Taking a stand for democracy

President Barack Obama's declaration Thursday that support for universal rights is now the nation's top priority in the Middle East is both an important boost for pro-democracy movements and a powerful warning to the region's repressive regimes.

And it was delivered at the right moment for maximum effect, coming soon after U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden and a few months into the "Arab spring," which has seen a number of oppressive regimes topple. It was also a good time for Obama's risky bid to insert himself into the intractable Israeli-Palestinian standoff.

Elevating American values -- free speech, peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, equality for women and self-determination -- to prominence will put the nation on the right side of history as the Middle East and North Africa struggle to remake themselves.

This nation is at its most influential when we champion our beliefs. Showing that face to the Arab world should help advance U.S. interests in countering terrorism, slowing the spread of nuclear weapons and mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our freedom, opportunity and prosperity are what the world admires most about the United States, and what protesters roiling the region want for themselves.

Of course, U.S. presidents from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush have proclaimed similar lofty intentions. Obama will have to translate his rhetoric into policy and practice. Yesterday's promise of economic assistance for nascent democracies in Tunisia and Egypt -- debt forgiveness, loan guarantees and a focus on trade and investment -- are encouraging signs.

So is the blunt alternative Obama presented Syrian President Bashar Assad, to lead his nation's transition to democracy "or get out of the way." Obama's advice for friends in the region was more timid, but just as timely. Officials in Bahrain should stop jailing protesters and talk with them. And Yemen's president should keep his commitment to transfer power. One friend conspicuously not mentioned was Saudi Arabia. The lack of the usual diplomatic nod to the region's top oil producer sends a welcome signal disapproving of that country's repressive regime.

Obama risks some political capital trying to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and end a conflict that has resisted resolution for decades. He stated the obvious: that the only real answer is a secure Israel and a viable Palestine. And he dared the controversial, saying that, with some land swaps, it should be based on the 1967 borders established before Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

That's sure to make for some uncomfortable moments when Obama meets Friday with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. But Obama was just as blunt with Palestinians. They won't win independence unless Hamas rejects terrorism and they accept Israel's right to exist. One truth from Obama both should heed is that "the international community is tired of an endless process that never produces an outcome."

The Middle East is changing, swiftly and profoundly. The United States has to keep pace. Obama laid out a plan to do that yesterday. Now he has to make it work.