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Brown tells Iran to 'cease your threats,' urges US to lead world out of recession
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday urged Iran to cease its nuclear threats and rejoin the world community. "And our shared message to Iran is simple - we are ready for you to rejoin the world community," Brown said in a landmark speech to the US Congress."But first, you must cease your threats and suspend your nuclear program. And we will work tirelessly with all those in the international community who are ready to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation." Brown also urged the US to resist protectionist impulses and work with "your friend Europe" and other partners to revive the ailing global economy. "We should seize the moment - because never before have I seen a world so willing to come together. Never before has that been more needed. And never before have the benefits of cooperation been so far-reaching," Brown said. He urged US lawmakers to resist the temptation to erect trade barriers as they battle to kickstart the world's top economy facing its greatest crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. "So should we succumb to a race to the bottom and a protectionism that history tells us that, in the end, protects no one?" the British prime minister asked. "No. We should have the confidence that we can seize the opportunities ahead and make the future work for us." Brown urged US lawmakers - who recently passed a "Buy American" clause in an 800-billion-dollar spending bill - to resist the protectionist forces that could deepen the crisis. "America knows from its history that its reach goes far beyond its geography," he said. "If these times have shown us anything, it is that the major challenges we all face are global." "For a century you have carried upon your shoulders the greatest of responsibilities: To work with and for the rest of the world. And let me tell you that now more than ever the rest of the world wants to work with you," he said. The prime minister, just the fifth British premier to address the combined Senate and House of Representatives, underlined that US President Barack Obama, who took office January 20, could now count on "the most pro-American European leadership in living memory." It is "a leadership that wants to cooperate more closely together, in order to be a stronger partner for you. There is no old Europe, no new Europe, there is only your friend Europe," he said, in a reference to bitter trans-Atlantic divisions over the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-05 |
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