Iran pledges 'crushing' response to US criticism (AP)

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 1 min ago
EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Saturday to make the U.S. regret its criticism of Iran's postelection crackdown and said the "mask has been removed" from the Obama administration's efforts to improve relations.

Ahmadinejad — with his internal opponents virtually silenced — all but dared Obama to keep calling for an end to repression of demonstrators who claim the hardline leader stole re-election through massive fraud.

"You should know that if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong," Ahmadinejad said in a speech to members of Iran's judiciary, which is directly controlled by the ruling clerics. "The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse."

Ahmadinejad has no authority to direct major policy decisions on his own — a power that rests with the non-elected theocracy. But his comments often reflect the thinking of the ruling establishment.

The cleric-led regime now appears to have quashed a protest movement that brought hundreds of thousands to the streets of Tehran and other cities in the greatest challenge to its authority in 30 years. There have been no significant demonstrations in days, and the most significant signs of dissent are the cries of "God is great!" echoing from the rooftops, a technique dating to the days of protest against the U.S.-backed shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Days of relatively restrained talk from both Washington and Tehran appear to be returning to a familiar pattern of condemnation and recrimination despite Obama's stated desire to move away from mutual hostility. Iran and the U.S. still appear interested in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, but the rising rhetorical temperature can be expected to slow progress toward a deal, experts said.

"The political feasibility of pursuing it, and the likelihood of success has changed," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council. "I have a hard time seeing any real engagement taking place for at least four to six months."

Obama acknowledged Friday that Iran's violent suppression of unrest would hinder progress, saying "There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks."

Obama struck a conciliatory tone toward Iran after taking office, sending a video greeting for Persian New Year that used the government's formal name — the Islamic Republic of Iran — in a signal that the goal of regime change had been set aside. He even avoided strong language as Iran began suppressing street protests, saying he wanted to avoid becoming a foil for Iranian hard-liners who blame the United States and other Western powers for instigating internal dissent.

But Obama decried Iran's crackdown more vigorously as amateur videos of beating and shootings began flooding the Internet. He said Friday in his strongest condemnation yet that violence perpetrated against protesters was "outrageous," and dismissed a demand from Ahmadinejad to repent for earlier criticism.

"I would suggest that Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people," Obama added.

Iran also had been stopping short of its normally harsh language about the U.S., mostly blaming Britain and even France and Germany as Mousavi's supporters demanded a new election. Ahmadinejad had made relatively few appearances in an apparent attempt to avoid inflaming the situation.

The protests dwindled to scattered clashes as riot police and Basij militiamen put down the unrest using batons, tear gas, water cannons and, in at least 17 cases, live ammunition. Mousavi said Friday that he would seek official permission for any future rallies, effectively ending his role in street protests.

Ahmadinejad appeared self-assured and even invigorated Saturday in the face of the previous day's personal challenge from Obama.

"We are surprised at Mr. Obama," Ahmadinejad said. "Didn't he say that he was after change?

"They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran. All right, we have expressed our readiness as well. But is this the correct way?" Ahmadinejad told judiciary officials. "They showed their hand to the people of Iran, before all people of the world. Their mask has been removed."

He still appeared to leave some opening for dialogue, saying Iranians officials "have expressed our readiness" and still want the U.S. to "join the righteous servants of humanity as well."

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Obama has been very measured and moderate (to the chagrin of some) in his position toward Iran, and yet, Ahmadinejad seems desperate to pick a fight with the US.

There are probably several reasons for this, but it seems to me that the current regime is desperate to resurect the old battle cry of "Death to America!" as it's support base dissolves. Obama has stated recently that his cautious rhetoric is meant to prevent Ahmadinejad from having any 'ammunition' for a direct confronation with the US.

Frankly, with the sporadic glimpses we're getting of the internal turmoil in Iran, I'm getting the impression that few people are interested in starting a war with the West...

The extremists are still there, surely...but the regime is losing it's footing. Click above for the full article.

US arming Somalia

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is providing weapons and ammunition to Somalia's transitional government as it fights al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday.


"At the request of that government the State Department has helped to provide weapons and ammunition on an urgent basis," he said.

