The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. September 24, 2009 Obama Calls for “New Era of Engagement” in UN Address ----------------------------------------------------- President Obama also addressed world leaders at the United Nations Wednesday with an appeal for what he called a new era of global cooperation. In his first General Assembly address, Obama acknowledged the Bush administration had left a legacy of “skepticism and distrust” toward the United States. But Obama also said low US standing is based partly on “misperceptions and misinformation” that has fed what he called a “reflexive anti-Americanism [that] has served as an excuse for collective inaction.” President Obama: “This cannot solely be America’s endeavor. Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world’s problems alone. We have sought, in word and deed, a new era of engagement with the world.” Obama went on to call for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks toward a two-state solution. President Obama: “The time has come to relaunch negotiations, without preconditions, that address the permanent-status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees and Jerusalem. The goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security—a Jewish state of Israel, with true security for all Israelis, and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people.” Although Obama spoke of ending the Israeli occupation, he refused to call for the removal of all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. He instead repeated his administration’s stance of only opposing “continued” Israeli settlement expansion. Obama also called for strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty in the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Obama singled out the nuclear activities of North Korea and Iran. President Obama: “But if the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards, if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people, if they are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both East Asia and the Middle East, then they must be held accountable. The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise and that Treaties will be enforced.” .