Obama To Dawn: Your Country Can Fight The Fight

President Obama gave what's being billed as the first ever American presidential interview to a newspaper in Pakistan, the English-language "Dawn," on Saturday, telling reporter Anwar Iqbal that Pakistan was strong enough to defeat extremism with the country.  Obama called Islamic radicalism a "cancer" on Southwest Asia.

Obama also professed not to be worried about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal -- and he made sure to call it "Pakistan's nuclear weapons" -- and said that India and Pakistan should continue their progress toward full and open talks between the two countries.

On Iran:

'We respect Iran's sovereignty, but we also are witnessing peaceful demonstrations, people expressing themselves, and I stand for that universal principle that people should have a voice in their own lives and their own destiny. And I hope that the international community recognises that we need to stand behind peaceful protests and be opposed to violence or repression.'

 

Mr Obama said that since there were no international observers in Iran, he could not say if the elections were fair or unfair. 'But beyond the election, what's clear is that the Iranian people are wanting to express themselves. And it is critical, as they seek justice and they seek an opportunity to express themselves, that that's respected and not met with violence.'