President Obama Now Is Time For US And West To Lead

President Obama has told British politicians that, despite the rise of new global superpowers, the time for US and European leadership "is now".In a speech in Parliament, he said the US and its allies in Europe would remain "indispensable" this century.

 

He is the first US President to address MPs and peers in Westminster Hall, on the second day of his UK state visit.He praised relations between the US and UK as "one of the oldest and strongest alliances the world has ever known".Mr Obama got a standing ovation as he began his speech - which covered a range of issues including foreign policy, economic development and international security. As he began, Mr Obama acknowledged that the relationship between the UK and US was forever being "overanalysed" but added: "There are few nations that stand firmer, speak louder and fight harder to defend democratic values around the world than the United States

President Obama also told politicians gathered at Westminster Hall - who included in their ranks the former prime ministers Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - that the two countries had "arrived at a pivotal moment once more" following global recession and years of conflict.Even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership, our alliance will remain indispensable to the goal of a century that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more justBarack Obama He said with the winding down of operations in Iraq, progress in Afghanistan and having dealt "al Qaeda a huge blow by killing its leader Osama Bin Laden" it was time to enter a "new chapter in our shared history" with new challenges - like the revolutions in the Middle East and Africa, climate change terrorist networks,.But he rejected arguments that the rise of superpowers like China and India meant the end for American and European influence in the world. 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.It was the United States, the United Kingdom, and our democratic allies that shaped a world in which new nations could emerge and individuals could thrive.  And even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership, our alliance will remain indispensable to the goal of a century that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more just.Questions about the international community's strategy in Libya featured heavily during an earlier press conference on the second day of President Obama's state visit to the UK.UK Prime Minister David Cameron said there was no future for the country - which has seen two months of intense fighting between pro and anti-government forces - with Col Gaddafi in power, and he should step down.
Gaddafi and his regime need to understand there will be no let-up in the pressure we are applyingPresident Barack Obama The President and I agree we should be turning up the heat in Libya," he said, adding that "all options" for intensifying the pressure on the regime were being considered.Mr Obama said the international community had made "enormous progress" in Libya, saving civilian lives under the terms of its UN mandate, and the US was "strongly committed to seeing the job through".Gaddafi and his regime need to understand there will be