S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace President and former Congressman Robert Wexler, CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien and CNN Foreign Affairs Reporter Elise LaBott discuss President Obama’s foreign policy record and U.S. relationship with Israel.
Wexler says, “Prime Minister Netanyahu has called the cooperation between the United States and Israel historic. President Shimon Peres, the beloved the president of Israel, has in fact raved about the relationship between President Obama and the state of Israel. Israel's most decorated soldier, its defense minister, Ehud Barak, has done that.”
O’Brien says, “If you were to take a look at comments over the past, let's say three months, that would not be the tone, certainly, for Benjamin Netanyahu.”
LaBott adds, “Well, I think that this is the whole thing about maybe why President Obama isn't meeting with any world leaders because he does want to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I mean, he has heard some real tough criticism from Prime Minister Netanyahu about not setting so-called red lines from Iran. What it would take to get the U.S. involved in military action. And he wasn't inclined to give the prime minister a hearing, after hearing that. So, he said I’m not going meet with anybody. I’m not going to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9a ET on CNN.
Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and CNN’s Elise Labott discuss President Obama’s foreign policy record.
Barrasso says, “[President Obama] says Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda is on the run. Al-Qaeda’s not on the run. What we’ve seen is al-Qaeda targeted and assassinated our ambassador in Libya. That’s the case. And then he called that a bump in the road. These are four dead American bodies who are in the road. So, I think he is absolutely wrong there. When he talks about pulling out of Iraq. What we now know is that his military advisors said leave people in Iraq, 15,000. He wasn’t able to accomplish that. So right now Iran is flying supplies to Syria over Iraqi airspace. It shouldn’t be happening, but it’s being done to supply the Syrians who are massacring their people. This president has failed on foreign policy.”
He adds, “The reset button on Russia has failed, we are still being held hostage by that. We know that China is funneling money to Iran in spite of all the sanctions we have. And I think the President, additionally, with regard to Israel needs to say exactly where the red line is, where the deadline is. And what it really means so people in Israel and the United States and Iran know when the President says ‘we have your back,’ what specifically does that mean.”
LaBott says, “I think on the issue of Iran, I mean, what US officials tell me is why should we spell out exactly what Iran needs to do. Want to keep Iran kind of guessing a little bit. Certainly, it’s coming to crunch time. I think it’s not so important necessarily that the President spells out to the general pubic and to the Iranians what he needs to do. He needs to spell out privately to Prime Minister Netanyahu, ‘this is where I’m prepared.’”
“Thirteen meetings with foreign leaders last year, none this year,” Barrasso says. “But time for ‘The View.’ I think that it misses the mark in terms of where the United States ought to be in foreign policy.”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9a ET on CNN.
As CNN Worldwide marks the first year of the CNN Freedom Project, the network today announced a sweeping slate of new digital and television journalism for the project for the second half of 2012. Launched in mid-2011, the CNN Freedom Project shines light on the efforts of individuals and organizations working to fight the injustices of forced labor, sex trafficking, unauthorized organ harvesting, and other forms of human trafficking in the United States and around the world.
“The CNN Freedom Project marked a decision by our news organization to take a stand on an issue,” said Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International. “As journalists, we have resisted taking positions, but with our global resources, how could CNN not be involved in raising awareness to these horrible injustices? And, through our collaborations with heroic NGOs working in these areas, we have pushed for change and are seeing tangible results: more than 1,000 people found freedom following a CNN Freedom Project story.”
CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon sat down with new Libyan Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur to discuss what Libya is doing following last week's attack on the U.S. Consulate.
On bringing perpetrators to justice:
"So far we have detained about 8 people who have been part of the attack that night. We have identified some of the leaders, and right now we're pursuing."
On perpetrators potential ties with terrorist groups:
"We believe most of them are from a splinter group – far extremists of their own."
On possible U.S. military strike in Libya:
"We are against any efforts taken by any foreign country in Libya...and we are prepared to handle the situation. I think we might need help in the investigation itself, but clearly for having a strike in Libya that would really throw this country in chaos."
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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