July 22, 2008
Posted: July 22nd, 2008 08:10 AM ET
From CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson
Obama arrived in Jordan on Monday.
AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) – Senator Barack Obama arrived in Jordan Tuesday Morning to begin what his campaign describes as days of back-to-back in-depth meetings with world leaders where the topics of Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran promise to loom large. Obama, along with Senators Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, wrapped up several days of assessing the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The three will hold a news conference at the historic Amman Citadel before attending a small dinner with Jordanian King Abdullah. Obama will also have a one-on-one meeting with the king where aides say the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will likely be discussed. On Wednesday Obama spends the day in Israel where he will meet with a variety of officials including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He will also travel to Ramallah where he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian leaders were upset by comments Obama made in June to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that Jerusalem “must remain undivided.” But In an interview the next day with CNN’s Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, Obama said it would be up to both the Israelis and the Palestinians to “negotiate a range of these issues and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations.” Campaign aides say Obama has never changed his position that Jerusalem “should remain” Israel’s Capital and should be part of final status negotiations. Once Obama arrives in Jordan his campaign will pick up the tab for the remaining days of the Democratic presidential candidate’s travel through the Middle East and Europe. Obama aides bristle at the suggestion that this trip has any political purpose and strongly insist this five-day, five-nation tour is designed to give the Illinois senator the opportunity to listen, learn and have an exchange of views about issues of shared concern like Iraq and rising oil prices. Obama will be traveling on his campaign plane along with some of his top political advisers. The campaign also would not rule out the idea that some of the video footage shot by its regularly traveling photographers, particularly the much anticipated outdoor speech in Berlin on Thursday, would not be used in the future for television advertisements or other political purposes. (See CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson in Jordan) Filed under: Barack Obama Race to '08
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