His address came during a whirlwind week of international gatherings and diplomacy — a climate change summit and Middle East meetings on Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, a G-20 meeting on the international economy today. Those formal events coincided with an intensification at home over critical choices facing Obama in his Afghanistan policy.
Obama's message to the other national leaders assembled in New York was that his administration represents a clear break with the posture of the Bush administration in its dealings with allies around the world. Hailing what he called a new era in the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world, Obama ticked through the changes he said his administration has undertaken in the first eight months of his presidency.
They included the banning of torture, the order to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, the winding down of the war in Iraq, a renewed focus on dismantling and defeating al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the appointment of a special envoy for the Middle East with the goal of a two-state peace agreement, and fresh investment in combating climate change.
In return, Obama said, the United States expects the cooperation of others in addressing these problems. "This cannot be solely America's endeavor," the president said bluntly. "Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought — in word and deed — a new era of engagement with the world. Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
That summed up the challenge he faces. Can a different style, a more open hand and expressions of respect prompt the rest of the world to follow along with this administration as it tries to solve many of the same problems that confronted the Bush administration?
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