"This is to support the Transitional Federal Government's efforts to repel the onslaught of extremist forces which are intent on destroying the Djibouti peace process."

Kelly said the weapons shipments are in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions, which ban some arms shipments to Somalia.

There is growing concern that Somalia could be the next base for al Qaeda as U.S. forces pound their positions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. CIA Director Leon Panetta recently said that the intelligence agency is keeping tabs on the region as a possible destination for fleeing al Qaeda

Shah's Son Speaks out on Iran

By Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The son of the former shah of Iran called Monday for solidarity against Iran's Islamic regime, warning that the democratic movement born out of the election crisis might not succeed without international support.


Reza Shah Pahlavi has lived in exile since 1979, when his father was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution.

"The moment of truth has arrived," Reza Shah Pahlavi said at Washington's National Press Club. "The people of Iran need to know who stands with them."

Pahlavi has lived in exile since 1979, when his father, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution. Under the shah's regime, Iran saw nationalization of its oil and a strong movement toward modernization. Still, his secular programs and recognition of Israel cost him the support of the country's Shiite clergy, sparking clashes with the religious right and others who resented his pro-West views.

The son now lives in the United States with his family, where he spends much of his time talking about the Islamic regime in Iran.

During his remarks, he broke into tears when he spoke of "bullets piercing our beloved Neda," a woman killed Saturday by Iranian police at a protest in Tehran, whose death has become a rallying cry among demonstrators in Iran. Watch one woman's account of clashes with security forces »

The Iranian regime, he said, was a "sinking Titanic" that might not survive the demands for democracy and human rights reverberating through the country. Watch Pahlavi call vote "fraud" »

Citing anecdotes from people inside the Iranian establishment, Pahlavi said he had heard that security forces have begun to distance themselves from the regime.

"It has already started," he said, citing reports that members of the security forces have gone home after their shifts ended and changed into plain clothes to join the protesters.

"Many, many elements within the security forces, within the Revolutionary Guard, are showing discontent," Pahlavi said. "There is an amazing reflection that is happening. ... This is a movement that has blown out of proportion."

Pahlavi praised the statements and tone of President Obama, saying that any outside attempt to interfere in Iran's internal affairs "will give the tyrants the excuse they need to paper over their own differences and target every man struggling for freedom as a foreign agent."

But he said there was a difference between interfering in a country's sovereign affairs and standing for principles of human rights and democracy.

"We welcome that. This is effective. It is important," he said. "This is precisely what Iranians at home demand world leaders, particularly someone like President Obama, who after all his entire message of hope and change and affirmative action ... was a big inspiration to many."


But, he added, Obama and other world leaders must be prepared to change their tactics if the violence against protesters gets much worse.

"The question is, what will the world governments do this time?" he asked. "Are we going to have Tiananmen Square revisited? Or is [it] going to be this time different?"

"The Power of Neda"

You all have probably heard about the young woman, Neda, who was killed in Iran during the protests. . .

It's a heartbreaking and now iconic incident that has become one of the rallying points of the uprising.

Experiencing Tehran Riots in Real Time Through Twitter

Technology is incredible...

I'm not only watching the story in Iran unfold via CNN/BBC online, but also via live, personal updates on Twitter.com. Tagged #IranElection, over 10,000 updates from protesters and sympathizers both in and outside of Iran have flooded Twitter in just the last hour.

For those unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a short, 160 character 'blurb' that can be sent from cell phones to this website, where others can view your message. Normally used as 'social networking' and 'status updates' (i.e, 'just got off work, who wants to get together?' or 'just had a great time with my sister!'), Twitter has become a tool for communicating and raising awareness of the on-the-ground conditions in Tehran, in real time.

I got teary-eyed and goose-pimpled as I read these 'tweets', like small morsels of the history (painful, bloody, and frightening as it is) that is taking place on a grand scale right now in Iran. Here are just a few samples, all posted in the last 20 minutes (usernames omitted to protect 'tweeters')...

Homemade caltrops: http://tinyurl.com/l257hm Easy to make and Perfect to throw in front of Basij cycles and foot troops. #iranelection

RT PLEASE! List of Embassies taking injured! http://tinyurl.com/lxenxx #IranElection #GR88 Tehran #Iran

Help them avoid arrest, change your Twitter location & time to Tehran. Confuses Iranian Government!

