<p>In his first major address on the subject since the Arab Spring of democracy movements swept the Mideast, he said: "We have embraced the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator."<br />"There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity," he said.<br /><br />"Yes, there will be perils that accompany this moment of promise. But after decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be."<br /><br />Referring to the killing of Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid in Pakistan, Obama said: "We have dealt Al Qaeda a huge blow by killing its leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was no martyr. He was a mass murder who offered a message of hate."<br /><br />Obama portrayed Osama as hostile to the democracy movements sweeping the region and increasingly irrelevant in the days leading up to his death.<br /><br />Osama "rejected democracy and individual rights for Muslims in favor of violent extremism," Obama said. "His agenda focused on what he could destroy, not what he could build."<br />"Through the moral force of non-violence, people of the region have achieved more change in six months than terrorists have accomplished in decades," Obama said.<br />He added: "It will be years before this story reaches its end."</p>
<p>In his first major address on the subject since the Arab Spring of democracy movements swept the Mideast, he said: "We have embraced the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator."<br />"There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity," he said.<br /><br />"Yes, there will be perils that accompany this moment of promise. But after decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be."<br /><br />Referring to the killing of Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid in Pakistan, Obama said: "We have dealt Al Qaeda a huge blow by killing its leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was no martyr. He was a mass murder who offered a message of hate."<br /><br />Obama portrayed Osama as hostile to the democracy movements sweeping the region and increasingly irrelevant in the days leading up to his death.<br /><br />Osama "rejected democracy and individual rights for Muslims in favor of violent extremism," Obama said. "His agenda focused on what he could destroy, not what he could build."<br />"Through the moral force of non-violence, people of the region have achieved more change in six months than terrorists have accomplished in decades," Obama said.<br />He added: "It will be years before this story reaches its end."</p>