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Congressman McCaul's reaction to the President's speech on the Middle East:

May 19, 2011

"Today’s speech by the President fails to clarify or reveal anything new about his policies in the Middle East. Two and a half years after taking office, the President continues to send our friends and adversaries in the region mixed signals. President Obama says he supports Israel, yet he advocates deep Israeli concessions to the Palestinians. He supports diplomacy with Iran, has been weak on enforcing sanctions, and has failed to support the Iranian people and their calls for freedom. The President has said that Moammar Ghadaffi must leave Libya and intervened with American forces in that country’s civil war, yet he will not force Ghadaffi out of the country. President Obama claims that the U.S. is an ally of Bahrain, yet today he condemned that country’s leadership for its handling of protestors with whom the President sympathizes.

"The President’s inconsistent approach to situations in the Middle East threatens America’s interests in that region. All the while, regimes like Iran push forward with its deadly nuclear program and extremists plot against us. American leadership at home and abroad must be clear and consistent. Right now, President Obama’s leadership is neither."