[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/23/un.general.assembly.meet/art.gadhafi.un.gi.jpg caption= "Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday."]
Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
It was a wild day at the United Nations. Three big speeches. Three very different views on our world.
President Obama spoke for the first time at the U.N. But what has everyone talking are the speeches by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There were a lot of empty seats when Gadhafi and Ahmadinejad had their turn at the mike. Many delegates didn't want to hear them speak.
Colonel Gadhafi spoke for a rambling 96 minutes. Here are some of Gadhafi's key points:
– The U.N. Security Council should be called the "terror council."
– H1N1/Swine flu is a military tool and a weapon of proliferation.
– The Taliban should be able to form an Islamic emirate and not be an enemy, just like the Vatican.
– U.N. headquarters should be moved outside New York so that everyone does not have to deal with U.S. Security.
That's not all. He also talked about the assassination of Pres. Kennedy and more. We'll have the highlights for you.
We'll also dig deeper on Ahmadinejad's message to the world just a couple hours ago. He covered everything from the world economy to Israel and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iranian leader also had some choice words aimed at the U.N.
Pres. Obama seemed to scold the U.N., as well. "The United Nations can either be a place where we bicker about outdated grievances, or forge common ground; a place where we focus on what drives us apart, or what brings us together," Mr. Obama said.
He also made it clear he's nothing like his predecessor, former president George W. Bush.
"Every nation must know: America will live its values and we will lead by example," Pres. Obama said.
What do you think of the U.N. speeches? Share your thoughts below.
Join us for this story and much more starting at 10pm ET. See you then!
|
Filed under: Maureen Miller • The Buzz |
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
OMG... I am stunned how people can read something that is not there by picking apart our presidents words. President Obama IS in office "for the people!" I can understand why people are skeptics after President Bush's reign, yet not about being overly critical with our NEW president. Let's be realistic. He inherited a mess to sort out that we are still obviously feeling the backlash, and can in no way fix it in just a matter of months what took years to create. Our president is in no way or near like Gadafi and Ahmadinijad. Those two are obviously crazed fanatical cruel ego maniacs quite capable of horrific crimes against humanity. They are insulting toward the people of the world and would without a doubt impose their will upon us just as they do to the people in their own country if it were within their power. I support our people who are protesting their presence here in the US and at the UN meetings. They should have been blackballed from securing a place to stay anywhere here in the US by our own people. Shame on those who are sheltering them and accepting money from them here.
Susan
Honolulu, Hawaii
Good evening AC and AC's fans, this is Jason,and I come from TAIPEI TAIWAN (R.O.C.), your program is so nice, I like it and watch it every day, good luck!
i couldnt understand a word of khadafis speech.u'd think that the un would have an interpreter that could speak english i think he was channeling andy koffman.........E B DAH.........
I was ver disappointed by the way that Anderson Cooper called a group comprising of an Israeli ambassador, an Israeli supporter, and Fareed Zakaria, "a panel". This was not a panel but a propaganda platform for Israel supporters. Anderson did not provide an opposing or differing panelist the chance to rebut anything that the two Israel supporters said. The way that this whole analysis was conducted represented the most shoddy journalism that I have ever seen Anderson Cooper conduct. The result was not "a panel" but rather an effort at "manufacturing consent". Shame on you Anderson for sacrificing your previously impeccable journalistic credentials to become a member of the "Israeli lobby".
HELLO ANDERSON:
I think they are murderer and should be panished because of what they did but they are speaking in UN ! What was that all about? Respecting murderers because of democrocy or may be because of money and oil...!!
i dont know y the pres doesnt just do what reagon did with khadafi....shoot a well directed missle into the iranian gov .....or better yet arm the citizens of iran....give them guns alot of guns and just watch.......
With out US money going to support the UN, There wouldnt be a UN. The UN is worthless.
the guy speaking at the UN for Iran and that mugaffy guy for libia made alot of sense.After seeing the Arrivals documentary I now seeyhe USA has been taken over by Occultists that have very close ties to the free masons and zionist facist movements The middle east is being raped by the zionist and free mason agenda ,I also noticed that 90%of the USA presidents are all related to the queen of england mmmm interesting.
Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi Times person of the year He should be in comedy central in Vegas
On behalf of the libyan people, I would like to apologize to the United Nations and its member states for the enormous blunder that the state of Libya has committed on Wednesday.
It is no excuse, however, due to a mix up in paperwork at the Libyan diplomatic office in Tripoli, Mr Muammar Gadhafi, a.k.a. The Village Idiot, was sent to give a speech at the U.N. on behalf of our country.
It was never our intention to take Mr. Gadhafi out of his straight jacket and put him on a plane, heading for New York.
I assure you that this mistake will never be repeated and the responsible parties will be disciplined.
Please feel free to ship him back to Tripoli as soon as possible. There is a village south of Tripoli missing its idiot, and would like to get him back as soon as possible.
Again, please accept my sincerest apology and I hope that we all can put this matter behind us soon.
Regards,
Joe the Libyan
I think President Obama should redisige his approach and ad som more concrete patherns of the u turn which he ivisions and the bennefits that the U.S. has achieved less the forein policy mistakes commited.
As a Obama admirer I don t see a speach which enphasises the difference between Pres. Obama and former Pres.Bush in foreigne policies tell Congress to stop this for all Presidets.
From Harold in Curacao the Caribbean.
We live in a country where we all agree that freedom of speech is a basic human right. We also obviously love to watch, read and listen to the 24/7 reporting on crazy famous people who live unprincipled lives (get high, have affairs etc) So although everyone says they dont want to watch speeches given by madmen–those speeches probably got good ratings. Shame on anyone and everyone who watched them.
Dear Anderson,
I was wondering if it is at all possible to show some of the highlights of speeches given by leaders of other countries and have a panel discussion rather then have them over shadowed by the two lunatics we we would rather see and hear less of.
Thanks
America.. be real glad you have Barack Obama as a leader..
Anderson,
The Libyan leader is a loose in the brain but I often wonder about the Iranian President. He seems to speak the truth in some ways. Why do we allow the mis-treatment of Palestinians? They are also God's children so why is this rabbi speaking on your show not referring to his own leaders as clowns as well. No better than Gadhafi as crazy as he is, and don't know what good his rumbling did.
But, we need to think about oppression in this world and for centuries now, the Israeli government has treated the Palestinians as dogs. Come on! This is non-sense and I hope President Obama calls for fairness in his efforts to bring peace.
Thanks.
These people want Obama to stay in office forever! Oh me, this is too much! May God help us all.
Gadafi spoke the truth.Simply because he can tell the west 'stick it up your ***' and get away with it you label him a lunatic and terrosrist. He is no more a lunatic or terrorist than George Bush was.
How many innocent lives have been lost owing to american war aganist terror. The west beleives that the 'coloured' people are less human than the westerners and this is potrayed in the foreign policy that the west has.
Now obama tries to be a friend to the rest of the world and you call him a 'disappointment'.
What good has come to the afghanians and iraqis from the wars been fought by the US? America imposes itself on other countries in its own brand of neo-colonialism and when someone speaks out they are branded terrorists.
Advise to you americans: Obama is the best chance you will ever have to redeem your image with the rest of the world.Beyond that everyone thinks america to be a bully.
I'm tired of Obama apologizing for the US and running the US into the ground.I thought I might like this Guy, But some of the things he says about our country really bothers me. The only reason other countries love this guy is because he Bashes the US. They still hate America.
Three people spoke and their words show that they each believe the world revolves around them. I was stunned how many times Obama said me, I, my, – he doesn't get that he is in office because of "for the people." He is an ego maniac and today totally showed that – but guess what – he was in good company – the other two are as well.
This guy is crazy and should not even be allowed to breath. We should condemn this man. It would be like if Hitler was honored as a great man in the UN. It's the same thing, why do people keep letting these crazy people speak
He looks like he is dressed for a circus.
There are THREE loose cannons in the world. God help us!
UN out of U.S ! Oh, and take Obama with you.
