THE West is turning a corner towards a new international order of stable growth and sweeping democratic reform, Barack Obama was expected to declare last night.
Buoyed by his rapturous reception in Ireland and a warm welcome from the Queen, the US President was to use a historic speech to British parliament to set out his most upbeat vision yet of the Middle East, Afghanistan and the world economy.After a meeting at Downing Street at which Mr Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron discussed a new push to talk to the Taliban, the President was expected to attempt in his speech to draw a line under a decade of war and sacrifice.
He planned to herald the British and US models as beacons for struggling democracy movements from Libya to Yemen.
In spite of NATO's failure to dislodge Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, he insisted the tyrant's days were numbered, and argued that the trans-Atlantic alliance remained crucial to international security. "We've come through a difficult decade but in some respects we're turning a corner," a White House official said in a preview of Mr Obama's speech.
During the talks at No 10 Downing Street, in which they were joined by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and others, the two aimed to iron out differences on when and how to talk to the Taliban, as they plot a political settlement that will allow Britain and the US to declare mission accomplished in Afghanistan.
The pair plan to use the death of Osama bin Laden as a catalyst to persuade militants to help to shape the country's civil society.
In a wide-ranging question and answer session after their talks outside the historic Lancaster House that exposed a disagreement over Mid-East peacemaking strategy, Mr Obama and Mr Cameron last night reaffirmed their joint resolve on Libya.
The differences between the allies emerged on the question of the Palestinians' unilateral pursuit of statehood at the UN.
Mr Obama strongly opposes the move, as he reiterated last night.
European countries have been more open to a statehood bid by the Palestinians, and Mr Cameron declined to commit himself one way or the other.
"We don't believe that the time for making a decision on the UN resolution - there isn't even one there at the moment - is right yet," Mr Cameron said.
The leaders agreed to set up a new strategy board to identify long-term economic and security challenges facing both nations.
Headed by junior defence ministers from both sides, intelligence, defence and diplomatic staff will meet four times a year to discuss their strategic approach.
In his speech to both houses of parliament, Mr Obama was expected to list US and NATO accomplishments on his watch, including the end of US combat operations in Iraq. He planned to pay tribute to the Anglo-American alliance as it emerged victorious from World War II and the Cold War, and to its durability since.
Despite the rise of China and other emerging economies, the special relationship and the broader trans-Atlantic alliance were "the cornerstone of global security and of the extension of the democratic values that we share", said Ben Rhodes, one of the President's foreign policy speechwriters.
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/barack-obama-to-herald-new-era-of-reform/story-e6frg6so-1226062973325