Wall Street Journal Online (9.23.09)

Obama Calls for 'New Era of Engagement' in U.N. Speech

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS -- President Barack Obama said all nations have a responsibility to work toward a future of peace and prosperity.

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Obama told world leaders Wednesday he believes there are four pillars necessary to ensure that future -- nuclear disarmament, the promotion of peace and security, preservation of the planet, and a global economy that offers opportunity for all people.

Mr. Obama said those pillars must be "the guiding principle of international cooperation."

Mr. Obama's is seeking to set a new tone in U.S. relations -- one that separates his administration from the unilateralism of his predecessor, George W. Bush, which alienated many nations.

"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," Mr. Obama said in White House excerpts of the address that carried a remarkably blunt tone.

In essence, Mr. Obama's message is that he expects plenty in return for reaching out.

"We have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world," Mr. Obama said, echoing the cooperative theme he promised as a candidate and has since used as a pillar of his foreign policy. "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility."

He said if the world is honest with itself, it has fallen woefully short.

"Extremists sowing terror in pockets of the world," Mr. Obama said. "Protracted conflicts that grind on and on. Genocide and mass atrocities. More and more nations with nuclear weapons. Melting ice caps and ravaged populations. Persistent poverty and pandemic disease."

The president added, "I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: the magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our action."

He also restated his position that both Tehran and Pyongyang must back off their interest in nuclear arms, saying "the world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise and that treaties will be enforced.''

Mr. Obama's speech is the centerpiece of a day in which he was also holding pivotal meetings with the new Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Immersed in a packed agenda here, Mr. Obama foreshadowed his message to world leaders in a speech Tuesday to the Clinton Global Initiative. He spoke of nations interconnected by problems, whether a flu strain or an economic collapse or a drug trade that crosses borders.

Mr. Obama needs the sway of Russia and China in getting tougher U.N. action against Iran over its potential nuclear weapons program, and neither country is showing interest.

While other world leaders could push for Mideast peace, it was Mr. Obama who personally intervened in pulling together the Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday. He showed some impatience as both sides have been stalled over familiar issues.

The good-will feeling of Mr. Obama's fresh government is apparent at the United Nations.

But eight months into his presidency, the problems he inherited are now his own, upping expectations for results. His White House is being pressed to right the war in Afghanistan. And his efforts toward diplomacy with adversaries, chiefly Iran and North Korea, are not meant to be open-ended.

Mr. Obama's day started with his meeting with Mr. Hatoyama, who has said he wants to shift Japan's diplomatic stance from one that is less centered on Washington's lead.

Later, Mr. Obama was meeting with Mr. Medvedev. That session comes just days following Mr. Obama's decision to abruptly scrap a Bush-era missile defense plan that Russia deeply opposed, swapping it for a proposal the U.S. says better targets any launch by Iran.

Russian leaders rejoiced over Mr. Obama's move, but he dismissed any role Russia may have played and called it just a bonus if the country is now less "paranoid" about the U.S.