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Journalism of Courage
Barack Obama, nearing the end of a fast-paced international campaign trip, has warned Iran not to wait for the next US president to take office before yielding to Western demands to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme.
“The pressure, I think, is only going to build,” the Democratic presidential candidate said at a news conference on Friday as he stood beside French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Obama spent less than five hours in the French capital, time enough for his motorcade to drive past curious Parisians gathered along the sidewalks hoping to catch a glimpse, receive a greeting from his host on the steps of the presidential palace and then hold private talks before a news conference.
The French president veered close to an endorsement to a man he called “my dear Barack Obama.” Sarkozy recalled that when they first met in 2006 neither was president.
“And one of us became president. Well, let the other do likewise, huh? I mean, that’s not meddling” in the US election, Sarkozy said.
For his part, Obama, observed that when Sarkozy visited the United States two years ago, he met with only two senators – himself and John McCain, now the Republican presidential candidate-in-waiting. “So I would suggest that, for the reporters in the room, if you want to know something about elections, you should talk to the president of France.”
Obama said he and Sarkozy agreed that Iran poses “an extraordinarily grave situation,” and the world must send “a clear message to Iran to end its illicit nuclear programme.”
