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Wednesday, August 31, 2010

• The President addresses the nation on the end of the combat mission in Iraq from the Oval Office.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

• The President talks with the troops at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 Arun Chaudhary is the official White House videographer 

Earlier in the week on Monday, August 31, the President called King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in the region, including direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians and the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.

* The President was briefed on the oil platform fire in the Gulf and the government response today by Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan. 

12:20 P.M. EDT

MR. GIBBS:  Good afternoon.  Let me begin with one just quick statement on Hurricane Earl.

The President is closely monitoring and aggressively preparing for the storm as it continues to head toward the East Coast.  On its current track, Hurricane Earl could approach the coast of North Carolina by late tonight or early Friday morning.

Last night the President signed a pre-landfall emergency declaration for the state of North Carolina, ensuring the state has what it needs beforehand.  And FEMA has already moved teams and supplies into states along the East Coast to provide support and resources as needed.

As you know, yesterday Administrator Fugate provided the President with an update, and FEMA is in close contact and coordination with the governors and their teams up and down the eastern seaboard to ensure that they have the support they need should the storm make landfall later tonight or tomorrow.

I do expect that the President will speak with the FEMA administrator again today, and we will let you know when that happens.*

Yes, ma’am.

Q    The Mideast.  Do you have any sort of update to offer on how the talks are going so far?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let me give you just a little bit from -- well, obviously, as you all know, the talks are ongoing.  We expect that at some point, I would say in the next hour or so, Senator Mitchell, our special envoy for Middle East peace, will conduct a briefing on what has transpired today.

I would say that the President was encouraged in his meetings yesterday by the very serious attitude that each of the leaders brought about these talks and about a long-term lasting peace for the Middle East.  All view this as a tremendously important opportunity.  I think you all saw the pictures last evening and the powerful statements that were made by the leaders in the Middle East. 

I would also say that the President, as he did in the Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, remind everyone that there are still deep divisions.  There are still years of mistrust to overcome.  That’s not going to be wiped away in one meeting or in one day, and we understand that.

The failure, though -- the failure to try is not something the President wants to do.

Q    It seems like one of those deep divisions that you speak of is Hamas.  How does the administration plan to deal with them?  They don’t recognize Israel.  They’re promising more attacks.

MR. GIBBS:  I’m sorry --

Q    Is there a plan for dealing with Hamas?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, why don’t I defer questions about what transpired today in the talks until Senator Mitchell has an opportunity to answer some of those questions at the conclusion of the meetings today.  All right?

Yes, sir.

Q    Robert, a question about Christy Romer’s remarks yesterday.  She said -- I have it in front of me -- “The only surefire ways for policymakers to substantially increase aggregate demand in the short run are for the government to spend more and tax less.  In my view, we should be moving forward in both fronts.”

That sounds like setting a stage for a second stimulus.

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let me -- I’ll be somewhat broad in my answer and a little -- let’s go back to -- well, both what the President said and what I said on Monday.  And I think the actions and the steps that this administration has taken over the course of the past two years -- first and foremost, the President is -- and the team are looking at ideas.  And he enumerated some of those parameters, including infrastructure.  And certainly in terms of cutting taxes, there’s a bill pending before the United States Senate that the President -- you’ve heard the President speak on many occasions that would, indeed, cut taxes on small business. 

I think if you look at -- if you go back to a year ago, outside of the Recovery Act, we pursued and the President signed legislation that enabled Cash for Clunkers.  The President spoke in December of last year about targeted measures that can be taken to help the recovery.  Those have included the bipartisan HIRE Act, which helps cut taxes for those that do add employees.  We have expanded -- we’ve given states more money to ensure that things like teachers and firefighters weren’t laid off.  We’ve expanded and continued unemployment insurance, and a small business bill has passed the House.

So look, we will continue to look at and take steps that are, as I talked about on Monday, that are targeted in nature, to help continue the recovery and to help create an environment where the private sector is adding jobs.

Q    I think we are all aware of the steps that have been taken.  What Dr. Romer seems to be saying here is that a lot more spending needs to come to make this economic recovery increase.

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I would -- I’d point you to what the President said on Monday.  I don’t think that is -- I don’t think that is -- I think -- I would -- again, I would point you to what the President said is -- as ideas that are being looked at.  And as I said here on Monday, some big new stimulus plan is not in the offing.

Q    How would you interpret, then, what she said?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I would interpret what she said to be very much in line with what the President said on Monday.

