'Peace is possible,' Obama insists in Middle East

JERUSALEM (AP) — Insisting "peace is possible," President Barack Obama on Thursday prodded both Israelis and Palestinians to return to long-stalled negotiations with few, if any, pre-conditions, softening his earlier demands that Israel stop building settlements in disputed territory.

The president made his appeal just hours after rockets fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza landed in a southern Israeli border town, a fresh reminder of the severe security risks and tensions that have stymied peace efforts for decades.

Obama, on his second day in the Middle East, shuttled between Jerusalem and Ramallah, reaching out to the public as well as political leaders. He offered no new policies or plans for reopening peace talks but urged both sides to "think anew" about the intractable conflict and break out of the "formulas and habits that have blocked progress for so long."

"Peace is possible," Obama declared during an impassioned speech to young people in Jerusalem. "I'm not saying it's guaranteed. I can't even say that it is more likely than not. But it is possible."

The deep disputes dividing the Israelis and Palestinians have remained much the same over the years, and include deciding the status of Jerusalem, defining borders and resolving refugee issues. Palestinians have been particularly incensed over Israeli settlements in disputed territories, and the Israelis' continued construction has also drawn the condemnation of the United States and other nations.

Further settlement activity is "counterproductive to the cause of peace," Obama said. But in a notable shift, he did not repeat his administration's previous demands that Israel halt construction. Instead he urged the Palestinians to stop using the disagreement as an "excuse" to avoid talks.

"If the expectation is that we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time, then there is no point for negotiations," Obama said during a joint news conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. "I think it is important to work through this process even if there are irritants on both sides."

Abbas said Palestinians remain committed to seeking peace with Israelis, but he made clear that settlement construction had made his people distrustful of Israel's intentions.

"This is very dangerous that people and the new generation reaches the conviction that it's no more possible to believe in the two-state solution," he said.

Obama has sided with the Palestinians on the settlement issue during his first four years in office. However, when Israel reluctantly declared a 10-month moratorium on construction, the Palestinians balked at returning to negotiations until shortly before the suspension expired and talks foundered shortly thereafter.

The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem — territories Israel captured in the 1967 war — but indicate they are ready for minor adjustments to accommodate some settlements closest to Israel. Since 1967, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that are now home to 560,000 Israelis — an increase of 60,000 since Obama became president four years ago.

Upon his return to Israel, the president told Israelis that in the search for peace they have "true partners" in Abbas and Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister.

Obama is spending the majority of his four-day Mideast trip in Israel, where the politicians and public have been skeptical of his commitment to their security. The president has sought to calm their concerns throughout his visit, reminding an audience of Israeli university students Thursday that the U.S. is their country's best friend and most important ally.

"You are not alone," Obama declared as the crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

Still, he nudged Israel to take steps to reverse an "undertow" of international isolation that is worsened by its failure to make peace with the Palestinians. In a region roiled by political unrest, Obama said the days when the Israelis can seek protection from a handful of autocratic leaders in other nations are over, and he urged them to seek common ground with the Arab people, not just their governments.

Hours before Obama arrived in the West Bank, militants in the Gaza Strip launched at least two rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, causing damage but no injuries, according to Israeli officials. As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited the border town, which is frequently targeted in rocket attacks.

A small, murky, al-Qaida-inspired group calling itself the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, it said it was sending a message to "Osama's soldiers" to protest the visit by "the Roman dog Obama" and to continue its campaign of holy war.

Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israel, prompting Israel, with considerable U.S. assistance, to develop its Iron Dome missile defense system, which it credits with intercepting many rockets.

The president closed his five-hour trip to the West Bank with a visit to a U.S. government-funded youth center, where he cheered a performance by a dance troupe and held a private roundtable discussion with a small group of young Palestinian men. He recalled the conversation later in his Jerusalem speech, saying that if "any Israeli parent sat down with those kids, they'd say, 'I want these kids to succeed; I want them to prosper.' I believe that's what Israeli parents would want for these kids if they had a chance to listen to them and talk to them."

While Obama was welcomed warmly in Israel, where U.S. and Israeli flags dotted the roadsides, Palestinians showed little excitement over Obama's shorter stop in the West Bank. Protesters defaced and burned posters of Obama in an expression of dissatisfaction with U.S. policy in the region. Several dozen demonstrators also gathered in downtown Ramallah during Obama's meetings, protesting what is perceived in the Palestinian territories to be a strong U.S. bias in favor of Israel.

The president opened the second day of his trip at Jerusalem's Israel Museum, a stop aimed at highlighting both the Jewish people's ancient connection to the land that is now Israel and the small nation's thriving modern economy.

The president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu viewed the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient Hebrew texts. It was a symbolic visit for Obama, who has battled against a perception in Israel that he sees the Holocaust, not historical ties to the region, as the rationale for the existence of the Jewish state. The president has repeatedly sought to correct that impression.

As he viewed the ancient scrolls displayed in a dimly lit room, Obama marveled at how the Hebrew language had changed so little that Netanyahu could read some of the writings. The two then toured a technology exhibit at the museum featuring several modern Israeli inventions, including an electric vehicle battery, a technology Obama has promoted in the U.S.

