Mr Obama spoke at length about the Middle East situation and the Israel-Palestine conflict
US President Barack Obama has given his first interview to the BBC, speaking to North America correspondent Justin Webb about the Middle East.
Here is the full transcript:
Justin Webb: It's really good to be here. Let's turn straight to your big speech, a hugely important speech you're making in Cairo on Thursday. Many Muslims think they're owed an apology, actually, for the Bush years, and the sins that, in their view, were committed by the United States during those years. Is this speech in any way an apology?
President Obama: No. I think what we want to do is open a dialogue. And - you know, there are misapprehensions about the West, on the part of the Muslim world. And, obviously, there are some big misapprehensions about the Muslim world when it comes to those of us in the West.
And it is my firm belief that no one speech is going to solve every problem. There are no silver bullets. There are very real policy issues that have to be worked through that are difficult.
And, ultimately, it's going to be action and not words that determine the path, the progress - from here on out. But it did seem to me that this was an opportunity for us to get both sides to listen to each other a little bit more, and hopefully learn something about about different cultures.
Justin Webb: You say both sides. So I take, from that, that Muslims listening to this speech you are hoping will also be changed by it. And their attitude to the United States, perhaps, changed. And what needs to change on-- on the behalf of those you are actually speaking to?
President Obama: Well, let's just take one small example. The US Muslim population is more numerous than the populations of many majority Muslim countries.
So this notion that somehow America is detached, is removed, sees some clash of civilizations as inevitable - I think a lot of the the propaganda and dogma that's churned out there is inaccurate.
Now the flipside is is that, in the wake of 9/11, what is also true is that in a whole host of our actions - and sometimes in our words - America has not been as careful to distinguish our very real need to hunt down extremists who would do us harm, something that's necessitated by our self defence.
And broader policy differences, or cultural differences that exist, that are best approached through diplomacy and conversation and some self reflection on our part. And so that's the kind of back and forth that I think is gonna need to take place.
And - last point I made, because I should actually correct myself, when I said both sides. There are actually many sides to this. Because one of the misperceptions about the Muslim community is that it's somehow monolithic, setting aside differences between Shia and Sunni.
The Muslim country that I lived in when I was a child, Indonesia, obviously, is very different from Pakistan, very different from Saudi Arabia. And so we have to also recognize that there are going to be differences based on national identity, and not just faith.
Justin Webb: You're making this speech in Cairo. Amnesty International says there are thousands of political prisoners in Egypt. How do you address that issue?
President Obama: Right. Well, look - obviously, in the Middle East, across a wide range of types of governments, there are some human rights issues. I don't think there's any dispute about that. The message I hope to deliver is that democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion - those are not simply principles of the west to be hoisted on these countries.
But, rather what I believe to be universal principles that they can embrace and affirm as part of their national identity, the danger, I think, is when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture.
And I think the thing that we can do, most importantly, is serve as a good role model. And that's why, for example, closing Guantanamo, from my perspective, as difficult as it is, is important.
Because part of what we want to affirm to the world is that these are values that are important, even when it's hard. Maybe especially when it's hard. And not just when it's easy.
Justin Webb: Do you regard President Mubarak as an authoritarian ruler?
President Obama: No, I tend not to use labels for folks. I haven't met him. I've spoken to him on the phone.
He has been a stalwart ally in many respects, to the United States. He has sustained peace with Israel, which is a very difficult thing to do in that region.
But he has never resorted to, you know, unnecessary demagoging of the issue, and has tried to maintain that relationship. So I think he has been a force for stability. And good in the region. Obviously, there have been criticisms of the manner in which politics operates in Egypt.
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