UN Speech: Obama 'Captivated' by Arab Spring's 'Season of Change'

President Barack Obama referred to the Arab Spring as a “season of change” in his Tuesday address to the United Nations in New York. The President expressed that he supported this change and, by extension, so did the United States.

Obama proclaimed he had been “captivated” by the change that had taken place, and he provided some examples to bolster this point.

Of Tunisia he said, “We were inspired by the Tunisia protests that toppled a dictator. We recognized our own beliefs in those who took to the streets.” Of Egypt he said, “We insisted on change in Egypt, because our support for democracy put us on the side of the people.” He also boasted of the U.S. intervention in Libya’s uprising against Muammar Qaddafi.

Tunisian lawmakers are currently attempting to make Sharia the law of the land in their country. Early last week, US citizens were urged to flee Tunisia as the American embassy came under attack. 

In Egypt, the president who emerged victorious after the Arab Spring is dictating future terms for US-Arab relations and mocking Obama in media interviews. 

And in Libya, images of desecrated American flags, a burning consulate, and the dead body of Ambassador Christopher Stevens are still fresh in the Americans’ memories.

Obama described the values of the Arab Spring as “not simply American values or Western values — they are universal values.”