President Obama to give Middle East Speech Soon

President Obama will give a policy speech on the Middle East in the "relatively near future" White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday.

Carney was asked about reports, first in the Wall Street Journal, that the president was looking to reach out the Muslim world. Earlier, the White House clarified the speech would be to a broader audience than just the Arab world.

The press secretary would not say if the speech would be as early as next week, but it's expected to happen before the president goes to Europe on May 23.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first previewed the speech about a month ago, "And I know that the President will be speaking in greater detail about America's policy in the Middle East and North Africa in the coming weeks."

The Associate Press reports that the president was to initially give the speech last week, but that got pushed back because of Usama bin Laden's capture

Fox News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.