Obama Arrives in Cairo

President Barack Obama arrived in Cairo this morning, greeted by a ceremonial playing of the Egyptian and American national anthems outside the Quba Palace, immediately followed by a one-on-one meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Both men reported that they had discussed a range of issues of concern in the Middle East. Mr. Mubarak said the discussion had included "the situation and everything related to Iran and to the region."
"We discussed everything candidly and frankly without any reservation," he said.

Mr. Obama is in Cairo to deliver a much-anticipated speech aimed at redefining and improving the relationship between the U.S. and Muslim world.

"I'm very much looking forward to speaking at Cairo University this afternoon," Mr. Obama said, "but I wanted to first sit down with President Mubarak, who obviously has decades of experience on a whole range of issues."

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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One upon his arrival at the airport in Cairo on June 4, 2009.
He said their one-on-one meeting focused on the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. "We discussed how we can move forward in a constructive way that brings about peace and prosperity for all people in the region. America is committed to working in partnership with countries in the region so that all people can meet their aspirations," he said.

In response to a shouted question about whether they had discussed anything on Iran, Mr. Obama said: "You name it, we discussed it."

Traveling toward the palace, the streets were empty except for soldiers who lined the sidewalks, facing out, to look for threats, even when they were facing a tall wall. Police directing traffic did so with almost ballet-like arm movements, sweeping their arms holding batons in large arcs.

Arriving at the palace, the motorcade was led up the long avenue that serves as a driveway of sorts by 21 horses, as is tradition for the arrival of heads of state.

Presidents Obama and Mubarak then stood on the palace balcony for the arrival ceremony, which featured a band below that played both nations' anthems.

Aides said Mr. Obama's long-promised speech would blend hopeful words about mutual understanding with carefully chosen language on Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, plus blunt talk about the need for Muslims to embrace democracy, women's rights and economic opportunity.

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