Washington (CNN) - In the wake of the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East and North Africa, President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. economic assistance to Egypt and Tunisia on Thursday in a speech highlighting his administration's revised policies toward the changing region.
1:23 p.m. ET - @clancycnn: It was an important speech. Pivotal? I'm afraid not. Arab/Muslim world will wait and watch - for what actions the U.S. takes.
1:15 p.m. ET - @clancycnn: Several have pointed out Obama said vote for a Palestinian state was "symbolic" and wouldn't create a state. But its a legal move.
1:11 p.m. ET - @arwacnn: #syria activists tell me not happy w/#obama speech, wanted 2 hear him say #assad has lost legitimacy 2 lead & step down #CNNTV #MEspeech
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Washington (CNN) - In many ways, the promises President Obama made in his 2009 speech to the Arab and Muslim world was doomed from the start. Obama might have sounded like an idealist, but he was thinking like a realist.
The White House billed the Cairo speech as "A New Beginning," and the president made tantalizing promises not only to show progress in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but on encouraging democratic reform, and engaging authoritarian leaders hostile to the United States.
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(CNN) - President Barack Obama will have "specific new ideas" about U.S. policy for the Middle East in his highly anticipated speech about the region this week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.
"I can say safely the president will make news Thursday when he gives his speech," Carney told reporters.
He declined to provide further details, but officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said new sanctions against Syria are under consideration.
Washington (CNN) - Whenever a conflict pops up around the world, he has become the go-to guy, either rolling up his sleeves in the Senate or flying from hot spot to hot spot.
John Kerry is, after all, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, holder of one of the most influential positions in Congress and one of the United States' ambassadors to the world.
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(CNN) - President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it is critical for Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations on a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Obama made his remarks during a meeting at the White House with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
(CNN) – In a wide-ranging address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, President Barack Obama dwelled on the intractable Middle East conflict and urged Israelis and Palestinians to seize the day in talks his administration initiated.
"Now is the time for the parties to help each other overcome this obstacle. Now is the time to build the trust - and provide the time - for substantial progress to be made. Now is the time for this opportunity to be seized, so that it doesn't slip away," Obama said.
(CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to the Middle East on September 14 to participate in a second round of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, according to a senior State Department official.
George Mitchell, the Obama administration's Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, will join Clinton on the trip.
Clinton will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt before traveling to Jerusalem to continue the peace talks.
Washington (CNN) - After two days of meetings and talks led by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli and Palestinian leaders leave Washington deadlocked over the contentious issue of Israeli settlements.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met alone behind closed doors Thursday, in a State Department room just outside Clinton's office. The one-on-one meeting followed their on-camera pledges to move the peace process forward and their hardy handshake with Clinton in the middle.
But several diplomatic sources involved in the summit said the two leaders emerged from their meeting in a stalemate over whether Israeli settlements should continue.
The two leaders met with Clinton to give a readout of their meeting.
According to Palestinian delegation member Fadi Elsalameen, the two leaders were very blunt about their opposing views.
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President Obama and leaders from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority spoke Wednesday at the White House. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)
(CNN) - The latest round of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians is starting off much like similar endeavors in the past, but the Obama administration hopes that this time, the outcome will be different.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hosting direct talks Thursday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
On the eve of the talks, President Obama held a working dinner with Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
"I am hopeful - cautiously hopeful, but hopeful - that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated," Obama said before the dinner.
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Washington (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce Friday that Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to return to direct talks to address core issues, diplomatic sources and a senior U.S. official said.
The sources said President Barack Obama is expected to invite the parties to talks in Washington in early September. But they cautioned the final details were still being worked out.
If the talks resume, it would be the first time since peace talks broke down in December 2008 over Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
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