Basij marking doors to attack later NOW CONFIRMED. Use oil/petrol to remove #iranelection #Tehran

Basij can't round up wounded at Embassies, not allowed to enter. Geneva Convention applies. #Neda #Tehran #iranelection

Where is Michael Moore when real threats to freedom need to be documented?

If an innocent girl gets shot halfway across the world, does she make a sound? Yes, and the whole world hears her. #iranelection #Neda

Where is the butcher Khamenei? What kind of Leader shoots and gases his own people while calling himself a Man of God? #Iranelection

#IranElection for the love of your country do not show up to work today. A nationwide strike will surely collapse this regime

Neda: Iran, Tehran: wounded girl dying in front of camera http://bit.ly/2fZee8 help us.help #iranelection [Warning: graphic/heartbreaking

]

Mr. Obama! Please condemn these atrocities! We want freedom!

Wherever we may be, today we are citizens of #Iran; standing shoulder to shoulder with the people in #Tehran.

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." -MLK, qtd. by Obama today. We stand witness. #iranelection

History in the Making

"Dummies Guide to Iranian Unrest" (from CNN)

(CNN) -- For almost a week, tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in daily protests -- handkerchiefs shielding their faces from the pungency of tear gas, fists punching the air, and chants of "Down with the dictator" echoing against buildings.


Moussovi supporters rally Wednesday in Tehran, Iran. Released by Fars News Agency of Iran.

more photos » The massive outpouring is a result of a disputed presidential election that the protesters think coronated the incumbent hard-liner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over their candidate, Mir Hossain Moussavi.

Context can help put their grievances into perspective:

Q. The Iran that we know today is the result of the Islamic Revolution. What is it?

A. The Islamic Revolution is the name given to the Iranian revolution of 1979, when the ruling U.S.-supported monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile. See timeline of recent Iranian history »

The country held a national referendum to become an Islamic republic and approve a new constitution.

The constitution was a hybrid of democracy and unelected religious leadership. It appointed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini -- the leader of the revolution -- the supreme leader of the country.

Before he died in 1989, he made it known that he wanted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to succeed him.

Q. Is it true that the ultimate power in Iran lies with Khamenei?

A. Yes. The supreme leader has the final say in all important matters of the country, such as ties with foreign nations or Iran's nuclear aspirations.

He appoints the Guardian Council -- the country's election authority. He also appoints key posts in the intelligence services and the armed forces, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. Additionally, he confirms the president's election.

In theory, the supreme leader is appointed by a body of clerics whom voters elect. But in practice, this body -- the Assembly of Experts -- has answered to the supreme leader.

Khamenei, 70, was appointed supreme leader for life in 1989.

Q. What is the Guardian Council, which has been in the news, saying it will recount some of the votes in the disputed election?

A. The unelected Guardian Council is the second-most influential body in Iran politics. It consists of six theologians whom the supreme leader picks and six jurists nominated by the judiciary and approved by parliament.

The council approves all candidates running for office in the country, and verifies election results.

It vetoes bills passed by the parliament if they do not conform to the constitution and Islamic law.

In the present crisis, opposition leader Moussavi has had to take his grievance to the Guardian Council. It has agreed to some vote recounts. See galleries of protests in Iran »

Q. So, how much power does the president wield?

A. It depends on how nicely he plays with the Guardian Council.

The president is elected by direct vote to a four-year term, for a maximum of two terms.

He is responsible for economic policy and social programs, but most of the larger decisions are made by the supreme leader.

In theory, his powers are second to the supreme leader's. But in practice, he is often hamstrung by the Guardian Council.

The Guardian Council has worked with hard-liner Ahmadinejad, a 53-year-old former mayor of Tehran who was elected in 2005. But it thwarted reform attempts by his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami.

Q. What is the Revolutionary Guard, who said they will take legal action against pro-Moussavi Web sites?

A. The guard was initially created to protect the leaders of the revolution. But over the years, it has broadened its scope. Today, it is directly under the control of the supreme leader and enforces the governments' Islamic codes and morality

With more than 200,000 members, it is tasked with overseeing the country's crucial interests, including guarding its oil fields and missile arsenals.

