Holly Bailey
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Apr 5, 2009 10:05 AM
Was Joe Biden right? Last fall, the VP made big news when he suggested that Barack Obama, if elected, would be tested by an international crisis within the first six months of his presidency. “Mark my words,” Biden told donors at a Seattle fundraiser in October. “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.” Obama later downplayed Biden's comments.
Now just over two months in, North Korea launched a missile on the same day, just hours in fact, before Obama was scheduled to give a major arms control speech. Asked this morning if the White House believed the North Korea had timed its launch to coincide with Obama's remarks, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs pointed out that the country had been talking about its launch for weeks. “Pretty big coincidence is what it was,” Gibbs said. But what about the broader goal: Was North Korea trying to send Obama a message? Gibbs chose his words carefully. “The North Koreans have disregarded their responsibilities and international resolutions for many, many years now, going back at least to the two last presidencies,” Gibbs said. “So I don’t think this has anything to do with President Obama.”
Holly Bailey
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Apr 5, 2009 09:08 AM
Speaking just hours after North Korea launched what the U.S. and others believe was a test of its long-range missile capabilities, President Obama called for an international effort toward nuclear disarmament, calling nukes the “most dangerous legacy of the Cold War.”
Obama said that America, as the only nuclear power to have actually used a nuclear weapon, had a “moral responsibility to act” and would “immediately and aggressively” seek, among other things, the long-stalled ratification of a comprehensive ban on such weapons. “I’m not naïve. This goal will not be reached quickly—perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence,” Obama said, liking it to Prague's long, but eventual rise above communism. “(We) must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change.” Invoking a familiar line from his presidential campaign, Obama said the world had to insist, “Yes, we can.”
The speech, delivered in an old square outside Prague Castle, attracted more than 20,000 people and, on day five, was the first major speech of Obama’s week-long trip to Europe. But it remains unclear if the speech will be regarded as incredibly timely or overshadowed by North Korea’s launch. Although aides said North Korea had always been mentioned in the speech, speechwriters tweaked some paragraphs after word of North Korea's controversial launch."Rules must be minded. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something," Obama said, calling the launch a "provocative" act that violated UN Security Council resolutions."The world must stand together to stop the spread of these weapons."
Full speech, courtesy the White House, after the jump.
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Holly Bailey
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Apr 5, 2009 06:07 AM
Remember last summer when John McCain repeatedly referred to the Czech Republic by its old name, Czechoslovakia? Someone in Prague certainly does. There’s a huge banner with Obama’s picture on it draped on a building directly across the street from the Prague Congress Center, where President Obama is meeting with members of the European Union. It reads: Welcome to “Czechoslovakia”
Holly Bailey
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Apr 5, 2009 04:00 AM
President Obama is at Prague Castle this morning meeting with his Czech counterparts before he gives a major speech on his vision of a nuclear free world. He briefly spoke to reporters at the top of his meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, calling North Korea's action a threat to nations "near and far." Afterwards, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs briefed the press pool on how Obama learned of the action. The launch, he said, had obviously been no surprise to the U.S., since North Korea had made no secret of its intentions. Around 4:30am this morning in Prague, Gibbs woke Obama up with the word that North Korea had launched. Obama never went back to bed, instead going into briefings with senior aides, including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who just joined the trip, and National Security Advisor James Jones. Afterwards, it was briefings all morning, while UN Ambassador Susan Rice and Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton called their counterparts in advance of today's UN Security Council meeting later this afternoon back in New York. According to Gibbs, Obama has not yet spoken with any foreign leaders himself but likely will later today. Obama has not been given any confirmation on what exactly North Korea sent up this morning. Gibbs emphasized that the U.S. has been prepared to protect the nation had the U.S. mainland was in harm’s way. Asked if the nation's defense systems had gone on high alert, he simply said they had been "monitoring" the situation. Your Gaggler, who is back in the press pool today, should learn more later today. Meanwhile, let's back up: It was Gibbs who woke the president up with news of the North Korea launch. It seems silly, but that's a significant statement about chain of command in this White House. We can't recall any press secretary, at least not in recent memory, who has had the portfolio that Gibbs has in this White House. Is he the most powerful press secretary ever?
Holly Bailey
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Apr 5, 2009 12:21 AM
Barack Obama is in Prague today, where he will deliver what White House aides are describing as a major speech on weapons proliferation. Good timing, as North Korea just launched a rocket that the U.S. and other other major nations believe was a test to see if they could shoot a long-range nuclear missile. Here's the president's statement on the North Korea launch, courtesy the White House:
North Korea's development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology pose a threat to the northeast Asian region and to international peace and security. The launch today of a Taepo-dong 2 missile was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind. With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations.
We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council. I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions.
Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is a high priority for my administration. The United States is fully committed to maintaining security and stability in northeast Asia and we will continue working for the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks. The Six-Party Talks provide the forum for achieving denuclearization, reducing tensions, and for resolving other issues of concern between North Korea, its four neighbors, and the United States. North Korea has a pathway to acceptance in the international community, but it will not find that acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and abides by its international obligations and commitments.
