I agree. Give them California.
Mideast peace the keynote of Obama address to U.N. General Assembly
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 12:02 PM EST, Wed September 21, 2011
United Nations (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama walked a Middle East diplomatic tightrope Wednesday, telling members of the United Nations General Assembly that he shares their frustration with the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict while resisting a growing push for official U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
Obama used his address to the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly to tackle a range of issues relating to the so-called Arab Spring, celebrating the toppling of autocratic rulers in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, while expressing support for reform movements in Bahrain, Yemen, and elsewhere.
The president also sought to rally international support for African famine relief, and provided backing for both European economic efforts and international measures to combat climate change.
It was Obama's balancing act with regard to the Israelis and Palestinians, however, that captured the attention of most international observers. The president has been trying to mend political fences with wary backers of Israel at home while avoiding the diplomatic fallout that would accompany a U.S. veto of a U.N. Security Council measure endorsing recognition of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is urging the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that such a move would undermine an already fragile peace process.
"I know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress," Obama told members of the General Assembly. "So am I. But the question isn't the goal we seek -- the question is how to reach it. And I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades."
"Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the U.N.," Obama said. "One year ago, I stood at this podium and called for an independent Palestine. I believed then -- and I believe now -- that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own. But what I also said is that genuine peace can only be realized between Israelis and Palestinians themselves."
He said that a year later, despite extensive U.S. efforts, "the parties have not bridged their differences."
"Faced with this stalemate, I put forward a new basis for negotiations in May. That basis is clear, and well-known to all of us here. Israelis must know that any agreement provides assurances for their security. Palestinians deserve to know the territorial basis of their state."
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Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/world/americas/un-obama/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
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