Q. What is the Basij, who are said to be behind most of the violence against opposition supporters?

A. The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force that takes orders from the Revolutionary Guard. It plays the role of de facto morality police and is often summoned to crack down on protests.

It is unknown how large the force is, though estimates are in the millions.

Q. What evidence is there of ballot fraud?

A. There are no concrete examples of fraud, because independent monitors did not oversee polling in Iran, but the circumstantial evidence is persuasive.

The government had initially said it would take three days to verify the ballots after Election Day on June 12. But the election authority proclaimed Ahmadinejad the winner two hours after the polls closed. At the same time, the interior ministry said that 85 percent of the country's 46 million eligible voters had cast ballots -- a record turnout.

To many, so many ballots could not have been hand-counted in such a short time.

Also, the published results showed that Ahmadinejad won even in his opponents' strongholds, including Moussavi's hometown of ethnic Azeri Turks.

"This is the equivalent of Barack Obama losing the African-American vote to John McCain in 2008," said Karim Sajadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Furthermore, Moussavi went into the election with massive support from the country's youth, who were unhappy with the faltering economy and an unemployment rate that tops 30 percent by some accounts. The youth make up 60 percent of Iran's population of 70 million.

Q. Is it true that Ahmadinejad still enjoys widespread support?

A. Yes. Ahmadinejad is popular across Iran's rural areas and among the Basij militia.

He presents himself as a populist and a fighter. He has paid attention to the families of the bloody Iran-Iraq war, offering special preferences to veterans' children in university admissions.

As president, his hardline approach has won him support among the Guardian Council. He has earned a reputation internationally as a fundamentalist for his Holocaust denials, calls to annihilate Israel, and cat-and-mouse games with the United States and the United Nations over Iran's nuclear activities. Many in the establishment view him as someone who does not cower to big-footing by the West.

Q. Why, then, do some analysts think the vote was manipulated?

A. Some experts say that even if it is likely that Ahmadinejad won the election, it is unlikely he could have won by the margin the government is claiming -- 62.63 percent of the vote.

Time magazine's Joe Klein explains it this way: "It is entirely possible that Ahmadinejad would have won anyway, but narrowly, perhaps with less than 50 percent of the vote, setting up a runoff election he might have lost as the other candidates united against him. It is possible that his government, perhaps acting in concert with supreme leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, decided to take no chances."

Q. Why is Iran's population so young?

A. After the revolution, the leaders encouraged early marriage and large families, rewarding families with cars and television sets for each additional child. During the country's devastating eight-year war with Iraq, which began in 1980, the regime continued encouraging population growth, because more children meant more future soldiers.

It is those children who are now coming of age.

Q. Why did Iran summon Switzerland's ambassador to complain about perceived U.S. involvement in Iran's election process?

A. The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran following the hostage crisis in 1979, when students in support of the Islamic Revolution took 52 Americans hostage and held them for 444 days.

Q. Is this movement a challenge to the Islamic republic?

A. The demonstrators say their demand is simple: Hold fresh elections. They say they are not out to challenge the Islamic regime. Watch protests Wednesday in Tehran »

Furthermore, Moussavi is an unlikely man for the job.

Though the 67-year-old former prime minister is credited for successfully navigating the Iranian economy as prime minister during the Iran-Iraq war, he also was a hard-liner whom the Economist described as a "firm radical."

He, like most Iranians in power, does not believe in the existence of Israel. He defended the taking of the American hostages in 1979. He was part of a regime that regularly executed dissidents. And as late as April, he opposed suspending the country's nuclear-enrichment program but said it would not be diverted to weapons use.

The protests have exposed a fissure in the country, however, with tens of thousands of Ahmadinejad backers taking to the streets in a show of force of their own.

Q. Are the current protests likely to continue?

A. For now, the government seems to be allowing the populace to vent pent-up frustrations. But it also is gradually cracking down, such as blocking Web sites and banning international journalists from filming the rallies.

The demonstrations have so far been focused on urban areas. Should the populace in rural areas take up the call for reform, the government might step in quickly to quash the protests, analysts say. See map of demonstration sites in Tehran »

Q. Is this the first time Iranians have risen up in mass protests against the regime?

A. No. Iran has twice seen public calls for reform in recent years: in 1999, after the closing of a reformist newspaper, and after parliamentary elections in 2000.

