Congressional Reactions to Obama’s Middle East Speech

On Thursday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) stated that while she was pleased that President Barack Obama expressed U.S. support for democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, the President’s goals and objectives for the region remain unclear.  She criticized Obama’s failure to call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s ouster, enforce sanctions on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei.  She also criticized the President for failing to adequately condition aid to Egypt based on the possibility that the Muslim Brotherhood will come to power and noted that the performance of “enterprise funds” in Eastern Europe and South Africa was mixed.  She stated that if the funds are passed she will call for a portion of profits to be returned to the U.S. Treasury. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) strongly criticized the President following his speech by stating that Obama fails to understand the limits on U.S. policy and its consequences.  Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his disappointment in Obama’s statements on the peace process, but noted his support for comments regarding the Arab Spring and Egypt: “I stand ready to work with the President to do all we can to help the Egyptian people create a new path that embraces representative government, tolerance and the rule of law.”

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) lauded President Obama’s speech and his condemnation of Assad’s use of force.  He expressed regret that Obama did not seize the opportunity to call on Assad to go and stated that Obama’s message of support of the peaceful and democratic revolutions was “undermined by an unhelpful and surprising set of remarks about Israel and the Palestinians that will not advance the peace process.”  Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) also expressed support for Obama’s speech,  his strong words for President Assad, and his statements on Israel and Palestine, which he believes “puts the ball squarely in the Palestinian court.”  Keith Ellison (D-MN) applauded for Obama’s speech and his calls for a Palestinian state on 1967 borders.