Barack Obama

President Obama Highlights Libya Success At United Nations

Susan Crabtree | September 20, 2011, 11:22AM

President Obama with the President of the Libyan TNC, Mustafa Abdel Jalil.

President Obama spent the beginning of his trip to the United Nations General Assembly Monday striving to encourage other world leaders to support Libya's fledgling democracy with the United States taking a limited but key role.

With Libya and the Arab Spring, Obama's forged a foreign policy this year based on the U.S. playing a key role in corralling international support before taking military action or taking on state-building responsibilities.

Credit for Libya's liberation belongs to the Libyan people, Obama asserted, but Libya is also "a lesson in what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one," he will tell world leaders, according to prepared remarks.

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Israel

Palestinian Ad Uses Clip Of President Obama

Benjy Sarlin | September 7, 2011, 1:42PM

President Barack Obama (D)

Palestinian officials are putting President Obama front and center in their new campaign to rally support for a UN vote on statehood -- whether he likes it or not.

Reuters reports that a new radio spot features a clip of Obama addressing the UN and expressing optimism that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority might yield results. "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that can lead to a new member of the United Nations, an independent, sovereign state of Palestine living in peace with Israel," he says.

"If he said it, he must have meant it," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responds in the ad.

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Chuck Norris

International Law Expert Chuck Norris Is (Shockingly) Wrong About UN Arms Treaty

Thomas Lane | August 25, 2011, 9:00PM

American Actor Chuck Norris

He's battled Bruce Lee and kicked his way through the Southwest as Walker, Texas Ranger, but now Chuck Norris has a new role as a guest columnist for Politico.

"Columnist" might be laying it on a little thick, in fact, since "wacky conspiracy theorist" matches the tone of his latest piece more closely.

Wednesday, Politico ran a column by Norris attacking the UN's as-yet-unfinished Arms Trade Treaty. The piece alleged that the Obama administration is trying to sneak in gun control schemes "under the radar." A key component of that, Norris wrote, could well be the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

"The vast majority of UN diplomats," Norris claimed, "believe that an arms trade treaty must reach into your gun safe and mine. There is little question this treaty would require additional restrictions on our Second Amendment rights."

There's one problem with that statement: it's about as accurate as a joke from the meme-friendly website, Chuck Norris Facts.

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Rick Perry

Will Rick Perry Defy International Law (Again)?

Thomas Lane | July 2, 2011, 6:21PM

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)

It's Rick Perry v The World. On Thursday the Texas Governor (and possible Republican presidential player) will face a stark choice: allow the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal Garcia, or listen to high-ranking international figures and grant a last-minute delay.

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Syria

Obama Imposes New Sanctions Against Syria

Susan Crabtree | April 29, 2011, 6:42PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

The White House imposed new sanctions on Syria Friday and called on other U.S. allies to follow suit.

President Obama announced the sanctions through a White House executive order in response to a violent crackdown on protesters airing grievances with the government of Bashar Al-Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades.

Syrian citizens Friday crowded the streets in more than 30 cities and towns across the country for its latest "day of rage" protests, promptly a deadly blow from Al-Assad's military, which killed nearly 30 people, according to a Syrian human rights group.

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Barack Obama

Obama to Ivory Coast's Gbabgo: Stand Down Immediately

Susan Crabtree | April 5, 2011, 11:48AM

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo

President Obama issued a sternly worded order for Ivory Coast's besieged former President Laurent Gbabgo to relinquish his claim to office and end the violence in the West African country amid reports that he and his top generals are negotiating a surrender.

"To end the violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbabgo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms," Obama said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Every day that the fighting persists will bring more suffering, and further delay the future peace and prosperity that the people of Cote D'Ivoire deserve."

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Libya

GOP Senator: Are There Al Qaeda Elements Among Libyan Rebels?

Susan Crabtree | March 29, 2011, 12:07PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Update: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton downplayed the likelihood of an al Qaeda contingency among the Libyan rebels, but she acknowledged "we are still getting to know those who are leading the transitional national council."

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) wants to know much more about the Libyan rebels the U.S. and NATO allies have been aiding with air strikes and humanitarian assistance for more than a week.

"There have been several reports about the presence of al Qaeda among the rebels," Inhofe said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. "What do we know about this?"

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Libya

Obama: 'I Refused' To Let A Massacre Happen In Libya

Susan Crabtree | March 28, 2011, 8:47PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama delivered a clear and determined defense of his decision to authorize U.S. military-led air strikes in Libya, stressing that he could not allow an impending massacre in the country to occur but would not use military might to topple Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi from power.

