President Obama to UK Parliament: 'The time for our leadership is now'

story by MSNBC

photos by AP

LONDON — In an address to British Parliament on Wednesday, President Barack Obama sought to counter critics who assert that U.S. and British influence in world affairs is waning as rising powers like China and India assert themselves.

To the lawmakers seated at majestic Westminster Hall, Obama declared: "The time for our leadership is now."

"Even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership," Obama said, "our alliance will remain indispensable to the goal of a century that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more just."

"After a difficult decade that began with war and ended in recession, our nations have arrived at a pivotal moment once more," he said.

Obama's speech came not long after he joined Prime Minister David Cameron in promising jointly to continue a relentless and punishing campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya, saying there "will not be a let-up" in pressure to force Gadhafi out.

In Westminster Hall, he noted that "democracy is not easy" and "power rarely gives up without a fight — particularly in places where there are divisions of tribe and sect." Obama cautioned that "populism can take dangerous turns" if extremism takes hold.

"But make no mistake: what we saw in Tehran, Tunis and Tahrir Square is a longing for the same freedoms that we take for granted at home. It was a rejection of the notion that people in certain parts of the world don't want to be free, or need to have democracy imposed upon them. It was a rebuke to the worldview of al-Qaida, which smothers the rights of individuals, and would thereby subject them to perpetual poverty and violence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43164852/ns/world_news-europe