A step in the right direction: Obama calls on world to combat nuclear weapons, climate change and economic crisis

Supporters of President Barack Obama, who feel as though change was just a mantra associated more with the ambitious president's campaign than his presidency, should begin to rest easy after the newly anointed president laid out a list of objectives intended at changing not only America, but the world, during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly.

While New York and the rest of the world has bare witness to some circus like antics from the world's most powerful dictators, terrorists and leaders since their arrival in the United States, which was highlighted earlier this week when Lybian dictator Mommar Gaddafi tried pitching a tent in Donald Trumps backyard (and more importantly the backyard of the victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombings, which Gaddafi funded), Obama has shinned on the world's stage, insisting that the interests of the world’s peoples are shared, more than at any point in human history, and the international community must embrace “a new era of engagement” to confront pressing challenges such as nuclear proliferation, climate change and economic crisis.

“The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interests and mutual respect, and our work must begin now,” Obama said.

In his speech to world leaders, Obama laid out "four pillars" that he expects will lead to a better future for the rest of the world. These new benchmarks include "nonproliferation and disarmament; the promotion of peace and security; the preservation of our planet; and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.”

Obama said if we are to achieve these objectives then democracy and human rights are the key elements to success.

"Just as no country should be forced to accept the tyranny of another, no individual should have to accept the tyranny of their own government," Obama said.

Aside from the promotion of security, Obama's "four pillars" can be viewed as a new beginning for American foreign policy that was dominated over the past eight years by a unilateral effort to ensure the United States' security and prosperity, while leaving the rest of the world in the dark. Obama stood firm on his ideology which promotes a united front worldwide in order to work towards peace, ridding the world of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) and combating climate change - a drastic change from the views of the Bush Administration that included former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who didn't even believe the United Nations existed.

Obama's two biggest stands signaling America's new outlook on the world could most strongly be seen in his reassertion of his campaign promise to create a world free of nuclear weapons and his, and with it Americas, recognition that the world cannot "drag its feet" on the issue of climate change anymore.

“There will be no peace unless we take responsibility for the preservation of our planet,” Obama said. “Our efforts to end conflicts will be eclipsed by wars over refugees and resources. Development will be devastated by drought and famine. The world also faces the judgment of future generations by failing to act."

Obama called on foreign leaders, whose countries were most responsible for climate change during the 20th century, to be leaders on the issue, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and educate third-world countries on the threats of global warming - a theory the Bush Administration dismissed as phony, even with the studies confirming climate change by the world's leading scientists and the EPA.

Obama also championed his mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons during the summit and achieved a major step in his fight for a world free of WMD's, while acting as chairman of the U.N. Security Council - making him only the second U.S. president to do so since the council was formed in 1946. In his inaugural day as chairman, Obama received a unanimous vote of 15-0 in favor of an initiative to end nuclear proliferation worldwide. He promised that the U.N. would uphold their end of the bargain by working with Russia to substantially reduce strategic warheads and launchers, and ratifying the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that would permanently prohibit nuclear testing.

Obama also reaffirmed his interest in reaching peaceful agreements with Iran and North Korea over their pursuit of nuclear weapons, but stressed the two nation's must be held accountable for their pursuit of nuclear weapons if they failed to comply.

"The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced. We must insist that the future does not belong to fear,” Obama said.

Obama's first major showing in front of the world seems to have brought about a resounding shift in how America looks at the world in terms of foreign policy, and hopefully how the world looks at America. While Obama called for world leaders to step up to the plate to combat such issues as peace, WMD's and climate change, he also stood against the notion that America will continue to act alone in this world as it did during the Bush Administration.

"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," Obama said. "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

While many president's have touted the idea of world leaders working together over the years, Obama was able to do it in a way that said, "If we are going to fix the world, we need to work together once and for all or face the consequences." While in some ways he did sound like President Bush by not apologizing for America's unilateral actions to protect itself in the face of endangering the rest of the world, in many ways he did what all Americans should expect of him by showing strong leadership which we has often failed to show on such domestic issues as health care reform. While he failed to apologize for any of America's actions, Obama's message did have this humble appeal to it that more or less said, "if you don't act, America will fail too, because we alone cannot solve the problems of the world. "

The biggest difference between Bush and Obama's foreign policy that can most be seen, aside from his ambition to fight climate change and rid the world of WMD's, has to be his understanding that while he believes America to be supreme in the world, people in other countries also feel their nation's to be supreme. This type of respect, and ideology, is a drastic change from that of the Bush Administration, who for years acted alone and without any regard for the concerns of the rest of the world and its people when addressing its foreign policy.

While some might be quick to chastise the president over his failure to withdraw troops from Iraq earlier, or the additional troops he recently deployed to Afghanistan, we must realize that it took eight years to get into this mess, and it will take sometime to untangle the doings of the previous administration, while not losing sight of the fact that many innocent Iraqi's and Afgani's have now come to rely on America for security in this increasingly dangerous world. But one thing is for sure, we finally have a president that is willing to act like a leader on the world's stage instead of a bully - and that has to be a refreshing proposition to both Americans and the people of the world.