Q    Following on that, on jobs, what does the President expect out of the jobless numbers tomorrow?  And has the economic team come up with some of those new ideas that you talked about?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let me take the second question first, and that is those meetings and those discussions continue to take place.  I’m not going to get ahead of any of those ultimate decisions.

It’s probably -- well, it is not helpful for me to speculate on the jobs numbers.  I say this for the benefit of anybody that is watching -- I do not know the numbers, I will not know the numbers, just so anything that is said in the next several minutes has nothing to do with my knowledge about the numbers.  I do that because everybody gets nervous that if I make a comment, somehow I knew the number.

Q    There’s an oil-production platform in the Gulf that’s on fire.  Does it present any of the same problems of the BP rig?  It’s obviously not under a moratorium.  Do you know anything more about the accident?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let me just say -- here’s what I know before we came     out here.  This is a -- I’m told this is a production platform about 100 miles off the coast.  I am told the depth of water is about 340 feet.  So this is not a -- this is not a deepwater facility.

As I understand it, the well was not in active production.  I will in some ways reiterate what I think the Coast Guard has said in a statement that they’ve released, and that is that they responded to the preliminary reports of a fire onboard an oil platform in the Gulf.  The initial report that we got were that 13 persons -- 13 people were on the platform.  They are accounted for; one is injured and is on his way out of that area.

Two Coast Guard cutters, multiple Coast Guard aircraft were en route.  One Coast Guard helicopter was on the scene.  We will continue to gather information as we respond.  We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water.

Q    Is the President convinced that the inspection of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico is moving fast enough?

MR. GIBBS:  I have not gotten a recent update on that.  I will try to get one.  Obviously we have taken some -- we took a series of steps after the BP incident, primarily around deepwater drilling.  Let me not go too much further than what I have.  And if the situation warrants, we’ll certainly update that.

I will say the President was in a meeting in the Situation Room.  I don’t know if he’s been notified.  John Brennan, who was in that meeting, does know about the incident.  I just don’t -- before somebody asks -- I don’t know whether or not --

Q    What’s the Sit Room meeting on?

MR. GIBBS:  It’s a national security meeting -- that John had or had not had a chance to discuss that with the President.

Q    So who would be in charge -- just following up on the Coast Guard?

MR. GIBBS:  I do not know who is on the scene, but you can -- the Coast Guard obviously -- the production facility is located in federal waters.  They are the ones that are in response.  I don’t know if there’s -- who the highest-ranking person is on the scene.

Q    And just following up on the Middle East peace talks, what does the President see as his role going forward now?  Does he feel like he’s appropriately set the stage and now it’s Secretary Clinton who is taking the lead?  And if there’s additional talks, say, hosted by Egypt, would the President be the one who would be attending, or is he stepping back now and letting --

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t want to make any scheduling pronouncements.  I’ll do this in a couple ways.  Obviously Secretary Clinton has -- is conducting and is the lead on this as she conducts these meetings today.  Obviously our special envoy, George Mitchell, has spent a lot of time in the region, as has the Secretary. 

Look, we have said this from the very beginning, and as I mentioned the other day, one of the very first things the President did upon walking into the Oval Office that very first, full morning was to make calls to leaders in the region, some of whom obviously were here yesterday.  I think this is true historically, and that is when we are actively involved and engaged, there’s a better chance for peace.  That’s been President Obama’s viewpoint and the whole team’s viewpoint.

So I can’t speak to what our involvement would be at different points in this -- leave that for a sort of situational discussion.  But obviously we have over the past many months been actively involved and engaged and will continue to be actively involved and engaged, as the best way to make progress, we have always felt, is to do so the same way they’re doing today, and that is to sit at that table and have direct talks.

Q    And does the President see this scenario differently and more optimistically than previous administrations, A, because of more stability in the West Bank, or because of the potential mutual threat from Iran becoming nuclear?  How does he see this as any different than previous administrations?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, I’d say first and foremost, I think the President felt that the meetings yesterday, as he said, were productive and believed that each of the leaders was genuine and serious about seeking peace.  At the same time, we understand that this is -- as I said earlier, this is something that has eluded generations.  We’re mindful of that.

So we will stay engaged.  We will do what is necessary, and then we hope that each side will continue to take steps necessary to make -- build confidence and make these talks productive.

