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Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts

Sunday, May 5, 2013

President Obama not to send u.s. troops to the foretold Syria

San Jose, Costa Rica (Reuters)-the United States President Barack Obama Friday said he did not foresee a scenario in which he would send U.S. Army to Syria.

At a press conference in the capital of Costa Rica, Obama also vowed that the United States will take a cautious approach to respond to the alleged use of chemical weapons, Syria, Reuters reported.

He said it would not "jump before we see."

The US President on Tuesday warned it was not in a hurry to decide stance regarding chemical weapons in Syria, but said if there is evidence they use it, it will be the trigger for a "consideration" to question keengganannya take military.

Setekah appears the various criticisms, stating he let Syria step over the "boundary line" United States, Obama said Washington believes there is the use of chemical weapons during the civil war in the country, although it has not been able to ascertain which side fired them.

At a news conference at the White House, Obama also offered a number of criteria that the steps taken by the US military intervention is evidence that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad directly ordered the use of chemical weapons. (AK)



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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Obama intimated take decisive steps about Syria

Washington (News and Us)-President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned not to hastily decide stance regarding chemical weapons in Syria, but said if there is evidence they use it, it will be the trigger for a "consideration" to question keengganannya take military.

Following the criticism, stating he let Syria step over the "boundary line" United States, Obama said Washington believes there is the use of chemical weapons during the civil war in the country, although it has not been able to ascertain who fired them.


At a news conference at the White House, AFP reported, Obama also offered a number of criteria that the steps taken by the US military intervention is evidence that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad directly ordered the use of chemical weapons.


Meanwhile, with regard to action of the hunger strike by the prisoners in the prison of Guantanamo Bay, Obama promised to fight to close a place he described as a prison of war-on-terrorism "unsustainable" and blamed Congress for worsening the situation.


He also praised the steps Russia's assistance in the investigation into the bombing incident at the Boston marathon on 15 April, times two suspects of Chechnya, but said there was "a tough old habits changed" between the security officer of the US and Russia.


Obama met the media in the midst of increased political pressure following the reports of intelligence related to the use of sarin gas by Syria's military forces against their enemies, despite earlier warnings that the use of chemical weapons will be "modifier map game".


"I have to make sure it has the right to get the facts. It is expected the American public, "he said.


"When I met with the fact that not only the UNITED STATES but the entire international community has believed that there is the use of chemical weapons by the regime of (President Bashar al-) Assad, then that changes everything," he recalls.


"It changes everything, in the sense that we may have to review again what options are available and we could travel," he said.


"There are a number of options which allow current to me, available at the ' shelves ' at this time but haven't we put out, and it is a series of options," said Obama, while saying he had asked the Pentagon's plan, with no further leaking.


A number of options including the Pentagon, proffered a dangerous operation to secure the supply of chemical weapons to ensure these items do not fall into the hands of radical groups or destruction of such weapons ensures immediate directly, using either the attacker or the air force team.


Obama's political opponents also called for it immediately sent u.s. military troops to help the rebel opposition groups, a move that has so far refused to take, or fly zones or set the security to protect hundreds of thousands of refugees.


A few hours later after Obama's press conference, "The Washington Post" quoted a senior official statements from unnamed said that President Obama was ready to send "the supply of weapons" to Syria rebel opposition groups.


However, a number of other officials say administrative parties only consider sending military equipment such as protective goggles, vehicles and clothes, but not with the war including weapons.


Meanwhile, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said, "we continue to weigh every option, which will be able to bring our goals to support the political transition."


However, he also stated there would be no announcement that will be submitted in the near future.


One of the initial steps were taken immediately after President Obama's request to close Guantanamo Bay prison. But four years later, the prison remains in operation and become dust us face the world expunge an unlimited and now repeatedly hit by acts of a hunger strike by some prisoners who undergo suffering.


"I'll be back to fight for it," Obama said while warning that the situation in the camps was "not sustainable" and blamed the Congress that has Scotch closure efforts.


"It costs dearly. Inefficient. Gnaw US in the Association. Reduce cooperation with several countries in counterterrorism efforts. Even become a recruiting tool the extremists. "


"This continued ... the problem will not be improved. Will only worsen. And will rot, "Obama said, while adding that the hunger strike action should be aware of the people and the u.s. Government think how punishing the better, limiting and return prisoners no longer considered dangerous.


(SYS/G006/B002)




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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Half of southern Israel Gaza rocket during Obama visit

Illustration. Traces of smoke visible from a rocket which was launched from the northern Gaza Strip. (REUTERS/Nir Elias)

Jerusalem (Reuters)-Two rockets fired by the guerrillas at the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday, hit southern Israel at a time when United States President Barack Obama to visit the country, police said.

