Obama Toughens on Foreign Policy in Speech Given Wednesday

After clinching his nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate by receiving the required number of delegates on Tuesday night, Senator Barack Obama made a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC for short. According to Caren Bohan of Reuters, Obama showed strong support for Israel in their attempt to maintain Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the Jewish state. The Democratic candidate also made a vow to prevent a nuclear weapon from being obtained by Iran.

Obama took a firm stance in regards to the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians with his statement of, "Any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."



Republican presidential candidate John McCain has criticized Obama in the past specifically in regard to what he referred to as a willingness to speak with the Iranian President, according to Bohan. In today's speech, Obama clarified his stance on the situation by saying, "I would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing if and only if it can advance the interests of the United States."