[h=3]By CAROL E. LEE, PATRICK O'CONNOR and JAY SOLOMON[/h]Foreign policy is taking on new urgency in the presidential campaign as President Barack Obama prepares to address the United Nations amid a resurgence of unrest in the Muslim world and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, intensifies his criticism of the White House's approach to the region.
The president will condemn in his speech Tuesday to the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly the anti-Muslim video that sparked protests, according to excerpts of his speech. Violence in Libya led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, after a storming of a U.S. consulate in Libya.
AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday. Mr. Obama is on a two-day trip to New York City where he will participate in a taping of 'The View' before attending the United Nations General Assembly and related events.
Mr. Obama will refer to Mr. Stevens multiple times in his speech, citing the ambassador's approach to the region to challenge the U.N. to denounce the violence that has taken hold there and to underscore the values the U.S. is seeking to promote abroad with its policy toward the Arab Spring.
Mr. Obama also will stress the importance of those in the region condemning slander against Christians and Jews, people familiar with his speech said.
"The attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America. They are also an assault on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded," Mr. Obama says according to excerpts of his speech.
"If we are serious about those ideals, we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of this crisis," he continues. "Because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart, and the hopes we hold in common."
Mr. Obama, who is scheduled to speak shortly after 10 a.m. ET, will reaffirm his commitment to keeping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including his willingness to use military force. He will argue there is still time for diplomacy with Iran, and address the conflict in Syria and the stalled Middle East peace process.
"Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained," Mr. Obama will say.
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The president will condemn in his speech Tuesday to the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly the anti-Muslim video that sparked protests, according to excerpts of his speech. Violence in Libya led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, after a storming of a U.S. consulate in Libya.
AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday. Mr. Obama is on a two-day trip to New York City where he will participate in a taping of 'The View' before attending the United Nations General Assembly and related events.
Mr. Obama will refer to Mr. Stevens multiple times in his speech, citing the ambassador's approach to the region to challenge the U.N. to denounce the violence that has taken hold there and to underscore the values the U.S. is seeking to promote abroad with its policy toward the Arab Spring.
Mr. Obama also will stress the importance of those in the region condemning slander against Christians and Jews, people familiar with his speech said.
"The attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America. They are also an assault on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded," Mr. Obama says according to excerpts of his speech.
"If we are serious about those ideals, we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of this crisis," he continues. "Because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart, and the hopes we hold in common."
Mr. Obama, who is scheduled to speak shortly after 10 a.m. ET, will reaffirm his commitment to keeping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including his willingness to use military force. He will argue there is still time for diplomacy with Iran, and address the conflict in Syria and the stalled Middle East peace process.
"Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained," Mr. Obama will say.
[h=3]Related Video[/h]