Q    Does he believe that the mutual -- potential mutual threat by a nuclear Iran is helping bring these two sides together?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, we have always maintained that peace was in the best interest of each of these entities involved, regardless of anything else in the Middle East.  I think that was true when the President first came in and certainly is true and is governing our actions today.

Yes, sir.

Q    The numbers for members of Congress have gone through the floor in recent weeks, for the Democrats.  Why do you think that is?  And why hasn’t the President done more during the recess in August basically to try to shore them up?  It looks like they’re in a terrible spot.  The numbers for members of Congress --

MR. GIBBS:  Which numbers?

Q    The polling numbers for people who are running for office.  Democrats’ numbers have nosedived during the month of August.

MR. GIBBS:  You sound like a radio guy when you’re doing the -- nosedive --

Q    I could give you a chart, but you get the idea.

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, look, we are -- the President will continue to make a very active case for the steps that the administration has taken and why we have to continue to move forward on that path.

Bill, I --

Q    He didn’t do much during August.  Why not?

MR. GIBBS:  I will say this, Bill, the President has been fairly active in both campaigning and in raising money.  What the President is helping the Democratic National Committee do is something that the Democratic National Committee has never done in supporting Senate and congressional candidates.  And it’s something we’ll continue to do.

Q    What is it that they’ve never done?

MR. GIBBS:  The level of support.

Q    Oh.

MR. GIBBS:  Yes.

Q    Robert, following up on what Ann was saying about the economy, not about the numbers tomorrow, but the snapshot that we got today of the new unemployment claims down, but also productivity down and labor costs up -- what does that snapshot tell you about the state of the recovery?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think -- let me give you an answer that’s not necessarily based on one unemployment claims report today because I am somewhat hesitant to get into what are always going to be the week-to-week swings of unemployment claims.

I think it is safe to say that we are in a markedly different and better position than we were a year or a year and a half ago.  Our economy is expanding.  We’ve created about 600,000 private sector jobs throughout the course of this year. 

As I have said earlier and I think as the President has said, there’s no question that the trajectory of that recovery based on events, particularly in Greece, have changed that trajectory from where we were at some point in the spring.

We have to continue to be mindful of whatever steps might be necessary to continue that recovery.

Q    What are those?  What do you do to turn it around or get it going in a stronger, higher trajectory?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, that’s some of the discussions that the economic team is having.  And I’d point you to what the President said in the Rose Garden about that on Monday.

Q    Okay, and one other thing on FEMA.  You said FEMA is moving teams along the East Coast and supplies.  Can you give us more details on where and what supplies?

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, let me get a comprehensive list and we’ll send it around to you at the end of this.

Q    You just said and the President said on Monday that you all are considering a range of new items on the economy to try to turn things around.  Assuming time is of the essence, can you give us a sense of how soon you might roll some of these out, and whether you would do it piece by piece or --

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t know that those -- obviously they’re still doing meetings and discussions on this.  I don’t have any scheduling updates.

Q    Would you agree that it’s something that you’d rather do sooner rather than later?  Or is it a matter of -- would you do it piece by piece?  Or do you want to roll out --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I think the final decisions would have to be made before I’d have a good understanding to be able to talk about it.

Q    Given that so much of recovery has to do with confidence and how people feel about the economy, can you talk about what your strategy is in terms of how to talk about the economy, tempering the balance between being realistic but also trying to convey confidence?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think you’ve heard the President -- I would point to what the President said in his speech to the nation on Iraq, that we are and always have been a very special country.  We are in charge of our own destiny.

I think you’ve heard the President over the past many weeks talk about the steps that we’ve taken, and the fact that if you look at, again, where we were at the end of 2008 and even the first quarter or so in 2009, we’ve made some important progress.  But there’s important progress yet to make. 

That’s why the President continues to look at ideas that might help create an environment for more private sector hiring.  That’s why we’ll continue to look at and make investments that are important in creating the jobs of the future. 

I think you’ll hear the President talk about a combination of that, expressing confidence that we are headed in the right direction, albeit not as quickly as anybody, including the President, would like to see.

Q    Would the President tell people they should save right now because we’re in a trying time?  Or they should spend because the economy is strong and it’s helpful --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think the President would say that -- I’m not going to get into individual purchasing decisions.  I think the President would say that we are making progress, that our economy is stronger than it’s been in a while.  And we have to continue to be mindful of and try to make progress on making that -- making this recovery one that’s even stronger.