"One blew up in the backyard of a house in Sderot, causing damage and both landed in the field," said Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, referring to a town very close to the Gaza border, which was visited by Obama on the previous trip in 2008 when he was still a senator.

Obama arrived in Israel on Wednesday for the first visit since the elected President, and is expected to travel to Ramallah on Thursday morning for talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

It was the second rocket attack since the end of a deadly confrontation for eight days between Israel and Hamas fighters in November which ended with a ceasefire that Egypt brokered, and have almost completely respected.

On 26 February, the guerrillas fired a single rocket that landed near the southern coastal town of Ashkelon in an attack they said to protest the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israel custody after questioning.

During the eight days of bloodshed in November, a gobbled up victims of 177 Palestinians and Israel, the military said a rocket hit the Israel 1,071, while the other was intercepted in the air of 421 by anti-missile system, Iron Dome'S U.S.-funded.

Obama visited the Iron Dome system, pride, shortly after arriving in the country on Wednesday afternoon.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Obama Urges the Palestinians back to the negotiating table

U.s. President Barack Obama (right) and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu run together in a welcoming ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Wednesday (20/3). In his first visit to Israel, Obama pledged to remain committed to security in the Jewish State, carry it whereby the nuclear-armed country concerns Iran has worsened the U.S.-Israel relationship. (REUTERS/Nir Elias)

If peace is reached between us and Israel, Israel really know that all Arab and Islamic countries, i.e. 57 States, will directly recognize the country Israel. "
Ramallah, West Bank (Reuters)-the United States President Barack Obama on Thursday voiced its opposition against the construction of the settlements Israel however pressing Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas to lay claim to the construction of settlements by Israel is stopped before Middle East peace talks can be restarted.

After being greeted with a very warm in Israel, Obama visited the West Bank--the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, where the Palestinians are disappointed with the small hope survived them that the arrival of the US President will accelerate the formation of an independent Palestinian State, reported Reuters.

In a news conference with Abbas, Obama said that he "had" to describe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington does not consider that the settlement construction activities help "peace efforts".

However, Obama did not urge an expansion of these settlements was halted--a request she gave in the early during his first term as President.

It implies a sense of due to the failure of Israel and the Palestinians in finding a way to restart the negotiations deadlocked since 2010.

However, he did not offer any new ideas about how Israel and the Palestinians could return to the negotiating table at a time when the prospect of a peace agreement in the region looks bleak disturbed by conflict between the West and Iran nuclear and the civil war in Syria.

"My Argument is, although the two sides may have aspects that become objectionable, perhaps doing activities that other party is deemed to be a breach of good faith, we should be able to isolate it to try to reach an agreement," said Obama.

The main problem at the moment, Obama said, is how to achieve sovereignty for the Palestinians and security for Israel.

"That doesn't mean that the construction of the settlements is not important. It means that if we solve those problems, the issue of the settlements will be addressed, "said Obama.

Some 150 Palestinian protesters gathered in Ramallah to launch a protest against the visit of Obama.

They are dammed by the police are on guard so that they do not approach the compound where Abbas is located.

With a smile and was accompanied by Abbas, Obama met with Palestinian officials in nearly all lined up along the red carpet.

Obama had previously explained that he had not brought any new initiatives concerning the peace talks.

He visited Israel and the Palestinian territories is more for "listen".

However, he said that the Foreign Minister of his country, John Kerry, will give the time and energy in efforts to diluting the differences between the two sides while the United States attempts to bring them back to the negotiating table.

Abbas reiterated his assertion about freezing the construction of settlements, but he gives the prospect of wider peace between Israel and other Arab countries if the Palestinian State is formed.

"If peace is reached between us and Israel, Israel really know that all Arab and Islamic countries, i.e. 57 States, will directly recognize the country Israel," he said. (T008/M014)



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Obama chose the completion of "diplomatic" about Iran's nuclear

The US President, Barack Obama, have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem on Wednesday (20/3) with the main discussion agenda Iran nuclear issue. (REUTERS)

Jerusalem (Reuters)-President of the United States (US), Barack Obama, has said that he prefers to handle the Iran nuclear issue by means of "diplomatic", as it became the desire of Iran.

In a joint press conference after meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem on Wednesday (20/3), Obama said "all options remain on the table" and that he preferred a diplomatic solution.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, Obama said Iran and its nuclear weapons "can be a threat to the region, for the world, as well as create Israel".

The US President also assured Israel with the support of the U.S. Iran nuclear problem remains.

Israel and some Western countries have long accused Iran is secretly trying to make nuclear weapons, an allegation disputed by Tehran. Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

Israel has long threatened to launch an attack against Iran's nuclear installations if diplomacy and sanctions fail to stop Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Matter of Iran, Obama chose diplomacy

President Barack Obama (REUTERS)

Jerusalem (Reuters)-the United States remains committed to preventing Iran has nuclear weapons and continue to open all options for it, said U.s. President Barack Obama in an interview with Israel TV station, Channel 2, Thursday night.

Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel next week, said the United States has information that Iran still takes one year or more to be able to produce nuclear weapons, but wanted to close it AStak.

"Our Interests and the interests of each person is to resolve this issue through diplomacy," he said, as quoted by Xinhua.

"Our goal here is to make sure Iran does not have nuclear weapons that could threaten Israel and provoked the rivalry of weapons in the region," said Obama.
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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Journalists were barred from covering the Obama riled vs. Tiger Woods

Port St Lucie, Florida (Reuters)-The White House correspondent of the Sunday Times AS it bitching has been stymied access to covering President Barack Obama playing golf with golf superstar Tiger Woods.

"On behalf of the White House Correspondents Association, today I expressed concerns from all representative said print, radio, online and TV because we simply did not have access to the President of the United States during this week," said the Association's President, Ed Henry, who is also from CNN television, AFP was quoted as saying.

These associations are demanding transparency and coverage there's a journalist pointing peliput golf which in fact allowed covering exclusively the activity of it.

This week the U.S. time, Obama played golf with Tiger Woods but the swarm of reporters who were with the President, including an AFP journalist and photographer, were not allowed to cover the event.

The US President then missed a long weekend at a luxury resort in Florida after the previous Saturday to learn golf from legendary coach Butch Harmon.

The White House denied its own restricted access such coverage.



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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Obama usulkan pengurangan drastis senjata nuklir

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Presiden Amerika Serikat, Barack Obama, mengambil sumpah di kantornya dengan Ibu Negara, Michelle Obama, memegang Injil dalam upacara pengambilan sumpah di Gedung Putih, Washington, Minggu (20/1). (REUTERS/Doug Mills/Pool)

... para pejabat Gedung Putih sedang mencermati, angka itu hingga 1.000... "
Washington (ANTARA News) - Presiden Amerika Serikat, Barack Obama, akan memanfaatkan pidato kenegaraannya, Selasa besok, menyerukan pengurangan drastis persenjataan nuklir di seluruh dunia, kata The New York Times, Minggu malam.

Mengutip pejabat pemerintah yang tidak disebutkan namanya, surat kabar itu mengatakan, pada beberapa bulan terakhir Obama telah mengamankan kesepakatan dengan militer bahwa kekuatan nuklirnya dapat dikurangi sampai sekitar sepertiga dari jumlah saat ini.

Dalam pidatonya, Obama tampaknya tidak mungkin menyebut jumlah persis pengurangan itu, tetapi para pejabat Gedung Putih sedang mencermati, angka itu hingga 1.000.
Saat ini, Amerika Serikat memiliki sekitar 1.700 senjata nuklir, dan perjanjian pengurangan senjata strategis baru dengan Rusia --START Baru-- yang disepakati Senat pada akhir 2009 mengimbau untuk batas sekitar 1.550 pada 2018.

Namun Obama "percaya bahwa kita dapat membuat pengurangan yang cukup radikal - dan menyimpan banyak uang - tanpa mengorbankan keamanan Amerika dalam periode kedua pemerintahannya. (*)

(H-AK)

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Monday, February 18, 2013

Michelle Obama hadiri pemakaman gadis korban penembakan

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Ibu Negara Amerika Serikat, Michelle Obama (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

... menyebar sayembara seharga 40.000 dolar Amerika Serikat... "
Washington (ANTARA News) - Ibu Negara Amerika Serikat, Michelle Obama, Rabu, akan menghadiri pemakaman seorang gadis berusia 15 tahun yang tewas ditembak di Chicago. Delapan hari sebelum ditembak, gadis itu tampil sebagai mayoret marching band sekolahnya dalam pelantikan Presiden Barack Obama.

Nama gadis itu adalah Hadiya Pendleton, tewas ditembak pada 29 Januari saat ia dan teman-temannya berteduh di satu kanopi di taman Chicago.

Chicago dalam beberapa waktu terakhir telah diganggu sejumlah aksi kekerasan bersenjata; dan pembunuhan Pendleton menjadi dasar bagi pendukung kontrol senjata menyerukan kontrol senjata yang lebih kuat.

Polisi Chicago bahkan menyebar sayembara seharga 40.000 dolar Amerika Serikat untuk informasi yang mengarah pada pembunuhnya.

Seorang pejabat Gedung Putih mengatakan, Michelle akan hadir di pemakaman itu didampingi penasihat senior Gedung Putih, Valerie Jarrett, dan Menteri Pendidikan Amerika Serikat, Arne Duncan.

