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2009-07-03 07:56:20
By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven, Ap White House
Correspondent 5 mins ago
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir
Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the
Cold War is over when the U.S. leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.
Days before he departs for Russia, Obama said Thursday that Putin "still has a
lot of sway" in his nation as its nominal prime minister. "I think that it's
important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin
understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is
outdated," he said. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and
one foot in the new."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Obama discussed a wide range of
topics:
_The president said he could see abandoning his own proposal to indefinitely
hold some terror detainees _"it gives me great pause" and that he would not
be comfortable ordering such a disposition for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners
without congressional action.
_In light of recent Supreme Court cases dealing with highly charged questions
about the nation's racial progress, Obama said the high court was "moving the
ball" away from affirmative action. Yet he also noted that the justices had not
foreclosed the continued use of racial preferences in hiring and college
admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances. In any case he
said affirmative action is neither the panacea nor the problem that it's
often made out to be.
_With most experts in agreement that there's a good chance Iran could have a
usable nuclear bomb sometime during his presidency, Obama said, "I'm not
reconciled with that."
_Asked about Michael Jackson's death, an event that has transfixed many, Obama
said he didn't see any controversy in the fact that he did not issue a formal
public statement about the pop star and knew of no dissatisfaction among blacks
about that. He called Jackson a brilliant performer whose talents were paired
with a tragic, sad personal life.
The 24-minute interview, with Obama nearly six months into his job and his
approval ratings still high, ranged from the serious to the silly. Asked to let
Americans in on a secret about White House life, the president chose the pastry
chef and rued that "the best pie I have ever tasted" is a challenge to the
first couple's self-discipline and waistlines.
Asked to choose between basketball greats Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Obama
a committed hoops player and fan of Jordan's Chicago Bulls didn't pause for
even a second. "Michael," he said, picking the retired superstar. "I haven't
seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."
Scheduled to depart Sunday for a trip to Russia, an international summit in
Italy and his first trip to Africa as president, Obama praised Moscow for its
cooperation in international efforts to persuade North Korea and Iran to
abandon their nuclear development programs. After North Korea conducted an
underground nuclear test in May, the United Nations approved "the most robust
sanction regime that we've ever seen with respect to North Korea," he said.
He expressed optimism he could get international agreement for even tougher
action if North Korea persists in defying demands that it dismantle its nuclear
weapons and stop production. The U.N. sanctions, for instance, did not include
one thing the U.S. wanted: allowing the use of military force to board and
inspect ships suspected of carrying banned weapons.
"In international diplomacy, people tend to want to go in stages," Obama said.
"There potentially is room for more later."
The main agenda item for Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow
is to advance talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace one
that expires in December.
In addition to sitting down with Medvedev, Obama also is meeting with Putin,
the former president who now is prime minister but still a major force.
He said Medvedev understands that, but Putin needs convincing that the U.S.
wants cooperation rather than "an antagonistic relationship."
On Afghanistan, Obama said he intends to reassess the possible need for
additional U.S. troops after the nation holds national elections in August, but
that he believes America's key goals can be met there "without us increasing
our troop levels." He has ordered 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan this
summer, bringing the U.S. total to 68,000.
Minutes before his vice president, Joe Biden, landed in Iraq for a two-day
visit, Obama said he was confident but not certain that the timetables for
removing U.S. troops from that war will hold. This week marked a major
milestone in the war when U.S. troops pulled out of major Iraqi cities.
"I reserve the right to make changes based on changing circumstances to protect
U.S. security," he said.
With joblessness rising, the president said he was "deeply concerned" that too
many families are worried about "whether they will be next."
New government figures out Thursday showed the unemployment rate grew to 9.5
percent last month, and economists agree it is likely to rise into the double
digits. Since Obama signed the $780 billion economic stimulus bill in February,
the economy has shed more than 2 million jobs.
"What we are still seeing is too many jobs lost," said Obama.