There’s no doubt, Savannah, there are -- the depths of what we entered are unlike anything that we’ve experienced since the Great Depression.  And we’ve got a big hole to fill and a lot of jobs to create to put the people that are -- that want to work fully back to work.  And that’s what the President’s goal obviously is.

Q    And then real quick, GM put off its IPO and road show until after the election.  I wonder if the White House or the administration had anything to do with that timing decision?

MR. GIBBS:  The White House is not involved in and not going to discuss IPO based on regulators watching what people do and say around IPOs.

Jonathan.

Q    Let me come at this economic question a different way.  Congress is going to be back in Washington in a week and a half.  Beside the small business bill, what is on the President’s must-do list before they’re back out and campaigning?  Because they don’t have a lot of time.

MR. GIBBS:  No, they don’t.  And I know you caveated by saying you assume small business.  But I -- this is something the President has talked a lot about.  I’m going to spend another 30 seconds doing it one more time because I -- what this town does a lot is, okay, I know what you’re doing now, but what are you going to do next.  I point out that the article that I held up here just the other day -- small businesses have delayed their hiring decisions, small businesses have delayed their expansion decisions, small businesses have delayed their investment decisions, waiting to see what the Senate will do on the small business bill.

So I don’t want to discount that the engine of our economy -- as the President said, 60 percent of the job losses come from small business.  There are some concrete steps that we can and should take when Congress does come back in a week and a half to change that.

Obviously the President is mindful of the tax cuts for the middle class that expire at the end of the year, and the President will fight to ensure that those middle-class tax cuts are protected.  I think that is something that we’ll obviously have a fairly robust discussion on, not just in the remaining weeks of Congress but throughout the election and maybe after the election.

Q    From what I understand, Nancy Pelosi is worried that as the tax cut debate goes on this fall in the Senate that the White House will cave to pressures from some moderate Democrats to just extend all the tax cuts for another year.  Can you reassure her of that?

MR. GIBBS:  I like that you’re my Nancy Pelosi go-between, Jonathan.  (Laughter.)  I will reiterate what we’ve said throughout this debate, and that is the President believes that the tax cuts for those in the middle class should be maintained, they should be kept.  The money that would be spent to keep those tax breaks for people that make more than $250,000 a year -- and let’s be clear that the majority of the money that would be spent next year on maintaining those tax cuts are for people that make more than a million dollars a year -- okay?  That is a statistical fact. 

There are -- if the Republicans are bent on spending an additional $35 billion, I think there are many economists and certainly the Congressional Budget Office has looked at many ways that could stimulate the economy -- extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest, those that are making that million dollars, is the least stimulative way to impact our economy. 

So we are focused first and foremost and only on extending tax cuts for the middle class.

Q    And one quick question --

MR. GIBBS:  Please relay that back to the Speaker.  (Laughter.) 

Q    All right.  You’ve got a bunch of openings -- new chairman of the CEA, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Comptroller of the Currency.

MR. GIBBS:  I’m sorry, Jonathan, the CEA thing is not going to work out, but -- (laughter.)

Q    God, if you were even thinking about that --

MR. GIBBS:  Amy was supposed to tell you that before the briefing started. 

Q    Do you have timing on any of these --

MR. GIBBS:  No.  As I said earlier in the week, I didn’t expect that CEA and Consumer would be done this week.  It’s not.  Obviously Dr. Romer’s tenure concludes tomorrow.  I do not have a timeline for those two openings.

Mark.

Q    Robert, can you say what the NSC meeting is about today?

MR. GIBBS:  A series of national security issues.

Q    Routine?  Or urgent?

MR. GIBBS:  Some -- no, I would not -- I don’t want to get everybody nervous.  It’s not a -- it’s something that the President does fairly regularly.

Q    Robert, in his speech on Tuesday night, President Obama said that there could be patriots on both sides of the Iraq issue.  Does he believe there could be patriots on both sides of health care issue, government spending, taxes and the like?

MR. GIBBS:  Sure.  I mean, look, first, inherent in your question, Mark, is that I don’t think that if the -- I don’t -- the President is not going to question the patriotism of those that have a different view than him.  I don’t -- that’s never been -- they may have policy disagreements, but I don’t think, based on those disagreements -- at least the President would not make the argument that somebody is more or less patriotic based on the fact that they share his position on a certain policy issue.

Q    But he accuses Republicans of game-playing, of holding issues hostage.  I mean, that certainly casts a dispersion --

MR. GIBBS:  That’s true, too.