Michelle tidak dijadwalkan berbicara dalam upacara itu. Sebelumnya Obama telah mengusulkan serangkaian rekomendasi pengetatan kepemilikan senjata api setelah peristiwa penembakan Desember lalu yang menewaskan 20 siswa dan enam guru di sebuah sekolah dasar di Newtown, Connecticut.

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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Obama Administration Moves Past Solyndra, Updates 'Solar Energy Zones'

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Thursday identified 17 sites in six Western states as prime candidates for solar energy projects on public lands, continuing a push for solar power despite the high-profile bankruptcy of a solar panel maker that received a half-billion dollar federal loan.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the latest "Solar Energy Zones" refine and improve on a draft released in December that identified two dozen areas in California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

[Check out or Energy Intelligence blog.]

Five sites in Nevada, four in Colorado, three in Utah, two each in California and Arizona, and one in New Mexico were identified as ideal for solar development.

The sites comprise 285,000 acres, down from about 677,000 acres in December, and reflect the department's judgment that the targeted land has the highest potential for solar development with the fewest environmental conflicts.

The plan is intended to promote development of large, utility-scale solar projects on public lands that will generate thousands of megawatts of electricity. The zones are intended to maximize electrwicity generation while minimizing conflicts with wildlife, cultural and historic resources.

Salazar called the announcement a "giant step forward" as officials step up efforts to promote solar power, particularly in the West.

The administration's push for renewable energy has come under attack since California-based Solyndra Inc. closed its doors two month ago after receiving a $528 million federal loan. The company declared bankruptcy and laid off its 1,100 workers.

The new plan, which is subject to a 90-day public comment period, "establishes for the first time a blueprint for landscape-level planning that will help facilitate smarter siting of solar energy projects," Salazar said in a conference call with reporters.

[Read about the Republican case against Solyndra.]

It also proposes to open an additional 20 million acres of public land to future solar development.

While California has only two projects — both near the Arizona border in the southeastern corner of the state — it has more than half the total acreage, with 153,627 acres. Nevada has the next-highest acreage at 60,395.

Salazar and other officials said the plan aims to reduce conflicts and delays in approving solar projects, by identifying areas that have been "pre-screened" to show they are near transmission sites and have few in any environmental conflicts. The sites are also considered to have strong sunlight, with minimal rain or clouds.

Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said the new plan "provides more clarity' on how projects can proceed and gives potential developers certainty that they will be working in areas that the government considers suited for solar power.

The new plan is based in part on more than 80,000 comments received after the draft plan was announced in December. The seven sites that were dropped from the draft plan include two each in California, Nevada and New Mexico, and one in Arizona.

None of the seven sites had attracted significant interest from investors and either had looming environmental conflicts or were far away from transmission lines, Hayes said, adding that he is confident the remaining 17 projects will be attractive to utilities and other developers.

The department has 79 applications for solar projects on public lands pending and expects to approve as many as 14 next year, officials said.

Four public meetings on the plan are scheduled in November and December.



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Obama to Leno: Libya a Recipe for Success

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BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama defended the U.S. role in bringing down Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, rejecting assessments that the international coalition he helped assemble amounted to "leading from behind." ''We lead from the front," he told late-night television host Jay Leno on Tuesday.

Laying out an argument for his emerging foreign policy doctrine, Obama distinguished the U.S. steps in Libya from the invasion and nine-year war in Iraq. He argued that by building a broad international alliance of European and Arab nations against Gadhafi, the United States saved American lives and money and achieved its goal.

[See photos of unrest and celebration in Libya.]

"Not a single U.S. troop was on the ground," he said. "Not a single U.S. troop was killed or injured, and that, I think, is a recipe for success in the future."

Nudged by Leno in a notably sober first segment, Obama reflected on the meaning of Gadhafi's death, a gruesome and chaotic demise recorded on cellphone video for all the world to see. The president argued that Gadhafi had had an opportunity to let Libya move on a path toward democracy peacefully.

"He wouldn't do it," Obama said. "And, obviously, you never like to see anybody come to the kind of end that he did, but I think it obviously sends a strong message around the world to dictators that people long to be free, and they need to respect the human rights and the universal aspirations of people."

Still, Obama noted that the Pentagon never released photographs of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden after he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs.

"That's not something that I think we should relish," the president said. "You know, I think that there's a certain decorum with which you treat the dead even if it's somebody who has done terrible things."

Obama's appearance on the Leno program, taped extra early at NBC studios to satisfy his schedule, is his fourth on the show and his second as president. The appearance came in the middle of a lucrative three-day fundraising tour for the president even as he tries to bring attention to the plight of people suffering in a weak economy.

[Read about why success in Libya is unlikely to aid Obama's re-election chances.]

The interview covered a range of topics, from foreign policy to Obama's jobs bill to television watching. The first segment, free of jokes or chitchat, focused on Libya, Iraq and al-Qaida.