The speech, delivered Monday night, was cloaked in broad statements about American values and U.S. responsibilities to support democratic movements against brutal and repressive regimes.

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'Obama's Wars'

Obama Doctrine Emerges: International Support Critical To Military Missions

Susan Crabtree | March 27, 2011, 9:38AM

After weeks of withering criticism of the White House's delayed response in Libya, as well as his decision to authorize air strikes, President Obama is beginning to articulate his philosophy for the use of military force overseas.

The President plans to lay out the strategy behind his foreign policy decisions in Libya in a prime-time address to the nation Monday night at 7:30 ET, something his critics say he should have done before missile launches began in the North African country last Friday.

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Syria

White House Sidesteps Questions About Whether Syrian Leader Should Go

Susan Crabtree | March 25, 2011, 4:03PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

The White House is strongly condemning the Syrian government's attacks on its citizen-protesters with similar language it used against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the weeks and days leading up to U.S. air strikes in the North African country.

Noticeably absent from the denouncement, however, is any broad statement from President Obama or his staff that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has lost his "legitimacy" and must step down or be removed from power.

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Libya

Pentagon: U.S. Working Hard to Turn Over Lead In Libya

Susan Crabtree | March 24, 2011, 5:47PM

Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi

The United States is doing everything it can to hand over leadership of the coalition air strikes and policing of the no-fly zone over Libya to allies as early as this weekend but will continue flying combat missions afterward.

U.S. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the military's Joint Staff, told reporters Thursday that the U.S. role will be largely a supportive one focused on refueling efforts and reconnaissance, but he also conceded the U.S. would continue flying a limited number of strike missions.

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Libya

Senior Senate Dems Defend Obama's Decisions on Libya

Susan Crabtree | March 23, 2011, 3:36PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Three senior Senate Demorats are coming to President Obama's defense on his decision to seek international support before directing air strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

Sen. Dick Durbin (IL), the assistant majority leader, Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (MI) and Sen. Jack Reed (RI), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, gave the President a collective pat on the back for his diplomatic and military decisions on Libya in the last week in the face of harsh criticism from both sides of the aisle that Obama's handling of the Libyan crisis was too little too late and did not seek congressional approval for the military action.

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Libya

Libya Talk Turns To Limited Boots On The Ground

Susan Crabtree | March 23, 2011, 1:37AM

Conservative advocates for greater U.S. intervention in Libya are beginning to call for a limited number of boots on the ground to help rebel forces coordinate and target their attacks against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

Max Boot, a longtime proponent of the use of military force to promote U.S. ideals around the world, is calling on President Obama to send special forces teams into Libya to work with the opposition leaders to coordinate their attacks on the ground with NATO airstrikes.

Boot was quick to say he wasn't pushing a foreign occupation on the ground, which would directly violate the United Nations Security Council resolution passed Thursday giving the U.S., Britain and France the authority to use all necessary force to avert a humanitarian crisis.

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Libya

CBS Poll: 50% Approve Of Obama's Handling Of Libya

Jon Terbush | March 22, 2011, 2:59PM

President Barack Obama

In a nationwide poll of American adults conducted last weekend, as the U.S. and allied forces began a military operation against Libya, CBS News found that a majority of Americans support President Obama's handling of the situation in Libya.

Fifty percent of respondents said they approved of how Obama has handled the situation, compared to 29% who disapproved. Additionally, 21% said they had no opinion.

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Barack Obama

Obama: U.S. Is Not Targeting Qaddafi But Has Tools To Do So

Susan Crabtree | March 21, 2011, 4:30PM

President Barack Obama

Update: President Obama sent a letter to Congressional leaders spelling out his decision to direct strikes against Libyan air defenses over the weekend and citing his Constitutional authority for the military action.

President Obama held out the threat of targeting Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi personally Monday but said the U.S. would stop short of doing so -- at least for now.

Instead, Obama stressed the importance of sticking to the mandate of the U.N. resolution passed Thursday, which focuses on preventing Qaddafi from crushing opposition forces in a large-scale massacre.

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Libya

Libyan Ambassador to U.S.: Ceasefire Is Not Enough

Susan Crabtree | March 18, 2011, 12:12PM

The Libyan Ambassador to the United States, who has broken with the ruling regime, is urging the U.S., Britain and France to employ the full extent of a U.N. resolution passed Thursday and use military airstrikes to contain Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi as soon as possible.

A cease-fire in Libya does not go far enough to quell the humanitarian crisis in the country and the brutal policies of the Muammar Qaddafi's regime, Ambassador Ali Aujali, who joined the opposition in the early days of the crisis, told reporters Friday morning at the National Press Club.

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