Q    Well, can you have it both ways?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let’s take, for instance, what the President said on Monday about the small business bill.  The President asked the Republican Party to end the blockade on needed and necessary aid for small businesses.  What I think is somewhat undeniable is they’ve held up that bill.  I don’t -- if the Republicans are proud of holding that bill up, I don’t think they should have any problem with the President mentioning that they’re holding that bill up.

I do think that’s somewhat if not markedly different from questioning their patriotism for holding up the bill, which I don’t think you’ll hear the President do.

Q    And on a lighter note, any comment from the President on the reviews of the new Oval Office décor?  (Laughter.) 

MR. GIBBS:  I have not heard him give a review on the reviews.  I don’t know --

Q    Was he involved in picking the color scheme?  (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS:  I will tell you, Mark, that is not something -- I know you’ll be surprised that I was not consulted stylistically. 

Q    Are you officially neutral?  (Laughter.) 

Q    Actually, you would match very well.  (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS:  I’m trying for one more day in the summer, so don’t read anything into my suit.  (Laughter.)

Q    Great headline in the Style section -- “The Audacity of Taupe.”  (Laughter.) 

MR. GIBBS:  I think I heard Burton say that first, so I don’t know if he got some sort of a credit on that.

Julianna.

Q    The rig explosion today -- it is in shallow water, but would it have any impact on the current deepwater drilling moratorium?

MR. GIBBS:  Not that I know of.  And I say that largely because obviously we are still trying to gather information about the events that are happening at that site right now.  I think obviously there is a process at the Department of Interior around the existing deepwater moratorium.  Hard to match those two issues up based on the fact that we don’t know a ton at the moment.

Q    You don’t know if the President has been briefed on this yet, but is it possible that --

MR. GIBBS:  My sense is that Brennan will likely have told him at the end of that meeting, but I don’t know that for sure yet.

Q    But the current investigation into the Deepwater Horizon explosion, is it possible that that could be brought in -- does this raise new concerns about shallow-water drilling?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me do this.  Let me get -- I will go back and get as much of an update as we can throughout the day and see if any of that changes.  I don’t -- at this point, based on what we know, I don’t want to marry those two up.  I will double-check today. 

Q    So tomorrow is Dr. Romer’s last day.  The White House had said that you had hoped to fill that vacancy by her last day.  With the jobs report tomorrow, with the economic team trying -- working to come up with new measures, is there -- is it at all significant that there is a void now on the economic --

MR. GIBBS:  No -- look, obviously there are -- we have a pretty full and robust team that will meet with the President in about 15 minutes.  Obviously as soon as we have an announcement on a CEA replacement we’ll let you know.

Q    Will there be an acting director in the interim?

MR. GIBBS:  There could be.  But again, I don’t -- none of those, that I know of, none of those final decisions have been made.

Q    And then one last question.  Larry Summers and Tom Donilon are going to China next week.  Could you talk on what’s on the agenda, what’s the purpose of that visit?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me -- I think we’re going to put out some stuff on that in a little bit, so let me wait for that.

Q    Robert --

Q    It’s you or Mitchell.

MR. GIBBS:  What’s that?

Q    It’s you or Mitchell.

MR. GIBBS:  I understand what you’ve chosen there, Bill.  I don’t take it personally.

Q    Robert, you’ve said both that there’s -- no new big stimulus plans are in the offing; on the other hand, the economic team is looking for new ideas.  Has the President come to any conclusions about whether any new policy initiatives, other than the ones that are stalled in the Senate, could affect the economy between now and Labor Day?  Just some basic --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, that’s -- let me, first of all, in that first part, when I say -- inherent in the first part of your question is, as I said and as the President said on Monday, we are mindful of, as I listed earlier, targeted measures that can or should be taken in order to continue a trajectory of recovery.  Obviously, again, Mara, those meetings are ongoing in identifying and looking at a whole host of those ideas.

Q    I guess what I’m confused about is, I mean, the meetings are ongoing.  The economy has been stalling for a while.  You have a very short time frame here.  Isn’t there some sense of urgency about getting new targeted initiatives if you’re going to have some?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me speak broadly.  There’s been a sense of urgency about the economy since the moment we walked in here.  Look, I think we have had to and we’ve taken some extraordinary steps to ensure that a recession did not become the next Great Depression.

Obviously we are mindful that -- as I think I said this the other day, that we are -- we do not want to see -- this is not a purely academic exercise.  So obviously, as Jonathan mentioned, Congress is soon -- will soon be back in town, and --

Q    Not for very long.

