Obama to address tough issues in speech to Muslims
* Obama: Muslim countries understand U.S. Afghan goals
* Obama, Abdullah to discuss energy prices, Iran
* Speech to be watched for shifts on Arab-Israeli conflict
By David Alexander and Ross Colvin
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will try to repair U.S. ties to the Islamic world this week in a speech from the Middle East that aides say will reach out to Muslims but deal with tough issues like the peace process and violent extremism.
Obama, who departs for the region on Tuesday, will use his address to try to repair some of the damage to America's image caused by the Iraq war, U.S. treatment of military detainees and the lack of progress in Mideast peace talks.
Asked on Monday if the continuing U.S. conflict in Afghanistan would undermine his effort to engage the Islamic world, Obama said the United States had no territorial ambitions in Afghanistan and only wanted to prevent al Qaeda from launching another Sept. 11-style attack.
"What we want is simply that people aren't hanging out in Afghanistan who are plotting to bomb the United States," Obama told National Public Radio. "That's a fairly modest goal that other Muslim countries should be able to understand."
The success of the U.S. leader's diplomatic initiatives in the region -- like advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and halting Iran's nuclear program -- may depend on how well Obama, whose father was a Muslim and who lived in Indonesia as a boy, is able to improve U.S.-Islamic ties.
The first stop on the president's four-day visit to the Middle East and Europe is Saudi Arabia, where he will hold talks with King Abdullah on issues like the Mideast peace process, Iran's nuclear program and energy prices.
Washington and Riyadh differ over oil prices. Obama has spent heavily trying to lift the U.S. economy out of a major recession and has expressed concern about oil price spikes, which could hurt any recovery.
Saudi Arabia has been calling for stable prices, but at $75 to $80 a barrel, versus the current price of $68 a barrel, said David Ottaway, a Mideast scholar at the nonpartisan Wilson Center.
"On oil prices, there are, I think, significant and sharp differences in the two positions," he said.
The Saudis would like to see greater pressure on Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which the West fears is aimed at making atomic weapons but Tehran says is for nuclear power. The Saudis also are frustrated at the lack of progress toward a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
'FED UP WITH TALK'
"On the issue of peace talks ... Saudis, like most Arabs, are fed up with talk and really want to see something concrete happen," Ottaway said.
Obama travels on Thursday to Cairo, where he will fulfill a campaign promise to deliver a speech to the Islamic world from a major Muslim capital early in his presidency.
"The speech will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "He will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them."
While discussing ways to improve U.S.-Muslim relations, Obama also will discuss difficult issues like extremist violence and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aides said.
"He doesn't hesitate to take on the tough issues in his speech," said Deputy National Security Adviser Mark Lippert. "You have a president who is not afraid to engage on very tough, tough issues."
Aaron David Miller, a Wilson Center public policy analyst, said Obama's speech would be closely watched in the region to see whether it would break new ground on the Arab-Israeli conflict or would say anything about authoritarianism, human rights and good governance in the Muslim world.
"If he doesn't do either of those two things, this is going to be a dog bites man speech. It's not going to be a man bites dog speech, which is what ... the Arab and Muslim world is expecting: something new, something different and something real," he said.
After Cairo, the U.S. leader will travel to Europe for visits steeped in World War Two symbolism, visiting the Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany and the beaches of Normandy in France to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
He will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his European trip as part of his effort to improve trans-Atlantic ties.
* Obama, Abdullah to discuss energy prices, Iran
* Speech to be watched for shifts on Arab-Israeli conflict
By David Alexander and Ross Colvin
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will try to repair U.S. ties to the Islamic world this week in a speech from the Middle East that aides say will reach out to Muslims but deal with tough issues like the peace process and violent extremism.
Obama, who departs for the region on Tuesday, will use his address to try to repair some of the damage to America's image caused by the Iraq war, U.S. treatment of military detainees and the lack of progress in Mideast peace talks.
Asked on Monday if the continuing U.S. conflict in Afghanistan would undermine his effort to engage the Islamic world, Obama said the United States had no territorial ambitions in Afghanistan and only wanted to prevent al Qaeda from launching another Sept. 11-style attack.
"What we want is simply that people aren't hanging out in Afghanistan who are plotting to bomb the United States," Obama told National Public Radio. "That's a fairly modest goal that other Muslim countries should be able to understand."
The success of the U.S. leader's diplomatic initiatives in the region -- like advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and halting Iran's nuclear program -- may depend on how well Obama, whose father was a Muslim and who lived in Indonesia as a boy, is able to improve U.S.-Islamic ties.
The first stop on the president's four-day visit to the Middle East and Europe is Saudi Arabia, where he will hold talks with King Abdullah on issues like the Mideast peace process, Iran's nuclear program and energy prices.
Washington and Riyadh differ over oil prices. Obama has spent heavily trying to lift the U.S. economy out of a major recession and has expressed concern about oil price spikes, which could hurt any recovery.
Saudi Arabia has been calling for stable prices, but at $75 to $80 a barrel, versus the current price of $68 a barrel, said David Ottaway, a Mideast scholar at the nonpartisan Wilson Center.
"On oil prices, there are, I think, significant and sharp differences in the two positions," he said.
The Saudis would like to see greater pressure on Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which the West fears is aimed at making atomic weapons but Tehran says is for nuclear power. The Saudis also are frustrated at the lack of progress toward a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
'FED UP WITH TALK'
"On the issue of peace talks ... Saudis, like most Arabs, are fed up with talk and really want to see something concrete happen," Ottaway said.
Obama travels on Thursday to Cairo, where he will fulfill a campaign promise to deliver a speech to the Islamic world from a major Muslim capital early in his presidency.
"The speech will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "He will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them."
While discussing ways to improve U.S.-Muslim relations, Obama also will discuss difficult issues like extremist violence and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aides said.
"He doesn't hesitate to take on the tough issues in his speech," said Deputy National Security Adviser Mark Lippert. "You have a president who is not afraid to engage on very tough, tough issues."
Aaron David Miller, a Wilson Center public policy analyst, said Obama's speech would be closely watched in the region to see whether it would break new ground on the Arab-Israeli conflict or would say anything about authoritarianism, human rights and good governance in the Muslim world.
"If he doesn't do either of those two things, this is going to be a dog bites man speech. It's not going to be a man bites dog speech, which is what ... the Arab and Muslim world is expecting: something new, something different and something real," he said.
After Cairo, the U.S. leader will travel to Europe for visits steeped in World War Two symbolism, visiting the Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany and the beaches of Normandy in France to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
He will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his European trip as part of his effort to improve trans-Atlantic ties.
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Obama loses patience with Iran