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[Le Temps, Switzerland]

 

 

Le Figaro, France

Obama's 'Pharaonic' Plans for  His First Voyage to Europe

 

"In the same way that he intends to take advantage of the domestic crisis to revolutionize the American social model on matters of health and energy, the new president seems to think that he should take advantage of the many conflicts shaking the planet to revolutionize the very basis of U.S. relationships with many countries, such as Iran and Russia."

 

By Julie Connan

 

Translated By L. McKenzie Zeiss

 

Mar. 30, 2009

 

France - Le Figaro - Original Article (French)

The American president has set great objectives for his first visit to the Old Continent.

 

For his first presidential trip to [continental] Europe which begins on Wednesday, Barack Obama will attend a meeting involving the world and its global problems. Without a doubt, it is the uniqueness of this first great European outing of an American head of state that arouses such hope around the planet - after the Bush-era divorce between America and the rest of the world. For seven days, it will not only be a question of rekindling transatlantic relations, but of finding collective responses to the "shared challenges" confronting the world, explained Robert Gibbs, the President’s spokesperson. The timing of the summits included in this trip lends itself to that ambitious goal.

 

In London, where the American leader is headed for the G20 summit and where he will encounter the leaders of nations representing 85 percent of the global economy, the intention is both to boost confidence around the world and to establish the basis for regulating the international financial system. He will take advantage of the occasion to hold his first bilateral talks with Russia’s Dmitri Medvedev and China’s Hu Jintao.

 

On the occasion of NATO’s 60th anniversary, Obama will then participate in a summit in Strasbourg-Kehl [France] intended to "revitalize" an alliance in search of an identity, and to discuss in detail the new American strategy in Afghanistan.   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

 

 

The meeting between the E.U. and the United States that will follow in Prague will be a chance to bring up a number of burning questions around the world, such as nuclear proliferation, anti-missile defense, energy security and climate change.

 

ALL THE WAY TO TURKEY, A 'BRIDGE' WITH ASIA

 

A last stop in Turkey will allow Obama to further broaden the field of vision of his journey. In traveling to Turkey, Barack Obama is signaling that he's not content with merely visiting the pivotal country at the southern hub of the Atlantic Alliance. He will show his interest in a nation that constitutes a "bridge between Europe and Asia," as Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough explained Saturday. At the same time, this will permit Obama to introduce America's problematic relations with Muslim countries into the framework of his trip.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

This ambition, which might seem Pharaonic, is not surprising for Obama. For two months, his domestic management has revealed his desire for an interconnected approach on these issues. In the same way that he intends to take advantage of the domestic crisis to revolutionize the American social model on matters of health and energy, the new president seems to think that he should take advantage of the many conflicts shaking the planet to revolutionize the very basis of U.S. relationships with many countries, such as Iran and Russia. It's a question of managing urgent matters without losing sight of the long term. It's about dealing with bilateral relations without forgetting the broader setting.

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 31, 3:20pm]