Obama urges Western leadership at "pivotal" moment

By Anna Tomforde May 25, 2011, 17:04 GMT

London - US President Barack Obama said Wednesday that a 'pivotal moment' had been reached in world history after a 'difficult decade' that made Western leadership as indispensable as ever.

In a keynote address to both houses of parliament in London, the president dismissed the notion that the rise of emerging nations, such as China, India and Brazil, automatically signalled a decline in Western influence.

'Perhaps, the argument goes, these nations represent the future and the time for our leadership has passed. That argument is wrong. The time for our leadership is now,' he said.

Obama Wednesday became the first US president in history to speak in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of London's 900-year-old Westminster Palace, to a high-profile audience of parliamentarians, politicians, churchmen and civic leaders.

Only three foreign dignitaries have been granted the honour since the end of the last world war - former French president Charles de Gaulle, former South African president Nelson Mandela and Pope Benedict XVI.

'Today, after a difficult decade that began with war and ended in recession, our nations have arrived at a pivotal moment once more. A global economy that once stood on the brink of depression is now stable and recovering,' said Obama.

After years of conflict, the US and Britain had pulled out of Iraq, 'broken the momentum' of the Taliban in Afghanistan and dealt a 'huge blow' to the al-Qaeda terrorist network by killing Osama bin Laden.

However, it was exactly because countries like the US and Britain - as in previous world wars - had helped to defeat tyranny and reshaped the world, their leadership remained 'indispensable' to a prosperous future.

The keynote speech, billed as an attempt by Obama to stress the importance of US links with Britain and its European allies, came after a day of political talks in London with Prime Minister David Cameron and other party leaders.

In a joint news conference, Obama and Cameron vowed to 'turn up the heat' on the regime of Colonel Moamer Gaddafi in Libya while reiterating their support for peaceful pro-democracy movements in the Arab world and North Africa.

Obama and Cameron reaffirmed the 'special and essential' relations between their two countries, which were based on 'shared values and ideals' and were 'stronger than ever.'

Even though they were leaders from different political backgrounds - Obama being a US Democrat and Cameron a British Conservative - they saw 'eye to eye' on many issues, said Obama.

Obama and his wife Michelle are currently on a three-day state visit to Britain. After visiting Ireland, Obama will travel to France for a G8 summit and to Poland later in the week.

Speaking on Libya, Obama and Cameron reiterated their call on Gaddafi to step down, while also promising to step up the campaign against his forces.

Obama said that 'enormous progress' had already been made in Libya, but there would 'not be a let-up' in efforts to protect the civilian population from Gaddafi's attacks.

However, wearing down Gaddafi would be a 'slow' process, which meant that support for the opposition in Libya had to be increased, said Obama. However, he made clear that the deployment of ground forces was not on the agenda.

'David and I both agree that we cannot have boots on the ground in Libya,' said Obama.

Cameron said both men had agreed to 'turn up the heat' on Libya. But he would not be drawn on whether Britain had already decided to deploy attack helicopters in the conflict.

Obama and Cameron pledged their support for peaceful protest movements in the Arab world and North Africa, while urging leaders in the region to facilitate political reform.

It was up to the West to make sure that the Arab uprising were not just 'a moment in history,' but would become a 'turning point in history,' said Cameron.

Both leaders also backed the transition towards a political settlement in Afghanistan, where, according to Obama, NATO forces were 'preparing to turn a corner.'

Cameron stressed the importance of continued close security cooperation with Pakistan, which had suffered 'more than any other country in the world' from terrorism.

'Their enemy is our enemy,' he said.

During the visit, the US and Britain agreed to boost their cooperation on cyberspace security and set up a panel of top US and British security officials.

The new Joint Strategy Board would meet four times a year to coordinate the response to 'long-term challenges in the global economic and security environment.'

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