Obama to urge new U.S.-Muslim engagement

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 3 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama hopes to begin a new phase of engagement between the United States and the Muslim world when he speaks in Cairo, his speechwriter said.

Obama sees his speech Thursday as a chance to advance a dialogue his inauguration "to really start a new chapter of engagement," speechwriter Ben Rhodes said during a briefing Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first stop of the president's Middle East trip.

Obama will address extremism and the threat it poses, America's response, the situations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the broader Israeli-Arab issue, Rhodes said.

Obama also will be "acknowledging the fact that (the Arab-Israeli issue) has been a very important source of tension and passion for people of all faiths within this region and around the world," Rhodes said, as well as offer his view of the conflict and what all sides need to do to resolve it.

Finally, Obama will address issues "that really matter in people's lives, in terms of economic development, in terms of education, in terms of health, in terms of science and technology," the speechwriter said. "And I think you'll see some concrete steps towards developing partnerships in these areas so that we can deepen engagement between the United States and Muslim communities, and point towards opportunity for all of our people."

The speech is only a step in seeking a new level of engagement, Rhodes said.

"But in terms of this speech, what he was very clear with us was to cast a wide net both within the U.S. government and outside of the U.S. government," he said.