Nouveaux textes en français  

Pour faire connaissance avec notre collection de textes relatifs à la politique étrangère américaine en français, cliquez sur Actualité

Michelle Obama définit son rôle à la Maison-Blanche.  L'initiative de bénévolat « Unis pour Servir » est l'une de ses priorités (2009-06-30).  Le rôle de l'épouse du président des États-Unis pourrait être décrit comme l'un des postes non électifs et non désignés les plus puissants et influents de la Maison-Blanche. Pourtant, malgré un personnel nombreux et le fait qu'elle occupe la plus fameuse résidence de Washington, l'épouse du chef de l'exécutif américain n'a aucune fonction officielle et la Constitution ne lui réserve mentionne aucun rôle pour elle.[...]

Avocate accomplie, ancienne administratrice d'hôpital et « maman-en-chef » autodéclarée, Michelle Obama est un exemple pour de nombreuses femmes qui cherchent à trouver un équilibre entre leur emploi et leur vie de famille, alors qu'elle tente d'encourager un débat public sur des questions sociales importantes, sans s'arrêter aux vêtements qu'elle porte.

  M. Obama fait l'éloge « de l'inlassable quête de la justice » des manifestants en Iran (2009-06-29).  Le président Obama a dit que la bravoure des manifestants iraniens face à la brutalité de leur gouvernement « témoigne de leur quête inlassable de la justice » et que, si le gouvernement iranien souhaite le respect de la communauté internationale, il doit respecter les droits de son peuple.

« La violence perpétrée contre les manifestants est scandaleuse. Mais en dépit des efforts que déploie le gouvernement pour empêcher le monde d'être témoin de cette violence, nous la voyons et nous la condamnons », a déclaré M. Obama à la Maison-Blanche en compagnie de la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel le 26 juin.

Le peuple iranien sera le juge ultime des agissements de son gouvernement, a souligné M. Obama, et ses droits à se rassembler et à s'exprimer librement sont « des aspirations universelles ».

Les É.-U. cherchent à favoriser l'accélération de la croissance économique en Afrique (2009-06-26).  Un des grands objectifs des États-Unis pour ce qui est de leurs relations commerciales avec l'Afrique subsaharienne est de créer une base afin de stimuler la croissance économique dans cette partie du monde, a déclaré la représentante adjointe des États-Unis pour le commerce extérieur, Mme Florizelle Liser, le 24 juin devant une commission parlementaire.

« À l'heure actuelle, a-t-elle dit, la part de l'Afrique subsaharienne dans le commerce international est inférieure à 2 %, alors qu'elle était de 6 % en 1980. Si elle accroissait cette part seulement d'un point de pourcentage pour la faire passer à 3 %, ses recettes supplémentaires provenant de ses exportations atteindraient 70 milliards de dollars chaque année, ce qui représente près de trois fois le montant de l'aide annuelle qu'elle reçoit actuellement de tous les bailleurs de fonds. Ceci montre l'importance du commerce pour stimuler la croissance en Afrique. »
 

Nouveaux textes en anglais

Military Coup in Honduras Reminiscent of “Dark Past,” Obama Says (2009-06-29).  The June 28 coup against Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is “not legal” and Zelaya should be allowed to return home and serve out the remainder of his term, President Obama says.

In remarks with Colombian President Alviro Uribe at the White House June 29, Obama said Central and Latin American countries have made enormous progress in establishing democratic traditions over the past 20 years, and the events in Honduras are reminiscent of a “dark past.”

“It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backward into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections,” Obama said.

Obama acknowledged that the United States “has not always stood as it should” with emerging democracies in the region, but, in recent years, U.S. political leaders have recognized that “we always want to stand with democracy, even if the results don’t always mean that the leaders of those countries are favorable toward the United States.”

Remarks by Ambassador Verveer on Recent Visit to Afghanistan (2009-06-30).  The women in Afghanistan are critical to progress and stability in their war-torn country [...]
We know that no country can prosper if half its people are left behind. And as the President said in Cairo, we recognize that our daughters can contribute as much to society as our sons. The truth of the matter is that countries that repress women also tend to be backward economically, and are more likely to be failed states.

