We live in a world of imperfect choices. Different nations will not agree on the need for action in every instance, and the principle of sovereignty is at the center of our international order. But sovereignty cannot be a shield for tyrants to commit wanton murder, or an excuse for the international community to turn a blind eye.

Said : US President Barack Obama in his Address at the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 24 September 2013.

President Obama said that today's new generation of world leaders like us are facing new and profound challenges, and the United Nations, as a world body, continues to be tested. He acknowledged that the United Nations had, in fact, made a difference by its help and contribution to eradicate disease, to educating children, to brokering peace. But now the question is, Obama asked : "whether we possess the wisdom and the courage, as nation-states and members of an international community, to squarely meet those challenges; whether the United Nations can meet the tests of our time."

President Obama outlined U.S. policy towards the Middle East and North Africa, in clear terms, as under :

• The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure our core interests in the region.
• We will confront external aggression against our allies and partners, as we did in the Gulf War.
• We will ensure the free flow of energy from the region to the world. Although America is steadily reducing our own dependence on imported oil, the world still depends on the region’s energy supply, and a severe disruption could destabilize the entire global economy.
• We will dismantle terrorist networks that threaten our people. Wherever possible, we will build the capacity of our partners, respect the sovereignty of nations, and work to address the root causes of terror. But when it’s necessary to defend the United States against terrorist attack, we will take direct action.
• And finally, we will not tolerate the development or use of weapons of mass destruction. Just as we consider the use of chemical weapons in Syria to be a threat to our own national security, we reject the development of nuclear weapons that could trigger a nuclear arms race in the region, and undermine the global nonproliferation regime.

President Obama's full speech is available here.