Obama announced last week that U.S. troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year, effectively ending the war that began under the administration of President George W. Bush and that Obama ran against as a candidate in 2008. Asked by Leno what the United States accomplished there, Obama conceded that Saddam Hussein was gone and that Iraqis now have an opportunity to create their own democracy. He said he was "cautiously optimistic" that they would resolve their conflicts with discussion and debate, not violence.

"But I also think that policymakers and future presidents need to understand what it is that we are getting ourselves into when we make some of these decisions," he said. "And there might have been other ways for us to accomplish those same goals."

Obama is the only sitting president to appear on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," a venue that Obama aides believe suits him well and gives him an opportunity to show a friendly face to the world. Indeed, Obama's personal approval ratings rank high even though his job approvals are in the low- to mid-40 percent range. An Associated Press-GfK poll this month found that 78 percent found that the phrase "he is a likable person" described Obama very well or somewhat well.

"He doesn't get enough opportunities to be lighthearted in a way he can be with Jay Leno," presidential spokesman Jay Carney said. Leno averages 3.6 million viewers each night and Carney noted that Americans get their information in a variety of ways. "We're interested in reaching people where they are."



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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Obama Plans to Lift Veteran Hiring in Lead Up to Iraq Troop Withdrawal

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Obama administration announced fresh steps Tuesday to lift the hiring of military veterans, who face higher levels of unemployment than other Americans as thousands more prepare to return home from Iraq.

President Barack Obama, currently touring electorally vital western states to convince voters he is doing everything he can to cut high U.S. unemployment, has repeatedly emphasized measures to aid veterans that resonate with many Americans.

He has pledged to use the executive powers of his office to work around Republicans in Congress, who oppose a $447 billion jobs plan he laid out last month because it raises some taxes.

The latest aid for veterans did not require a presidential executive order and was rather low-key.

The first initiative will encourage community health centers to hire 8,000 veterans over the next three years. The second will improve training opportunities for military medics to become physician assistants. They follow news last week from First Lady Michelle Obama that private firms had pledged to hire thousands more veterans over the next two years.

[Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.]

"This is an important step, but it is part of an overall plan," Matt Flavin, director of the White House task force on veterans, told reporters.

Unemployment among veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States stands at 235,000, or 11.7 percent, versus a national jobless rate 9.1 percent.

More veterans are expected to enter the labor force after Obama announced last week he was pulling the remaining 40,000 U.S. troops home from Iraq by the end of the year.

Obama is seeking to bypass congressional Republicans to show voters he is serious about spurring hiring and employment, key goals to securing his reelection next year.

On Monday in Las Vegas, where the housing market collapse hit hardest, Obama took steps to help homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth. On Wednesday, in the swing state of Colorado, he will highlight measures to help students better manage their student loan debt when they graduate.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

Tuesday's action to aid veterans was not done through an executive order. Rather, it took the form of a challenge from the Obama administration to healthcare centers to lift veteran hiring and report back on how many are on the payroll.

Republicans complain Obama's western tour is naked election campaigning that shows that the Democratic president is not serious about working with them to lift economic growth and hiring.



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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Obama Expects Michelle Flack After Wing Joint Dinner

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This wouldn't be the first time President Obama has gotten in trouble with his wife Michelle for eating junk out on the campaign trail, but this time health conscious Michelle may be upset for an entirely different reason.

When the president stopped by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in West L.A. Monday night, he confided to manager David Daviston that he was going to catch flack for it back home. But he didn't expect healthy eater in chief Michelle Obama to be bummed because her husband ordered the distinctly unhealthy "No. 9, 'Country Boy,'" which included three wings and a waffle slathered in butter and syrup. Rather, he thought she'd be irritated that he stopped by the wing joint without her. Even the most diligent health nuts have their guilty pleasures and Roscoe's is one of Michelle's according to Daviston, who says the Obamas have dined with him before. [See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.]

"Yeah, Obama said he knew he was going to be hearing from his wife and daughters when they found out he'd stopped by without them," restaurant manager David Daviston says.

Obama didn't just hoard the chicken for himself though, he also ordered for aides Valerie Jarrett, Jay Carney, David Plouffe, and Marvin Nicholson.

Daviston didn't let Obama leave without a peace offering. The manager sent Obama on his way with a case of blueberry pomegranate Pit Bull energy drinks knowing that chicken and waffles wouldn't last on a trip back to the White House.

"Obama took the drinks for his family, I don't know who'll end up with 'em maybe Secret Service if they need the extra boost," Daviston says. [See political cartoons about President Obama.]

Obama isn't the first commander and chief to stop by Roscoe's, but Daviston says his visit was one of the most relaxed.

"Usually, when the president comes, his Secret Service is really bossy and you don't get to shake the president's hand or anything. This time, Obama just walked around the restaurant, chatting with people. It was a nice visit." [See photos of Michelle Obama.]