MR. GIBBS:  No, not for very long, but obviously I anticipate that some of those decisions will get made -- will be made before that happens.

Q    And just to follow up on a specific piece of that.  You said that the Republicans were -- are hell bent on -- that wasn’t your exact words, on adding $35 million -- on $35 million to the deficit.  There are more targeted ways to do that that are more stimulative than extending the tax cuts for the rich.  How open is the President to a payroll tax holiday for employers and/or employees as one of those targeted things?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I’m just going to say, Mara, that obviously the team is looking at a whole host of issues.  I don’t think it makes sense for me to get into what those are or might be individually.

Q    Is the President tomorrow going to make any public statements about the job numbers?

MR. GIBBS:  I believe that’s the case, yes.

Q    And some Dems seem to be worried that the President doesn’t seem focused enough on the economy and creating jobs.  What do you say to those Democrats who have those concerns?

MR. GIBBS:  Like who?

Q    Democrats I’ve talked to, Democratic aides on the Hill who say that they feel like the President isn’t focused enough.  This week, of course, was dominated by foreign policy mostly.  He inserted some comments about the economy in his Iraq speech.  But those are some of the concerns that I’m hearing.

MR. GIBBS:  Look, again, I don’t know who exactly you talked to but, again, this President has been focused on dealing with the economic problems that we faced the moment we came in here.  We faced a housing crisis, a crisis in financial stability.  Eight million jobs had been lost; the economy was contracting.  For years, while productivity was up, paychecks were not.

The President has had to deal with each and every one of those issues.  We’ve made progress on reducing foreclosures.  We have gone from an economy that was contracting to one that’s expanding.  We’ve gone from an economy that was shedding jobs to an economy that is creating jobs.  So we have taken the necessary steps, many of them extraordinary in changing the direction of our economy.  And the President will continue to dedicate more time to that than anything else on his schedule. 

I will say this, because the President is giving a speech on Iraq does not mean that the President isn’t dealing with the economy, just like when there is something to deal with in foreign policy or in the economy, it doesn’t mean he’s not dealing with something internationally.

I mean, what comes with this job is -- well, I’ll say this.  I have only worked here since sometime in the afternoon of the 20th of January 2009.  I’ve yet to come here where somebody greeted me at the door and said, good news, there’s only one problem today.  Trust me, every morning I pull up in hopes that someone does greet me like that.  I don’t anticipate that it will happen.

Q    Robert, one more on the economy and the measures that you’re contemplating.  Without getting into specifics, has the President looked at the numbers, which do show a pretty dramatic slowdown in the recovery, and said, we need something dramatic here?  Is something dramatic needed?

MR. GIBBS:  I think the President continues to ask the economic team for what ideas they believe can help the economy now.  Look, we have seen -- look, I mean, part of this obviously is there’s no doubt, as I said earlier, that the economic growth trajectory is not what it was in the spring.  That’s what the President has asked folks to look at.

Some of these -- some of the measures that we see, and it’s why I didn’t want to talk specifically about one week’s unemployment claims -- if you look at car -- if you were to open the paper today and look at car sales, car sales today are compared to -- they usually do year-to-year comparisons.  GM car sales down 28 percent or whatever they were.  Those are comparisons to last August when Cash for Clunkers was there, when we were selling cars not at a rate of 11 or 11.5 million a year, but at 14 million a year, which is obviously what we would strive to get to, but not where we are economically. 

So certainly the President has throughout the past many weeks kept up to speed and up to date on the latest economic data.  Some of it has shown, as I said, there’s -- while there’s a change in growth, you look at something like yesterday where I think it’s -- without divining everything that happens in the stock market, that you had a pretty big rally fueled largely on a manufacturing index that showed, for instance, employment at a rate that folks hadn’t seen on that index since the early 1980s.

Q    It sounds like a no, that the data doesn’t require something dramatic or eye-catching?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, I do not anticipate something that rivals the extraordinary measures that the President has already taken.

Yes, ma’am.

Q    May I follow up?  You do seem to be laying the ground for modest changes.  Peter Orszag said if you extended over 10 years all the 2001, 2003, it would cost $700 billion.  But arguably, if you only do it for one year, it costs $70 billion.  Is that affordable?

MR. GIBBS:  Are you talking about for the upper end, or are you talking about --

Q    All.