On both occasions, the Revolutionary Guard descended on the streets after a few days and crushed the movements.


Q. So, can true reform come to Iran?

A. It is possible. Ahmadinejad's predecessor, Khatami, was elected president in 1997 by a landslide, despite being a reformer. During his two terms, he championed freedom of expression, tried to mend diplomatic relations, and supported a free market. He was, however, hamstrung at every step by stiff resistance from the supreme leader and the Guardian Council.

Israel PM calls for a demilitarized Palestine

This is supposed to pacify extremists and lead to peace HOW? . . .

CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would agree to a peace agreement with Palestinians under which there would be a "demilitarized Palestinian state."


Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he would agree to peace with Palestinians.

The area under Palestinian control would have no army, would not control its airspace, and would not be allowed to bring in arms, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu, who recently returned to the prime ministerial post he held 10 years ago, has previously not endorsed a two-state solution.

In his address, Netanyahu discussed the pain and loss through bloodshed on both sides of the conflict.

He said the root of the conflict lies in the refusal by the Palestinians to accept that the Jewish people have a homeland in Israel.

Netanyahu also called on Palestinian leaders to take immediate steps toward peace talks.

Youth in the Middle East

Hamas on Obama's Speech

He doesn't really indicate that the speech will affect Hamas' behavior at all...but he's in a tight spot. Gaza is in miserable condition, still in ruins from the war earlier this year, and the sanctions he's referring to are keeping relief from getting into the refugee camps. It's a very real grievance, and I can't blame him for being unwilling to dismiss it. . .Of course I don't condone violence, but this is a real "chicken-or-the-egg" situation...Where will the peace process begin? Who will be willing to make the first compromise?

Queen Noor on Obama's Speech

Okay, so she doesn't say much substantively, but. . .

Reactions to Obama's Speech, Collected by AP

By The Associated Press – 48 mins ago
Notable reaction to President Barack Obama's speech Thursday to the Muslim world:
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"President Obama is a brave president. ... We hope he will open a new chapter with the Islamic world and Arab nations in particular." — Mithwan Hussein, a Baghdad resident.
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"Bush and Clinton said the same about a Palestinian state, but they've done nothing, so why should we believe this guy?" — Ali Tottah, 82, who is originally from the West Bank town of Nablus, speaking at the Baqaa refugee camp in Jordan.
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"There is a change between the speech of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush. But today's remarks at Cairo University were based on soft diplomacy to brighten the image of the United States." — Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.
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"The Obama administration is focused on whether to strike Iran or not, as if the core problem in the region is Iran. But it totally forgot the Palestinian issue. Let Obama solve the Palestinian problem first, then he can strike whoever he wants." — Ibrahim Hreish, a jeweler in Amman, Jordan.
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"Why did he not come here to Gaza, instead of going to Egypt? He is welcome to come and see, to inspect with his own eyes, to see the war crimes and the new Holocaust." — Mohammed Khader, 47, whose house in Gaza was leveled by Israeli troops during the recent three-week offensive against Hamas.
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"It was actually better than we expected, but not as good as we hoped. ... His stance on democracy was very general, a bit weak, we hoped for more detail." — Ayman Nour, an Egyptian dissident recently released from prison.
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"Obama is clearly admitting that Bush's military offensive in Iraq was a mistake." — Said Lacet, 56, a civil servant in Algeria.
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"It still was a speech about what America wants. Maybe that's only natural, because he wants to protect American interests in the region. ... But I really do believe he envisions a world that is pluralistic, where different religions can live peacefully together, with respect, as he himself experienced in Indonesia." — Edi Kusyanto, a teacher at the school in Indonesia where Obama went as a child.
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"The part of Obama's speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step under new beginnings. ... This is the beginning of a new American policy and this policy is creating a new atmosphere to build the Palestinian state." — Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
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"He was very generous in his comments about Islam's contributions to civilization. ... There also hasn't really been any other Western leader who has expressed such commitment to fighting negative stereotypes regarding Muslims." — Chandra Muzaffar, president of the International Movement for a Just World think-tank in Malaysia.
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"This vision is so out of touch with reality. ... You can have your speechwriters find every good thing a Muslim has every done. But more modern history is that the Muslim world is at war with the Western world." — Aliza Herbst, 56, a spokeswoman for Yesha, the West Bank settlers' council.
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"It was very positive. A president with the middle name of Hussein being in Cairo talking about collaboration means a lot for Muslims. It will influence people." — Malek Sitez, an international law expert in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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"It's one of the most important speeches ever delivered, a key speech for changing the climate in the Middle East. Israel will make a big mistake if it ignores it and doesn't use it to generate a new dialogue with the Muslim world." — Yuli Tamir, a dovish Israeli lawmaker from the centrist Labor Party.
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"I don't trust him. He's just trying to apologize to Muslims because of what America — or really Bush — has done in the past. He's promising to be different. But that's all it is, a promise. We want action." — Wahyudin, the director of a hard-line Islamic boarding school in Jakarta, who goes by one name.