One young guest Obama stopped to shake hands with was so moved by the experience that he swore he'd never wash his hand again.



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Obama Tells L.A. Fundraiser He's Kept 60 Percent of 2008 Promises

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - President Barack racked up cash for his re-election campaign at fundraisers in Nevada and California on Monday, declaring that he had kept 60 percent of the promises he made as a candidate in 2008.

Obama is in the middle of a three-day swing through battleground states in the West, a trip that Republicans have blasted as evidence that he cares more about saving his own job than helping unemployed Americans.

Mixing official White House business with stops to raise funds, Obama -- who is far ahead of his rivals in campaign cash -- is working to expand the financial advantage he hopes to maintain next year.

[Vote now: Will Obama be a one-term president?]

As part of his message at one fundraiser, where some 40 donors each paid $35,800 to attend, Obama listed his accomplishments since entering office in 2009 and said he needed more time to finish what his administration had begun.

"A lot of the things that we promised we'd do, we've done," Obama said, citing healthcare reform and ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy preventing gay men and women from serving openly in the U.S. military.

"I carry around a little checklist, and I think we've got about 60 percent of it done so far. And that's not bad for three years, because I need another five."

Obama, whose small audience included actor Will Smith and former basketball star Magic Johnson, touted an initiative he announced earlier to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages.

[Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.]

"That could free up billions of dollars for American consumers who can then shop and go to Will's movies, spend money at whatever business Magic has these days, and could help grow the economy overall," he said.

Obama held a second fundraiser in the Los Angeles area at the home of actress Melanie Griffith and actor Antonio Banderas. Tickets for the roughly 200 guests started at $5,000 a head.

At a fundraiser in Las Vegas, nearly 300 people paid between $1,000 and $35,800 to hear Democratic president draw a contrast between himself and the Republicans running to replace him in next year's election.

"The Republicans in Congress and the Republican candidates for president have made their agenda very clear," Obama said.

[See photos of 2012 GOP hopefuls on the campaign trail]

"They have two basic economic principles: first, tax cuts for the very wealthiest and the biggest corporations...Second is just about every regulation that's out there they want to get rid of -- clean air, clean water -- you name it."

Republicans charge that Obama's administration has instituted too many regulations that strangle businesses and hurt the economy. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has pledged to repeal Obama's healthcare reform law if he prevails over Obama in 2012.



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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Obama Announces Troop Withdrawal, Declares End to Iraq War

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.

Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011. He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to keep several thousand U.S. forces in Iraq as a training force and a hedge against meddling from Iran or other outside forces.

Instead, Obama spoke of a promise kept, a new day for a self-reliant Iraq and a focus on building up the economy at home.

"I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Obama said. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

[Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.]

Obama spoke after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision.

The U.S. military presence in Iraq stands at just under 40,000. All U.S. troops are to exit the country in accordance with a deal struck between the countries in 2008 when George W. Bush was president.

Obama, an opponent of the war from the start, took office and accelerated the end of the conflict. In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.

"Over the next two months our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home," Obama said. "The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops."

More than 4,400 American military members have been killed since the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in March 2003.

The Associated Press first reported last week that the United States would not keep troops in Iraq past the year-end withdrawal deadline, except for some soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy.

In recent months, Washington had been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces.

Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans refused to stay without that guarantee.

Moreover, Iraq's leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the turmoil in the Middle East.]

When the 2008 agreement requiring all U.S. forces to leave Iraq was passed, many U.S. officials assumed it would inevitably be renegotiated so that Americans could stay longer.

The U.S. said repeatedly this year it would entertain an offer from the Iraqis to have a small force stay behind, and the Iraqis said they would like American military help. But as the year wore on and the number of American troops that Washington was suggesting could stay behind dropped, it became increasingly clear that a U.S. troop presence was not a sure thing.

The issue of legal protection for the Americans was the deal-breaker.

Pulling troops out by the end of this year allows both al-Maliki and Obama to claim victory.

Obama kept a campaign promise to end the war, and al-Maliki will have ended the American presence and restored Iraqi sovereignty.

The president used the war statement to once again turn attention back to the economy, the domestic concern that is expected to determine whether he wins re-election next year.

"After a decade of war the nation that we need to build and the nation that we will build is our own, an America that sees its economic strength restored just as we've restored our leadership around the globe."



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Obama Campaign Starts Well

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Home > Politics & Policy > Washington Whispers > Obama Campaign Starts Well

October 21, 2011 Print

Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.