MR. GIBBS:  All of them.  Again, let’s take -- I think if you break out one year of -- I think if you were to extend the upper-end tax cuts for next year, I think the price tag is $35 billion.

Q    Okay, so that’s even --

Q    Would he veto a bill that has them in it, by the way?

MR. GIBBS:  I wouldn’t get into a hypothetical like that.  The President does not support extending the tax cuts for those that make, on average, about a million dollars a year.  Those are -- again, I think it’s pretty safe to say -- I don’t think I’m being malicious to the Republican argument -- that they’re concerned about spending, right?  That does not seem to necessarily carry over to tax cuts for those that make a million dollars a year. 

The President believes that we should focus our tax relief on the middle class, certainly, one, because we can’t afford to make reckless economic decisions to extend tax cuts for people that weren’t asking for them and didn’t need them.  And secondly, even if you did want to do something like that, there are, as I said earlier, far more -- far better ways, far more stimulative ways to impact the economy. 

Q    And just one -- I’m sorry -- just to follow up on a question by Mara about a payroll tax holiday.  When you mentioned new hires incentives, that expires.  But would you be in favor of an additional extension of that?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, the team is looking at a range of ideas.  I, for a lot of reasons, don’t want to get into each individual one.

Peter.

Q    Thank you, Robert.  In his Iraq speech, the President mentioned that the economic recovery is a central preoccupation.  How are Americans to know that that is his primary concern?  Does he need to -- in terms of the way he prioritizes his time, can he show Americans that the economy is his primary preoccupation?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I don’t -- having been here since the beginning, there isn’t an issue that the President has spent more time on than the economy, than on the economic recovery, than on financial stability, than on housing, than on -- I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

Q    If I could follow up.  But when Americans see the President travel abroad, when Americans see him take a vacation -- not that he doesn’t deserve vacations, as do many people in this room -- (laughter) -- but might they draw the conclusion --

MR. GIBBS:  That’s an interesting way of phrasing it.

Q    Surely the people in the first two rows.  (Laughter.)  But don’t they --

MR. GIBBS:  Careful, careful.  Getting into row warfare.  (Laughter.) 

Q    Might they draw conclusions that it’s not the kind of -- it’s maybe -- they don’t necessarily see the things you’re talking about, how the President multitasks?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, again -- I’m trying to think of an example that would help illuminate -- I mean, let’s take for instance -- I think everybody would say getting our policy right in Afghanistan is very important.  I think that is of concern to many in this country.

When the President was undergoing 13 different two- to three-hour meetings on that, the notion that somehow that’s the only thing he was doing -- again, I can hardly wait for the day in which there’s only one problem, there’s only one meeting, it’s only on one topic.  It’s not true today.  The President is -- will come from the Situation Room, I think the schedule says he’s going to eat lunch, which he should do, and then he goes into an economic meeting.

So, again, that’s not to say -- it’s just hard for me to I guess craft into words exactly the fact that, again, he -- there are pressing problems domestically.  The President obviously is the Commander-in-Chief and has to make decisions about our foreign policy.  But, Peter, having been here from the beginning, there is not an issue or set of issues the President has spent more time on than dealing with the economic situation that we walked into the 20th of January 2009.

Q   Has the President made any plans on how he’ll commemorate 9/11, and is a trip to Ground Zero a possibility?

MR. GIBBS:  I do not have -- I have not looked at the block ahead.  Let me go do that.  I honestly don’t know the answer to that.

Q    Is it -- I mean, are you looking at a number of places?  He’ll stay here or go abroad?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me go look at the block so I don’t -- so I have some information on that.

April.

Q    Robert, on jobs, Gallup just came out with a poll on August underemployed numbers, said the numbers went up from 18.4 percent to 18.6 percent -- underemployed meaning those without full-time work.  Is that included in what the President is trying to do to get people back to work?  And talk to me about how.

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I think, again, creating -- what you have seen happen in this economy is productivity has increased; what -- temporary work has increased, meaning employers have taken the steps of adding hours but not necessarily adding additional full-time workers.  There are any number of people that, in the monthly employment survey, are included in -- would be included in a group of people that would like to work more if they could.  That’s why you typically hear that -- that’s why, typically, on a day like tomorrow, you’ll hear an unemployment number and an underemployment number -- those that would like to have additional work but can’t find it.

Obviously those are just as much a focus as those that don’t have work and need it, because inherent in solving either of -- inherent in dealing with either of those two groups is greater full-time employment and that’s certainly what the President and the team are looking through.