Three points: First, we are reshaping our programs and intensifying our efforts to help women to participate more fully in society, thereby helping them to increase their contributions to their communities and their country. This includes working with men, working with community leaders to make it possible for men and women to jointly determine Afghanistan’s future.

Second, Afghanistan is in the midst of an election campaign both for president and for the provincial councils. We have called for a campaign that is credible, inclusive, and secure, where men and women candidates can campaign with no restrictions on their freedom of movement and can be assured of protection. Further, the candidates should engage in a vigorous debate on all issues, including issues of concern to women. And women are likewise raising issues of concern to them with the candidates.

Third, there is progress in some areas, but not in others. Security remains a paramount challenge. Violence against women and girls is endemic and much remains to be done, including access to institutions of justice, civic education, and prosecution of the crimes. More girls are in school, but the Taliban have eroded some of that progress. Last year alone, they burned or shut down more than 700 schools, and thousands of girls are now without access to formal education.

President comments on troop pullback in Iraq (2009-06-30).  Today, American troops have transferred control of all Iraqi cities and towns to Iraq's government and security forces. (Applause.) This transition was agreed to last year as part of our Status of Forces Agreement with the sovereign Iraqi government. It's a part of our strategy to responsibly end the war by removing all American combat brigades from Iraq by next September, and all of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.

So the Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration. This is an important step forward, as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny. And with this progress comes responsibility. Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people. And Iraq's leaders must now make some hard choices necessary to resolve key political questions, to advance opportunity, and to provide security for their towns and their cities. In this effort, America will be a strong partner to the Iraqi people on behalf of their security and prosperity.

Make no mistake: There will be difficult days ahead. We know that the violence in Iraq will continue -- we see that already in the senseless bombing in Kirkuk earlier today. And there are those who will test Iraq's security forces, and the resolve of the Iraqi people, through more sectarian bombings and the murder of innocent civilians. But I'm confident that those forces will fail. The future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. And today's transition is further proof that those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history.

Official expresses concern about developments in Somalia (2009-06-16) [...]The piracy, like the refugees, are an indication of how the instability, the continued instability in Somalia, has caused a great deal of concern.

The U.S. also is concerned that Somalia has become a safe haven for a small number of individuals who were involved with the destruction of the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salam in 1998, August of 1998, and also for the destruction of the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa in November of 2002, and the attempted destruction of an Israeli charter aircraft going into Mombasa.

For all of these reasons, but primarily for the first three, we think that we should do as much as we possibly can to support the African and regional efforts that are underway to help deal with this issue. The U.S. strongly supports the Djibouti process, a process organized and run by IGAD and hosted by Djibouti, which led to reconciliation and the creation of the Transitional Federal Government. We support that Djibouti process. We support the Transitional Federal Government that has come out of it, and we support the current president of that Transitional Federal Government, President Sheikh Sharif, just as we supported the efforts of the previous Transitional Federal Government president, President Yusef.

Remarks by President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel.  Leaders discuss energy, climate change, Iran and Middle East (2009-06-26).  Chancellor Merkel shares my belief that no single nation can meet the challenges of our time alone. Today we reaffirmed that the United States and Germany -- one of our closest allies and an indispensable partner -- will continue to play a leadership role across the range of challenges.

We're building on the bold steps we took at the G20 summit by aggressively confronting the global economic crisis. I underscored our commitment to strengthening financial regulations, and I welcomed Chancellor Merkel's commitment to reform. As we prepare for the G8 summit in Italy and look ahead to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, we agreed on the need to avoid protectionism and to embrace concerted, collective action that creates sustainable growth and shared prosperity.

I reiterated America's commitment to stand with Germany and lead in confronting the energy and climate change crisis. And let me say, Chancellor, that I've been very impressed by Germany's foresight and commitment to clean energy, which I saw in the many wind turbines as I traveled over the German landscape. And it's my hope that the United States will match that commitment today when our House of Representatives votes on a critical energy bill that will promote a new generation of clean, renewable energy in our country.