Obama and Netanyahu at White House – Transcript
(Source: White House Press Office)1:21 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, listen, I first of all want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for making this visit. I think we had a extraordinarily productive series of conversations, not only between the two of us but also at the staff and agency levels.
Obviously this reflects the extraordinary relationship, the special relationship between the United States and Israel. It is a stalwart ally of the United States. We have historical ties, emotional ties. As the only true democracy of the Middle East it is a source of admiration and inspiration for the American people.
Panetta Visit Hopeful Sign Obama’s Administration Won’t Turn Blind Eye to Israel Further Destabilizing Middle East
America’s spy chief was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the US Administration.
As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, went to Israel two weeks ago. He sought assurances from Mr Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington.
If Israel is going to continue to nurse at the teat of U.S. aid, it would be nice if a U.S. presidential administration would demand some accountability from them. The Iranian question won’t be solved by a half-baked scheme to destroy Iranian nuclear sites. I don’t believe the world can even imagine what the blowback would be from such a move and for how long it would damage any efforts at diplomacy in the entire Middle East.
As long as Israel continues to enforce an apartheid-like control over the Palestinian territories and trample the human rights of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians alike, we’ve got plenty of “optics” issues with her Arab neighbors.
Obama needs to be given half a chance to talk some sense into the idiots running Iran.
Text: Pope Benedict Address to Palestinians in Bethlehem, May 13
(Source: The Vatican)
Mr President,
Dear Friends,
I greet all of you from my heart, and I warmly thank the President, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, for his words of welcome. My pilgrimage to the lands of the Bible would not be complete without a visit to Bethlehem, the City of David and the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Nor could I come to the Holy Land without accepting the kind invitation of President Abbas to visit these Territories and to greet the Palestinian people. I know how much you have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of the turmoil that has afflicted this land for decades. My heart goes out to all the families who have been left homeless. This afternoon I will pay a visit to the Aida Refugee Camp, in order to express my solidarity with the people who have lost so much. To those among you who mourn the loss of family members and loved ones in the hostilities, particularly the recent conflict in Gaza, I offer an assurance of deep compassion and frequent remembrance in prayer. Indeed, I keep all of you in my daily prayers, and I earnestly beg the Almighty for peace, a just and lasting peace, in the Palestinian Territories and throughout the region.
