Goodbye To All That?

Obama speechwriter Ben Rhodes describes the speech:

[W]hat he will do is really go through in a very thorough way a broad range of issues that have been at the forefront of the agenda: violent extremism and the threat that it poses, and what America has done in response; the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan and what we're doing there, and what we hope to do in the future in partnership with Afghans and Pakistanis.

He'll discuss Iraq, both what we have done there and what we are doing in the future, again, to transition to Iraqi responsibility for Iraq. He'll discuss of course the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the broader Arab-Israeli issue, and acknowledging the fact that this has been a very important source of tension and passion for people of all faiths within this region and around the world, and he will discuss in some detail his view of the conflict and what needs to be done to resolve it. He will discuss both what that means in terms of Israelis and Palestinians and the United States and the Arab states, as well.

Then there's a broader set of issues that have also been -- or presented both causes for tension in the past but partnership in the future that have to do with areas such as democracy, human rights, and related issues to that. And so I think you'll see a forthright discussion in those areas.

Congrats to Ben for a nearly flawless piece of work.