I am very disappointed at President Obama. One more failed performance by him on the world stage.
i am not surprised gadhafi would say such things, should anyone be surprised? what bothers me is the fact that no one is willing to admit that the coup in honduras was as legal and constitutional as when zelaya was voted into power. what's unfair is that internal affairs should be kept internal. we are no one to judge or say that what happened in honduras was unconstitutional, we can only respect and acknowledge what happens there. last time i checked, there were rumors going around that bush might have cheated his way into power, did anyone care? no. so leave honduras and micheletti alone.
I agree with Pam Ortiz & don't blame her for being angry! Ask "Poland" about this administration honoring our allies...... Gadhafi is a pathetic joke & the U.N. is a USELESS body who is permitted to spit in America's face! John Bolton is the only one who had the guts to stand up to the U.N. (back in the day...)
He had one good point. Africa has absolutely no representation on the permanent council. US, Europe and Asia continue to have influence over African countries, and it would seem part of that has to do with the fact that African countries have little international political influence, themselves (despite the wealth of energy/fuel and mineral resources that continue to be exploited to this day.)
From terrorist plane bomber , to dignified gentleman?/??????
I would question that.
He has a point about the UN not stopping wars. They didn't stop the US from invading Iraq.
The UN is a total waste of time and resources. Many 3rd world so called diplomats living the high life in NY while their countrymen starve. Lets move the UN to somewhere like Lagos Nigeria and reduce the US contributions.
mike
Honolulu
It was good to see the ovations given President Obama at the UN. The world is looking for US leadership in these difficult times and the president made known in no uncertain terms that the US would once again lead by example.
We need to try to help these leaders see that it is not about "them" but the world. I don't think any one of them truly "gets" it.
you listened to him for a hour ! poor iranians people who should listen to him all the time!
It is truly a shame that our democracy affords these murderous thugs the highest of platforms to spew anti-Semitic bile and anti-democratic sentiments. These men, if they can honestly be called such, should not be welcomed on US soil, but rather arrested promptly for their crimes.
It goes with out saying that Momar wasn't clearly "coherent" in hes diatribe, however...should we just assume that every thing he's saying is bunk? I do believe that he did say something that provoked some powers that be and thus we seem to have a lot of rebuttle by blanketting him with tirades.
I'm talking about President Obama.
Who let this idot in US.
I tell you. This President is disappointing. I voted for him too, because I believed he was looking out for me and my families best interest. I now see that is wrong. Hence, the Health care Reform plan that is attempting to get passed.
There are TWO loose CANNONS in the world! God Help us all!!!!!!!!!
Which Kennedy assassination did Gadhafi have something to say about – he is about 50 years too late if he is offering condolences on JFK or RFK. Calling the UN Security Council a terror council is expected coming from him and the swine flu as a military tool or invention is the same. If he wasn't so dangerous he would be funny.
As a matter of fact, the International Law (the JUSTICE in the world) is a rule of law system which was before and beyond UN and any other Institutions. It was a growing and improving system until the last Bush Administration, with 'pre emptive wars' and violations of other country Sovranity, invited the 'coalition of willingnesses' to bann it.
When Gadhafy is speaking at the UN, is not speaking to the 'American' but to the World community, and he simply criticized the huge contraddiction between the fundative PRINCIPLEs of the UN and the Security Council, composed by a restrictive number of Nuclear Superpowers with VETOE power on every initiative undertaken by the UN Assembly.
He simply said the TRUTH saying that all the speakers there count like the British speakers in Hide Park corner in England. Nothing
BOTTOM LINE: the UN to be honest, effective and rule the WORLD in a just way according to the International Law (Civil and Penal) must be reformed. Thank you
gadhafi is a clown, a walking joke, and the libyans should be embarrassed that they're being led by this clown.
Well do you really expect anything less from this man! I am not surprised Gadhafi would say such outrages, but yet the UN invited this terrorist to speak! I am angered by the presence of this man in the UN assembly, the reason is because our current Honduran President Micheletti has his visa canceled to the US and not even invited to discuss and resolve our current political crisis here in Honduras!
Pam Ortiz
Honduras