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BY DAN KENNEDY
President Obama spoke to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday morning. He began
and ended his speech with comments about late Ambassador Chris Stevens. Stevens was killed
in this month’s attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi. C-SPAN has the president’s
remarks.
“The attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America. They are also
an assault on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded.”
President Obama reiterated the United States government had nothing to do with the anti-muslim
film sparking protests worldwide. He said the focus should be on responding to the video,
rather than restricting it.
“In 2012, at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the
world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information
is obsolete," he said.
A former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq reacted to the president’s comments. Here’s Chris
Hill on CNN Tuesday.
“He was really reaching out to audiences in the Middle East pointing out that there
are billions of people who are not shown on television rioting everyday but rather are
doing things to create a better world community.”
The president also addressed the peace process in Israel, the conflict in Syria, and nuclear
fears in Iran. Fox News asked former UN Ambassador John Bolton if the speech made the grade.
“Well, I’d give it about a C. It was a great, big, warm fuzzy blanket. The president
comes out in favor of tolerance. There’s your breaking news.”
But former State Department Spokesman James Rubin says this speech proves why the president
is so globally popular.
“It is unusual to have this level of applause on quite a few occasions for essentially rhetoric
about American values and free speech and the fight against intolerance.”
President Obama ended his speech by pointing out big strides the country has made-- that
includes the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and ending
the Iraq war by gradually transitioning American troops out of Afghanistan.