Obama was awarded Israel's Medal of Honor Thursday night during a lavish dinner. He is the first sitting U.S. president to receive Israel's highest civilian honor.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Ian Deitch and Josef Federman in Jerusalem, and Karin Laub and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

View the original article here

Ryan says budget deal possible as he readies his own plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republicans' point person on fiscal issues in Congress said on Sunday that compromise with President Barack Obama is possible on taxes and spending even though his soon-to-be-unveiled budget plan faces certain rejection from Obama's Democrats.

Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, acknowledged that Democrats who control the Senate are likely to defeat his proposal to repeal Obama's signature healthcare law and other elements of his plan to balance the budget within 10 years.

But Ryan, whose ideas on taxes and spending gained national prominence when he was selected as the Republican vice-presidential candidate last year, said Democrats and Republicans might be able to agree on less dramatic steps that would narrow budget deficits in coming years.

"There are things that we can do that don't offend either party's philosophy, that doesn't require someone to surrender their principles, that make a good down payment on getting this debt and deficit under control," Ryan said on "Fox News Sunday."

Ryan had lunch with Obama last week as part of an effort by the president to reach out to Republican lawmakers to resolve a fiscal standoff that has slowed economic growth and generated repeated crises over the past two years.

"This is first time I've ever had a conversation with the president lasting more than, say two minutes, or a televised exchange," Ryan said of their meeting.

"We exchanged very different frank and candid views of one another that were very different. But at least we had this conversation," he said.

Ryan's budget blueprint, due to be unveiled on Tuesday, will open the next front in Washington's fiscal battle over how to tame the growth of the $16.7 trillion federal debt.

It would cut spending by $5 trillion and partially privatize the Medicare health plan for retirees in order to balance the budget in 10 years, he said.

Though the plan is likely to win approval in the Republican-controlled House, it faces steep odds in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Senator Patty Murray is preparing a blueprint that is expected to reduce breaks for wealthy taxpayers and keep safety-net spending largely unchanged.

SIMILAR CUTS, DIFFERENT RESULTS

Ryan's plan to balance the budget in 10 years is a dramatic change from last year's plan, which also envisioned $5 trillion in cuts but would not have balanced the budget until 2040.

Ryan's budget-balancing efforts are helped by the $620 billion in tax increases on the wealthy that Obama won in a January 1 deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."

But further tax increases are out of the question, he said.

"We already had a tax increase. We think it's unfair to ask hardworking taxpayers to pay more so Washington can spend more," he said.

Both Republicans and Democrats want to simplify the tax code to reduce the tax breaks and loopholes that have proliferated since the last comprehensive rewrite in 1986.

But they have contrasting goals: Republicans want to use those savings to lower rates, which they say would boost economic growth. Obama and other Democrats want to put that money towards deficit reduction.

Ryan's budget plan also rests on several other approaches that Democrats have rejected in the past.

It would impose deep cuts on food assistance for the poor and dramatically scale back federal contributions to the Medicaid health program for the poor. It would give retirees an option to stay in the current Medicare health program or use a subsidy to purchase private coverage, an approach that Democrats say would weaken the existing program and force seniors to shoulder more of their own health costs.

Obama is not likely to back those ideas this time around, either, Ryan acknowledged.

"My guess is he won't," Ryan said. "But are there some things we can do short of that that gets you closer to balancing the budget, that delays a debt crisis from hitting this country? Yes, I think there are."

After four straight years of deficits over $1 trillion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the fiscal 2013 gap will fall to $845 billion. As the economy improves, deficits will narrow to around $430 billion by 2015, CBO said, but they are projected to rise after that, nearing $1 trillion again by 2023 as the massive "baby boom" generation ages and draws more retirement and health benefits.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

View the original article here

Cuba's Raul Castro jokingly hints at possible retirement

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro, who is expected to begin a second five-year term on Sunday, jokingly told reporters on Friday that he was planning his retirement but left open just when he would step down.

"I'm going to retire," said a grinning Castro in the company of visiting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Castro urged reporters to pay close attention to the National Assembly meeting this weekend, when a Council of State and president will be elected.

"I'm going to turn 82, I have a right to retire already," Castro said. "You don't believe me? Why are you so incredulous?" he added in an exchange with reporters as he visited a monument to fallen Soviet soldiers.

"It will be an interesting speech. Pay attention," Castro said before leaving with Medvedev.

Castro, who replaced his ailing brother Fidel in 2008 and turns 82 in June, has in recent years repeatedly stated that Communist Party and government leaders should be held to two, five-year terms in office.

Castro would begin his second term on Sunday, which would theoretically leave him free to retire in 2018, aged 86.

During his first term, Castro has presided over a reform process that included the gradual loosening of restrictions on travel and personal property while moving the economy in a more market-friendly direction.

He has said it is the responsibility of those who built the 54-year-old revolution to see the reforms through and leave Cuba in better condition for a new generation of leaders.

Castro, despite his age, appears fit and lucid and is widely expected by foreign experts, diplomats and Cubans to serve a second term.

"Whether it happens now or after a second term, there's no shame in putting the limits of Raul Castro's presidential tenure on the table," said Julia Sweig, director of Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank.

"I see this as very consistent with his style - but I would be surprised if this Sunday's speech would indicate he won't stand for a second term," Sweig said.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by David Adams and Jim Loney)

View the original article here