Obama reaffirms ties with Great Britain in speech to Parliament

President Obama told Great Britain’s Parliament Wednesday
that the leadership of the United States and Britain is “indispensable to this
moment of history.”

In a wide-ranging, rare address by a U.S. president to Parliament, Obama presented an optimistic vision for the future after a decade
of conflict and economic catastrophe.

In addressing the revolutions that have gripped the Middle
East for the last six months, Obama declared the United States will stand
with democratic reformers, saying that “the entire world has a stake in the
aspirations of a generation that longs to determine its own destiny.”

{mosads}“The time for our leadership is now,” Obama said.

The president said that the U.S. and the U.K. will stand
with those who yearn for freedom, saying that is why the two countries are
engaged in a bombing campaign against Libya.

In defending NATO air strikes against leader Moammar Gadhafi’s
regime, Obama noted possible presidential candidate Jon Huntsman’s (R-Utah) argument
that “it would have been easy at the outset of the crackdown in Libya to say
‘that’s none of our business.’ ”

“That argument carries weight with some, but we are
different,” Obama said. “We embrace a broader responsibility. And while we
cannot stop every injustice, there are circumstances that cut through caution.”

The president said that is why “we stopped a massacre in
Libya, and we will not relent until the people of Libya are protected and the
shadow of repression is lifted.”

Obama said that American and British leadership is crucial
in shaping the future of Middle East nations.

“If we fail to meet that responsibility, who would take our
place, and what kind of world would we pass on?” Obama asked.

At a press conference with British Prime Minister David
Cameron earlier Wednesday, Obama acknowledged the limitations that come from
only waging an air campaign against Libya, but he repeated that he will not
send in ground troops.

{mosads}The answer came in response to a question about whether the
U.S. will join British forces in expanding attacks on Gadhafi’s forces to
include helicopters.

Cameron said the British government is looking for ways to
turn “up the heat in Libya.”

The president refused to commit to more military intervention
in Libya, but warned Gadhafi that the U.S. is not letting up until the
Libyan people are free from tyranny. And for that to happen, Obama said,
Gadhafi must leave power.

“Gadhafi and his regime need to understand that there will
not be a letup in the pressure that we are applying,” Obama said.

“I believe that we have built enough momentum that as long
as we sustain the course that we’re on, that he is ultimately going to step
down. And we will continue to work with our partners to achieve that.”

Obama warned at the press conference that “ultimately this
is going to be a slow, steady process in which we’re able to wear down the
regime forces and change the political calculations of the Gadhafi regime to
the point where they finally realize that they’re not going to control this
country.”

“And as long as we remain resolute, I think we’re going to
be able to achieve that mission,” Obama said.

The president said that, thanks to the alliance between the U.S. and
England, Iraq and Afghanistan have “turned a corner.”

The president noted that the combat mission in Iraq has
ended, the global economy is “now stable and recovering” and in Afghanistan,
allied forces have made enough gains to reach a point where a transition of
security responsibilities can begin this summer.

In his remarks to Parliament, Obama also noted that the U.S.
“dealt al Qaeda a huge blow by killing Osama bin Laden.”

“Our two nations know what it is to confront evil in the
world,” Obama said, referring to the alliance that defeated Adolf Hitler and his armies
in World War II.

In all these conflicts, Obama said, the U.S. and the U.K. “remain
the greatest catalyst for global action.”

“We do these things because we believe not simply in the rights
of nations,” Obama said. “We believe in the rights of citizens.”