By now, the world is reverberating following the historic speech given by US president Barack Obama in Cairo, Egypt today. Watching the speech in the newsroom, I couldn’t help but think that Obama was consistently on the right track in mending his country’s reputation with the Muslim world. I’m not going to get into it too much, but his remarks of the need for peace, recognition of the need for a Israeli-Palestinian solution and women’s rights were spot on. Obama’s comments, some forceful, some more respectful of the situation, has come at a crucial time for the US as it attempts to navigate through these extraordinary times.

However, as nice it was for Obama to make promises on withdrawing the US troops the time lines he specified in Iraq and Afghanistan, those moves need to actually happen during those given dates for anyone to take his attempts to reach out seriously. That said, I look forward to what Middle Eastern leaders will say about Obama’s rhetoric and whether they are willing to discuss issues without any preconditions.

Above: I’ve created a Wordle using the text in Obama’s speech (You can click the link to go directly to the page hosted on Wordle). For the uninitiated, Wordle is a free online program creates a tag cloud – similar to the one found on my blog  – the displays the size of a word depending on the amount it was used in a block of text. The result is a fascinating display of Obama’s emphasis on the Muslim world and bridging the gap within the larger global community.

Some links regarding the speech to share:

Obama Calls for Alliances With Muslims - Jeff Zeleny and Helene Cooper, The New York Times

Some of Mr. Obama’s language drew appreciative applause from his audience at Cairo University as he delivered a sweeping message that was forceful — and at times scolding — promoting democracy in Egypt, warning Israelis against building new settlements, and acknowledging that the United States had fallen short of its ideals, particularly in the Iraq war.

America changed … and so must the Muslim world – Faisal al Yafai, The National

The call for change, for greater freedom, is echoing through the Muslim world. You can hear it in this very capital. And it can no longer be ignored. We will no longer overlook human rights abuses in foreign countries, even if they are run by our friends. Governments who jail people without trial, who deny basic human rights, who seek to maintain their power through control of dissent, will no longer find America turning a blind eye.

Obama speech carries huge expectations – Patrick Martin, The Globe and Mail

Mr. Obama has achieved at least one thing, even before he left for the Middle East Tuesday night: ticking off the Israelis. It’s been a very long time since an American president prepared to deliver a “vision speech” concerning the Middle East without letting the Israeli leadership in on what he was going to say.

Barack Obama pledges new beginning between US and Muslims – Ian Black in Cairo and Mark Tran, The Guardian

Marking a change from the Bush administration, Obama said: “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.”

While Obama had made similar statements to the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, the tone of his remarks before an Arab audience took on a special resonance today.

At the same time he sent a clear message to Palestinian militants to abandon violence, saying: “It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus.”

The Cairo Moment – Howard Kurtz, Washington Post

It’s one thing for candidate Obama to deliver a long oration about race or a stratospheric stemwinder at Mile High Stadium. It’s another, as president, to talk about the ancient enmity among Arabs and Jews, Sunni and Shiites, and expect that to have much impact.

The White House, of course, bears responsibility because it promoted today’s event as the president’s first speech in a Muslim country. Obama is certainly more popular in the Muslim world than his predecessor, although not with Osama bin Laden, who tried to steal the show yesterday. Perhaps today’s words, from the son of a Muslim, will be viewed as a welcome olive branch.