John Zogby on Week: 144

"With hardly any pretense, Team Obama is in campaign mode and enjoying it. The president is on the road in winnable states promoting his jobs bill, taking swings at Republicans, and announcing initiatives like a private-public partnership to hire 25,000 war veterans. The hardest hits taken by the GOP presidential contenders are coming from each other. Team Obama had to love the slugfest debate in Las Vegas where Mitt Romney and Rick Perry bared their teeth and took bites out of each other and the whole crew chopped up Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan. Obama also got some trade agreements passed which may not help him politically, but at least Republicans will find it difficult to criticize him for steering through some free market policies."

This week's grade: C+

Last week's: C-

John Zogby is chairman of the board and chief insights officer for IBOPE Zogby International, a nonpartisan public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. IBOPE Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).

Tags:2012 presidential election, John Zogby, Barack Obama, trade 2011: 2010: 2009: 2008: 2007: 2006:

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Saturday, October 22, 2011

Obama: All US troops leaving Iraq

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21 October 2011 Last updated at 18:28 GMT President Obama: "In the next two months our troops will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home"

All US troops will be pulled out of Iraq by the end of the year, President Barack Obama has announced.

He ordered a complete withdrawal from the country, nearly nine years after the invasion under President George W Bush.

About 39,000 US troops remain in Iraq, down from a peak of 165,000 in 2008.

The US and Iraq were in "full agreement" on how to move forward, Mr Obama said, adding: "The US leaves Iraq with our heads held high."

"That is how America's military efforts in Iraq will end."

Continue reading the main story
While Republicans bicker over the choice of a candidate, President Obama is exciting his own base”

End Quote Mark Mardell North America editor, BBC According to the Department of Defense, there have been 4,408 American military deaths in Iraq since March 2003.

Mr Obama spoke at the White House following a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

He pledged assistance and "a strong and enduring partnership" with Iraqi government.

The US declared the end of its combat mission in Iraq in 2010. The deadline for complete troop withdrawal by end of 2011 was set during former President George W Bush's term in office.

However, the issue of a full pullout had been the subject of an ongoing debate.

Iraqi leaders had wanted 5,000 US troops to remain in a training capacity. But those trainers would not have received immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.

Continue reading the main story War began on 19 March 2003 with 173,000 troops, 150,000 of whom were Americans 670,000 Iraqi security forces were on duty as of March 20114,408 American troops have been killed179 British troops have been killed115,405 Iraqi civilians are estimated to have been killed32,195 American troops have been wounded

Source: Brookings Iraq Index, US Department of Defense

The Pentagon refused to accept that condition, with Defence Secretary Leon Panetta insisting that "we protect and provide the appropriate immunity for our soldiers".

The decision to pull out all US troops suggests no deal could be reached, despite Iraq's desire for continued access to US military expertise, correspondents say.

Earlier this month, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said: "If we do not have agreement on the immunity, there will be no agreement on the number."

Many Iraqis are sensitive about the issue, given the number of civilian shootings involving US troops since the US-led invasion. Private contractors have already lost their immunity.

Mr Obama said the withdrawal comes amid changes in American military priorities, including a troop drawdown in Afghanistan, and new political realities in the Middle East and Africa.

"The tide of war is receding," he said.

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Friday, October 14, 2011

Obama Campaign Raises $70M During Summer

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's campaign raised more than $70 million combined for his re-election and the Democratic Party during the summer, an amount that gives him a clear financial advantage over his Republican rivals even as faces economic and political headwinds.

The fundraising total announced Thursday exceeds a goal set by the campaign of $55 million combined for the July-September fundraising period but is about $16 million less than Obama raised during the April-June quarter.

[Read the latest on Obama's American Jobs Act.]

Obama has dealt with declining poll numbers and a weakened economy during the summer, prompting the president to recently call himself the "underdog" in the presidential race. Campaign officials had said they would raise less because of canceled fundraisers during the summer's debt ceiling negotiations and a typical summertime lull in raising cash.

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in an e-mail to supporters that more than 600,000 people donated to the campaign in the most recent quarter, more than the previous three months. He said more than 980,000 people have given money to the campaign, and in the most recent quarter, 98 percent of the donors gave $250 or less, with an average donation of $56.

"Getting to a million grassroots donors isn't just a huge accomplishment this early in the campaign. It's our answer to our opponents, the press, and anyone who wants to know whether the president's supporters have his back," Messina said.

The numbers include $42.8 million for Obama's campaign and $27.3 million for the Democratic National Committee, which will help Obama's re-election effort next year. Obama raised $86 million combined during the April-June quarter.

[Vote now: Will Obama be a one-term president?]

Obama still leads his Republican rivals in fundraising by tens of millions and can save most of it for next year because he does not face a primary opponent.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the Republican field in fundraising, pulling in more than $18 million in his first three months of campaigning. He is not expected to surpass that mark for the past three months but should lead the pack in cash on hand.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry raised $17 million in his first seven weeks of campaigning and had $15 million in the bank. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a favorite of libertarians, collected $8 million during the summer after raising $4.5 million in his first three months.

