strikes overnight in Tripoli were a stark rejection of the Libyan government's latest ceasefire proposal. The Libyan rebels and NATO were not convinced the proposal floated yesterday guaranteed Gadhafi would leave power.
Gadhafi loyalists, meanwhile, launched a counter-attack in Misurata, dropping mortars on rebel and civilian targets in the war-mauled city. It was said to be the worst fighting in weeks in Misurata, where rebels recently pushed out Gadhafi forces in what appeared to be a game-changing offensive.
"We fired on them and advanced. They fell back and started firing mortars," said rebel spokesman Suleim Al-Faqih told Al Jazeera.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron Call Out Gadhafi
The leaders of the United States, France and the United Kingdom penned an opinion piece for today's International Herald Tribune that warns Moammar Gadhafi that the warplanes flying above Libya are not going away -- but he is.
The last paragraph of the op-ed written by President Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron says it all quite succinctly:
"Britain, France, and the United States will not rest until the United Nations Security Council resolutions have been implemented and the Libyan people can choose their own future."
Click here for the full article.
The last paragraph of the op-ed written by President Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron says it all quite succinctly:
"Britain, France, and the United States will not rest until the United Nations Security Council resolutions have been implemented and the Libyan people can choose their own future."
Click here for the full article.
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