President Obama headed to the United Nation General Assembly this morning, where he told leaders that this month’s attacks on U.S. missions in Libya and Egypt were an “assault on the very ideals” the institution was founded upon and challenged the world to confront the root causes of the rage behind the recent anti-American violence in the region.
“Today, we must affirm that our future will be determined by people like [U.S. ambassador] Chris Stevens, and not by his killers,” Obama said. “Today, we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our United Nations.”
Obama’s speech was his final international address before the November election, and was closely watched both at home and abroad. The Associated Press with the context:
“Obama’s comments will be scrutinized around the globe and by the gathering of presidents and prime ministers in the famed United Nations hall, given the tumult, terrorism, nuclear threats and poverty that bind so many nations. His emphasis will be on the unrest in the Muslim world and on Iran, whose disputed nuclear ambitions have unnerved much of the world and caused tension between the United States and longstanding ally Israel over whether Obama has forcefully defined his breaking point for military action.”
You can read his full remarks here.