Obama's speech to AIPAC -- prepared text

[oberliner]

The full text of his speech (as prepared) can be found here:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/05/obamas-speech-aipac-prepared-text

Here is an excerpt where he addresses the comments he made in his recent speech on the Middle East:

Now, it was my reference to the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps that received the lion’s share of the attention. And since my position has been misrepresented several times, let me reaffirm what “1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps” means.

By definition, it means that the parties themselves – Israelis and Palestinians – will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967. It is a well known formula to all who have worked on this issue for a generation. It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last forty-four years, including the new demographic realities on the ground and the needs of both sides. The ultimate goal is two states for two peoples. Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people; each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace.

If there’s a controversy, then, it’s not based in substance. What I did on Thursday was to say publicly what has long been acknowledged privately. I have done so because we cannot afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades, to achieve peace. The world is moving too fast. The extraordinary challenges facing Israel would only grow. Delay will undermine Israel’s security and the peace that the Israeli people deserve.

[jaxx]

1. Very good speech.

He stood his ground.

[DCBob]

2. Very well chosen words. I dont know how the pro-Israel crowd will see it..

but I thought it was superb speech and could the beginning of something significant. It is also interesting this followed the recent resignation of George Mitchell.

[oberliner]

3. Twitter reports indicate a lot of applause from the audience for his speech

And that audience is, by definition, the pro-Israel crowd.

[jaxx]

4. I watched the speech

and there was applause throughout it. It was very well received.

[DCBob]

5. I saw it.. yes they clapped alot but who knows how it will play out in Israel..

and among the hard-core pro-Israel crowd here.

[oberliner]

6. Goldberg: A Good Speech by President Obama to AIPAC

President Obama gave a very good speech to AIPAC: Tough on Hamas, tough on Iran, but also somewhat tough on Israeli procrastination. He understands Israel's dilemma in the same way Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin understood their country's dilemma. Israel needs to find a way to maintain its democratic nature and its Jewish majority. Only compromise on the West Bank -- yes, a return to 1967 borders, with some obvious adjustments (and the President was much more clear today than he was on Thursday on what the term "land-swap" means) will help Israel maintain itself as a Jewish democracy, and will protect it from becoming an international pariah. And by the way, Israel's biggest and most effective defender on the international stage in the coming months will be... Barack Obama. He made that crystal-clear. He opposes the unilateral bid for Palestinian independence in a very forthright way. Now it is up to Prime Minister Netanyahu to listen to Israel's friend in the White House.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/a-good-speech-by-president-obama-to-aipac/239266/

[DCBob]

7. Yeah, that sums it up nicely.. but I am sure the Republicans will find fault.

and make some absurd claim that Obama hates Israel.

[oberliner]

8. Yes, well, Republicans find fault with everything Obama says and does

I agree that they will jump on him for this just as they jump on him for everything else.

[bluestateguy]

9. People here forget that AIPAC is not as right wing as Netanyahu/Likud

nt

[Hippo_Tron]

11. In the past decade, too much of their leadership has become right wing, though...

Hence groups like J Street have started to emerge as an alternative.

[Pirate Smile]

10. It was very, very good.