Obama Arrives in Saudi Arabia

This video made me laugh out loud...diplomacy is so AWKWARD sometimes! Haha....

Osama on Obama

An eerie censorship trend in China

Excellent Article from Steven Hurst, AP: Obama Gets Tough on Israel, Scores Points with Arab World

I found myself nodding along as I read this article--so many excellent points that many Americans have missed in the past, regarding Mideast-US relations. I.e., Bush's abrasive campaign for Middle Eastern countries to become LIKE America in order to partner WITH America. Categorically imposing our 'ideals' on other nations with a 'one-size-fits-all' attitude, as well as what appeared to be blind faith in the state of Israel, was a nasty combination in former American policy. I hope Obama continues to progress AWAY from these trends. . .

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has gotten tough with Israel and chosen Cairo — where President Hosni Mubarak rules with a firm hand — for his much-awaited overture to the Islamic world in what appears to be a clear break from decades of U.S. policy.

Many issues cloud American relations with the Muslim world, but none rankles like U.S. ties to Israel and massive support for the Jewish state in the heart of the Arab Middle East.

While the majority of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims live in Asia, the growing militancy among the followers of the Prophet Muhammad took root largely in the Middle East. The dramatic strike against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, was the work of Arabs under the direction of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was born in Saudi Arabia.

Bin Laden cited anger at U.S. support for Israel as the guiding philosophy of the terrorist organization that drew American forces into wars in Afghanistan, where he was believed to be hiding, and Iraq, which was flooded by al-Qaida fighters after the U.S. invasion in 2003.

Those wars and U.S. policy toward Israel have produced a growing belief in the Muslim world that the United States is at war with Islam.

Given those realities, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs played down expectations of a quick turnaround in U.S.-Muslim relations after Obama's Thursday speech.
"This is about resetting our relationship with the Muslim world. ... We don't expect everything to change after one speech," he said.

In an interview broadcast Tuesday on French television, Obama warned against heightened expectations.
"I think it is very important to understand that one speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," Obama said. "And so expectations need to be somehow modest."

But Obama's very public demand last month that Israel stop settlement activity on land the Palestinians want for a state was a clear prelude to the Cairo speech and a sign that he's serious about regaining the United States' role as an honest broker in that region, a policy switch that is bound to pay dividends across the Muslim world.

"There is no question that this is a break from the past," said Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Miller, who was deeply involved in the U.S. peacemaking-efforts during the Clinton administration, said it is clear Obama will not be "coddling the Israelis." At the same time, he said, the president does not appear to have developed his policy on Israel beyond demanding it stop building settlements.

"I don't see that he has an 'or else' he is ready to use" against recalcitrant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has flatly rejected the president's demand on settlements.

In a pre-trip interview with National Public Radio, Obama was diplomatically blunt.
"Part of being a good friend is being honest. And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory in the region, is profoundly negative not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region," Obama said.

By linking Israeli settlement activity to "U.S. interests," Obama may well have been laying out part of his planned speech to the Muslim world.

"I bet the speech will largely be about the Arab-Israeli stalemate," said Miller, adding that Obama also "will have to address Arab authoritarianism."

