less than two hours till the Pres talks to the UN. spread the word.
UN General Assembly set for ideological showdown
The 61st General Assembly of the United Nations opens today in New York - and the stage is set for a high stakes ideological battle for control of the direction of international politics. George Bush wants Iran to face a clear threat of sanctions over its nuclear ambitions and is expected to call on the UN to "stand up for peace" at the conference of world leaders, the last General Assembly that Koffi Annan will host before retiring.
The White House refused Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's offer to debate head to head with Bush on the nuclear issue - but Ahmadinejad will nevertheless take the floor to present Teheran's case. He's expected to reaffirm that Iran is developing nuclear technology for its domestic energy needs only. Also high on the agenda will be the continuing conflict in Darfour and the search for a breakthrough in the Palestinian conflict, following the recent war in Lebanon.
U.S. officials are well aware that some U.N. delegates are suspicious that the president has come to the global body once more to lay the groundwork for future military action. They say the speech won't be so much a call for action as an appeal for moderate forces to decide the future of the Middle East and to oppose extremist leaders.
Watch live streaming video of President Bush's address at 11:30 a.m. ET on FOXNews.com.
Bush considers Iranian President as one of the worst examples of Islamic extremism. The two leaders held dueling photo opportunities on Monday, with Bush spending part of his day meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He said Malaysia is living proof that Islamic nations can be moderate and democratic.
"It's been my honor to meet with you. You're one of the outstanding leaders in a very important part of the world," Bush told the prime minister.
Ahmadinejad will then make his counter-argument shortly after the U.S. president's address, trying to sell developing nations on the idea that the United States shouldn't lead the way to the future.
In Caracas, Venezuela on Monday, Ahmadinejad met with President Hugo Chavez, and the two oil rich, anti-American leaders, said the lesson of the 20th century is that Western domination leaves developing nations in poverty and misery. While at the United Nations, Iran is expected to push for Venezuela's bid for membership on the Security Council.
In the speech scheduled to follow Bush, Ahmadinejad will defend his country's nuclear program.
U.S. officials said a temporary suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment would be enough for Washington to join the talks over the program, and the president's spokesman rattled off a list of incentives he said Iran is passing up.
"We are going to give you civilian nuclear power. You can become part of a nuclear club, you just can't become part of the nuclear bomb club. We'll give you economic aid, we'll give you cultural ties, we're going to provide educational exchanges," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said.
Bush said last week that he won't talk with Ahmadinejad, though the two will be in the same room. Instead, Iran's nuclear negotiator and European Union officials are doing most of the talking over Iran's pursuits.
Negotiators have raised the prospect of a temporary suspension while talks continue. National Security Advisor suggested that would be enough for the United States to join the process. Hadley told reporters on Air Force One "a permanent solution to this problem is what you negotiate about."
But later, Iran's government showed fissures as one official seemed to take back any talks of suspending activities.
"Iran's acceptance of limited suspension is a misunderstanding. We have not reached any conclusion over the issue yet," said government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham. Other Iranian officials have said nuclear power is a right the world can't take from them.
U.S. officials admit publicly they won't win sanctions on Iran this week, although Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said both Russia, which is selling Iran nuclear technology, and China, which relies on Iran's oil, agree Tehran must give up uranium enrichment. Privately, officials say the job is to convince Russia and China to accept sanctions that are tough enough to matter.
I just can't get worked up about this anymore. It's like addressing a bunch of guys in lockup, warning them about the dangers of homosexual sex. Uh-huh.
Live thread here, ping.
My guess is that the UK, Australia, Israel, Poland, Italy, Japan, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and others would probably support us in varying degrees from logistics to troops.
Thanks for posting this thread, Rob.
WHERE IS BUSH?? When is he up?
OMG... .Syrian people your government is a tool of Iran.
Thanks for the ping
& for posting the thread