The fundraising by the presidential field doesn't include money being raised by independent organizations trying to get their preferred nominee elected by raising and spending unlimited amounts of money to run ads supporting their candidate or attacking a rival. Perry and Romney have at least one super PAC working to enhance their candidacies while another super PAC is backing Obama's re-election bid.

Obama advisers have told donors privately they hope to match or exceed the $750 million they raised in 2008, a staggering amount that would help the president pay for expensive TV ads and a massive get-out-the-vote operation. But to match the amount they raised the last time, Obama would need to bring in nearly $120 million combined for each of the next five quarters to keep pace.

Messina said the campaign was using the money to build its operation. He said the campaign has opened up three new field offices every week during the past three months, and volunteers and organizers have made 3 million phone calls and in-person visits to voters.

[See a slide show of 10 issues driving Obama's re-election campaign.]

"We're up against a Republican Party and special interest-funded groups that will spend hundreds of millions of dollars spreading any message that they believe will defeat the president and roll back our efforts to build a fairer economy that rewards hard work and responsibility, not large corporations," Messina said.



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King Speech Offers Obama a Chance to Talk Race

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President Obama will have an opportunity Sunday not only to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. but to reach out again to African Americans who have been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn.

[Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.]

Obama is scheduled to speak at the official dedication of the King Memorial on the National Mall, the same place where the martyred civil-rights leader gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech in August 1964. The ceremony was originally scheduled for the 48th anniversary date of the King address nearly two months ago, but it was postponed because Hurricane Irene was bearing down on the capital.

Obama is expected to speak about how King's ideals of non-violence, love, justice, and racial equality are still very relevant today. And he is expected to link those ideals to his own use of government to reduce poverty and strengthen the economy. For an interesting analysis of the upcoming speech, read this Huffington Post article from this morning: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/mlk-memorial-dedication-o_n_1010499.html

Obama, the first African American president, has been under pressure from some black leaders and activists, including members of Congress, commentators and academics, to develop an agenda specifically designed to help African Americans. But Obama has refused, arguing that his overall agenda will benefit everyone, including blacks. Democratic strategists also say it would be political suicide for him to favor one racial group over another and thereby risk alienating white voters across the country.

[See a slide show of 10 reasons Obama should be re-elected.]

This is the same "race-neutral" approach that Obama has taken since he took office. In fact, he made these points in an interview with me for my recent book, Family of Freedom: Presidents and African Americans in the White House. He said, "The legacy I hope to leave is a more prosperous, more secure, more confident America. And if that happens, then I think you're also going to see continued improvement in race relations in this country."

The intensity of Obama's support among African Americans has eroded a bit, partly because of high unemployment in the black community, but he remains popular among most black voters.



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Shrink: Obama Suffers 'Father Hunger'

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The abandonment by his father when he was an infant and by his stepfather at age 10 has left President Obama with a "father hunger" that influences everything from why he distances himself from pushy supporters, to his strong desire to compromise and bring people together, to his aggressive campaign to kill Osama bin Laden, says a psychoanalytic book out next week. In Obama on the Couch, George Washington University professor Justin Frank also reveals that Obama has spent much of his life seeking out father figures, but most, like Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Vice President Biden, have disappointed him. "Obama searched for a father, for someone to relate to who could help him—a strong man who knew what to do," Frank writes.

[Check out photos of Obama behind the scenes.]

This is Frank's second psychoanalytical book about a president. While a sympathetic look at Obama, it follows Bush on the Couch, a sharply critical analysis that suggested then President George W. Bush was disturbed. In that book, he predicted that someone like Obama—"completely different," "someone not ... white"—would succeed Bush. What the nation ended up with, however, is "an almost tragic figure," Frank writes.

The general theme is that Obama has been affected both by being biracial and by the abandonment of his two dads during his childhood. The result is that he is overly protective of his own nuclear family, desires greatly to see national unity, and yet harbors anger that he took out on bin Laden. [Vote now: Will Obama be a one-term president?]

Take for example Obama's earlier willingness to compromise with Republicans, upsetting his liberal base. Here Frank cites the negative influence of his parents, especially his mom, who often pressed him to do better in school. "He hates being pushed by supporters who want him to make good on his promises of universal healthcare and care for the poor, something that represents his mother and how she pushed him to study harder," Frank writes. And when he ignores his base, he is emulating his father, expressing annoyance but not worried they will desert him.

As for bin Laden, Frank writes that Obama's inner anger emerged: "He was able to pursue his action against bin Laden in part because bin Laden offered a displacement figure for Obama's rage toward his own parents." [See a slide show of 10 issues driving Obama's re-election campaign.]

Frank also calls Obama scared of the type of radical change he advocated in 2008. "He wants to be the father who makes change safe, the person he has waited for his entire life."



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