By choosing to speak in Cairo, Obama opened himself to criticism that grows out of Mubarak's long and authoritarian rule in Egypt, a leading Arab country.

Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was the first of only two Arab leaders to sign a peace treaty with Israel. He was assassinated by Muslim radicals three years later in 1981. Jordan's deceased King Hussein signed a peace accord in 1994.

Seeking to head off criticism of having selected Cairo for the much-awaited speech, Obama told NPR:

"I think it's a mistake for us to somehow suggest that we're not going to deal with countries around the world in the absence of their meeting all our criteria for democracy."

U.S.-Egyptian relations were severely strained under former President George W. Bush as he pushed for democratization throughout the Arab world in conjunction with the Iraq war.

The State Department announced on Tuesday that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would travel to Egypt for Obama's speech and meetings with Mubarak, a sign that the administration is counting on Egypt to play a moderating role and to serve as a mediator in any larger peace initiatives in the Middle East.

By changing focus toward the Arabs and showing a willingness to open a public rift with the hard-line Netanyahu, Obama may score points on style with his Islamic audience. But the game won't be won until he manages to negotiate a larger peace among the Arabs and Israel.

"It's a good thing he's patient," Miller said. "In the Middle East, there is only long and longer."

"Netanyahu rejects US calls for settlement freeze" (click for AP story)

HAVAT GILAD, West Bank –

Israel's prime minister on Monday dismissed the U.S. demand for a settlement freeze as unreasonable, moving closer to a collision with the Obama administration, while mobs of Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian laborers and burned West Bank fields.

....Monday's events highlighted Netanyahu's increasingly difficult balancing act. The hard-line leader is trying to keep his pro-settler ruling coalition together by rejecting President Barack Obama's call for a halt to all settlement activity, at the risk of hurting Israel's all-important relationship with the U.S.

In an apparent gesture to Obama, Netanyahu has begun dismantling small settler outposts built without formal government authorization. But even that limited step risks triggering settler violence against Palestinians and further international criticism of Israel.

Settlers have vowed to respond with attacks on Palestinians and their property to any attempt to remove even the tiniest enclave — a tactic known as "price tag."

"We will do everything we can to oppose this," said Yehuda Shimon, a resident of the Havat Gilad outpost in the northern West Bank.

In Jerusalem, Netanyahu briefed the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about his recent meeting with Obama at the White House. The American president and his secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, have demanded that Israel halt all settlement construction, including expansion to accommodate what Israel calls "natural growth" of settler communities.

Netanyahu said Israel cannot "freeze life" in settlements, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed. Netanyahu was quoted as saying that "there are reasonable requests and unreasonable requests."

....Before dawn, near the Kedumim settlement, stone-throwing settlers ambushed a minivan carrying Palestinian laborers to Israel, the workers said. Six of the 15 Palestinians on board were hurt, including Yahye Sadah, 44, who was hit in the head and said he got six stitches.

Police said settlers threw rocks and burned tires in the area. The attackers fled and no arrests were made, they said.

Nearly 300,000 Israelis live in the settlements among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank. Another 180,000 live in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas — captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — as parts of a future independent state.

In recent years, settlers have set up dozens of squatter camps, or so-called outposts, that lack formal government approval, but often received funding and support from government agencies. Israel has failed to keep a promise to the U.S., first made in 2003, to dismantle about two dozen outposts.

The U.S. considers the settlements an obstacle to peace, but traditionally has done little on the issue, a policy that appears to be changing under Obama.

Netanyahu has dispatched his defense minister, Ehud Barak, to Washington this week in hopes of winning approval to allow at least limited construction to continue in the settlements, apparently in exchange for removing outposts. But the Obama administration has so far signaled it is not willing to budge.

In another possible diplomatic entanglement, U.N. investigators on Monday began looking into possible war crimes during Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers, even though they failed to secure a promise of cooperation from Israel.

Israeli officials have insisted the investigation, led by veteran war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, would not be objective, citing alleged anti-Israel bias by the U.N. agency sponsoring the probe.

Goldstone, who is Jewish and has close ties to Israel, has said he wants to investigate both Israel and Hamas. He said Monday, after arriving in Gaza City with a 15-member team, he would deliver his report by August.