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The White House announced on Friday that President Obama planned to give a major policy speech on relations with the Muslim world in Egypt on June 4.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said the precise city for the speech had not been nailed down, and that Egypt’s President Mabarak had not initiated an invitation for the president to speak there.
At the White House daily briefing, Mr. Gibbs was asked why Egypt was selected. “You know, the country that in many ways represents the heart of the — of the Arab world, and I think it will be a terrific opportunity for the president to address and discuss our relationship with the Muslim world,” he said. Mr. Obama’s father was a Muslim, although Mr. Obama has been a practicing Christian for years. Read rest at NYT
Spiegel: More than 13,000 US citizens are officially registered as residents of Berlin, and Steltzer is convinced that Americans living in nearby countries will make a pilgrimage to Germany to get a glimpse of their idol. Steltzer learned from some fellow Democrats in Paris that some of them were hoping to make the trip to Berlin. Democrats Abroad in neighboring Denmark and the Netherlands have announced similar plans. And Christine Marques, who heads Democrats Abroad, will be coming to Germany's capital on Thursday from Switzerland.
Whether it turns out to be a couple thousand or a million, no one knows for sure how many people will ultimately converge near the Grosse Stern traffic circle in the middle of Berlin's Tiergarten park, the geographical heart of the city. And there is very little time left for dealing with the organization and logistics of the event. Nonetheless, city officials seem to be taking a laid back approach to Obama's planned speech. "There's nothing left that can shock us," an official at the municipal office in charge of the event says. After the Love Parade (more...) and the so-called "fan miles" held for soccer fans in the Tiergarten for the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 European Championship that persistently drew crowds of over 1 million beer-swilling soccer enthusiasts, Obama's appearance should be a piece of cake.
SPIEGEL: It is unusual for a US presidential candidate to travel to Europe in the middle of the campaign. Why is Barack Obama coming?
Susan Rice: Senator Obama believes it is critically important for the United States and Europe to cooperate far more effectively than we have in recent years. None of us can tackle the critical global challenges we face in isolation -- be it terrorism, proliferation, climate change, disease, poverty or energy security. Obama will want to discuss in Europe and Germany how we each view these challenges and how we can best address them together.
SPIEGEL: Critics say the trip is nothing but a PR stunt to strengthen his foreign-policy credentials and that he has only rarely been to Europe before.
Rice: Senator Obama has travelled to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia many times before. He lived in Asia. He bows to nobody in his understanding of this world. This trip will be yet another opportunity for Senator Obama to exchange views with the leaders of countries whose partnership is critically important to US national security.
Obama is the hope of a Western world filled with concerns. A recession looms as does high inflation sparked by exploding demand for commodities and natural resources. Furthermore, no one has yet come up with a convincing response to global warming. No one knows how to bring peace to the Middle East, Afghanistan or Iraq. And no one has a promising strategy for dealing with Islamist terrorism.
At the same time, the West is searching for its place in an "incomplete world order," as journalist Peter Bender describes the current state of affairs. How strong will China, Russia and India become? How should the West interact with these countries? And is there even such a thing as the "West" anymore?
It is time for leadership. And only one man inspires the kind of confidence that would enable him to assume this leadership: Barack Obama. Germans, in particular, are pinning their hopes on this man. Whereas just 10 percent favor the Republican candidate John McCain, fully 76 percent consider Barack Obama the better candidate.
Updated with fanfare and time of speech!Spiegel: A July 24 date has been set by the campaign for a Berlin visit and more details are gradually emerging. During his visit to the German capital, Obama plans to hold a keynote address on trans-Atlantic relations.
"During this campaign, Senator Obama has been criticized for his lack of interest in Europe," an Obama campaign adviser with knowledge of the planning for the trip told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "This trip is partly a response to this, and I am sure he wants to address the issue of trans-Atlantic relations."
The possibility has not been ruled out that the speech could instead be given in Paris or London -- the other stops on Obama's short Europe trip. But Obama's team likes the location of Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate. "The setting would be great," the advisor said. "The memory of John F. Kennedy's famous Berlin speech is still alive. Berlin is a bridge between East and West, and the German-American relationship is very strong," said the advisor.