Obama signals new direction

In a speech punctuated at least eight times by applause - rare at the United Nations - Obama signaled a sharp break with the policies of President Bush and echoed the themes of his own presidential campaign. He exhorted world leaders to act together to combat global warming, nuclear proliferation, extreme poverty, and continuing conflict in the Middle East.

“Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides - coalitions of different faiths and creeds; of north and south, east, west, black, white, and brown,’’ Obama said, asking world leaders to forget the divisions of the Cold War and colonization.

But in a jarring contrast minutes after Obama spoke of the need for greater cooperation, Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy took the podium to deliver an incoherent, 95-minute tirade that seemed to allege that swine flu was created in a laboratory, and that the United Nations was borne of a powerful conspiracy.

Khadafy, who wore long bedouin robes, talked in sentences so convoluted that often his translator seemed stumped. At one point, he threw the charter of the United Nations on the floor, complaining about the five nations who hold veto power on the influential Security Council.

“We do not accept that the Security Council has superpowers,’’ said Khadafy, in his own first address before the world body. “This is terrorism itself.’’

Khadafy, who has in the past refrained from attending the annual UN meeting of world leaders because he considered the United States an enemy, praised Obama as a “son.’’ But he complained that travel restrictions placed on him for his own security in New York were akin to restrictions on prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, perhaps a veiled reference to the decision to prevent him from pitching a bedouin tent in Central Park to sleep.

A spokesman for the president of the General Assembly, Jean-Victor Nkolo, said that Khadafy was given the podium directly after the US president because Libya was the first to sign up for that speaking slot.

Some US officials saw the juxtaposition as unfortunate, but Obama’s critics saw Khadafy’s rant as proof that Obama’s worldview is naive.

“It fits in with Barack Obama’s egalitarian vision of the world, that no one nation is greater than another,’’ said Nile Gardiner, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank. “I think it was hugely embarrassing.’’

Gardiner also said it was “unusual’’ for an American president to call for curbs on American power.

“Obama fundamentally rejects the notion of the world being dominated by great powers,’’ he said. “But the United States remains the only global superpower and will be in the position for several decades to come.’’

But others saw the speech as a much-needed break with the administration of former President George Bush, who was unpopular in other parts of the world.

“The Bush administration was setting out an arrogant position about the nature of American power and saying, ‘You come along with us or else,’ ’’ said Bruce Jones, director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. “Obama is recognizing that doesn’t work. In fact, it works against us.’’

In his speech, Obama singled out two countries for bad behavior - Iran and North Korea - saying that they “must be held accountable’’ if they refuse to obey United Nations orders to halt nuclear work. But he did not spell out what consequences those two countries will face.

“I am committed to diplomacy that opens a path to greater prosperity and more secure peace for both nations if they live up to their obligations,’’ Obama said.

Obama declared that it is time to restart peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, but offered few specifics on how progress could be achieved. Just a day earlier Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected his demand for a settlement freeze.

“The United States does Israel no favors when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians,’’ Obama said. “And nations within this body do the Palestinians no favors when they choose vitriolic attacks against Israel over constructive willingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and its right to exist in peace and security.’’

In his speech, Obama chided nations for standing aside and expecting the United States to solve all the world’s problems, while at the same time criticizing America for acting alone. He said his job was to protect American interests above all: “I will never apologize for defending those interests.’’