Q    And also, on this platform -- this production platform explosion, would you talk to me about how and why Justice is involved in this right now?

MR. GIBBS:  Why Justice is involved?

Q    I understand Justice is looking into this, they’re investigating this --

MR. GIBBS:  April, I don’t have any information on that.  The information I got was from the Coast Guard.  So I will go back and see if there are -- if there’s Justice involvement in what’s happened today.

Q    And is the administration concerned at all by the fact that Mariner Energy has links to BP when this whole situation happened?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I don’t want to make any broad statements on today’s -- on what I know about today’s incident when I came out here.  Let me go back -- I think I said I’d go back and look and just get a better or fuller update throughout the day and see what’s going on.

Margaret.

Q    Thanks, Robert.  I wanted to return to the subject of the Mideast peace process and try to flesh out which calls the President has made, especially for Arab support, beyond obviously Egypt and Jordan.  Specifically, has he been in contact with Saudi leaders, Kuwaitis, Moroccans, Qataris?  Can you tell us who he’s talked to and what their feedback has been?

MR. GIBBS:  I believe he has talked with King Abdullah recently.  I don’t know the -- I can get the exact date of that and --

Q    I think a readout on that would actually be really helpful. 

MR. GIBBS:  Let me -- what’s today?  It would have happened earlier in the week, so let me --

Q    Prior to everyone’s arrival?

MR. GIBBS:  I think that -- if I’m not mistaken, on -- Monday was the 31st, right?  They all sort of blur together.  I believe that they spoke on Air Force One on Monday.  But I will -- let me go see if there’s a readout of it.

Q    Since his meetings yesterday, since his bilats yesterday, and in the course of today where presumably he will -- when he talks with George Mitchell and get a readback on what’s going on -- do you expect ongoing telephone calls to leaders --

MR. GIBBS:  Let me do this.  Let me get a better answer to that based on discussing with him after he’s had a chance to talk with Senator Mitchell.  Look, obviously both Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell have been deeply, deeply involved in this, so let me include what their activity might be as well.

Yes, ma’am.

Q    Thank you, Robert.  Just to follow up on that, the Arab Peace Initiative, which Jordan’s King Abdullah mentioned last night, is an initiative that Saudi King Abdullah put together.  Was he at all -- was he invited to attend these talks, or was he consulted beforehand?

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, again, I believe they spoke Monday or Tuesday.  I’m going to go -- let me go back and find -- and we will try to find a --

Q    -- that would just be a day before the talks would take place --

MR. GIBBS:  Let me get a better readout on exactly what was said and what might have transpired.

Q    But you don’t know if he was invited to --

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t know directly the answer to that but let me find out.

Yes, ma’am.

Q    Thanks, Robert.  Do you have any details about the dinner last night?  The Israelis released that Prime Minister Netanyahu gave some gift of peace to the President.

MR. GIBBS:  There was -- I don’t know how to describe it.  I’ll go back and -- it was in the Oval, in the outer Oval last night, so I can go back and look at what that gift was.

Q    Just a couple things.  One, to clarify, you said -- this is a different track than Mara took -- you said that some big new stimulus plan is not in the offing, but the economic team is looking at a host of issues.  That host of issues -- the exception is a big stimulus?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, I think it’s just safe to characterize -- I’ll characterize it today the way I characterized it on Monday, and I think the way the President characterized it on Monday, and that is targeted ideas to continue to spur the recovery and create an environment for private sector hiring. 

Q    So something even resembling what we saw when you all first came to office is off the table?

MR. GIBBS:  I have not been in a meeting where that’s been discussed.

Q    And then the other thing I wanted to ask was, Bill mentioned the polling numbers in a nosedive, as he put it.  Does the White House believe the President can arrest those numbers, or at least help?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I will say this.  I think the President -- I’d go back to one of the answers I gave Bill, which is the unprecedented amount of effort and support that the DNC is providing to congressional candidates, to each of the Senate and congressional committees.  Look, I don’t -- we saw this last year.  This is -- I think the President will help make the case, but I don’t -- I do not anticipate that -- look, go back and look at polling from 2009 about -- in a lot of these races, there are issues that are not going to be decided either in support of or opposition to the President.

Bill.

Q    Robert, for the last four days, Glenn Beck has criticized the President for believing in liberation theology, which he calls a Marxist form of Christianity.  I’ve got two questions.  One, does the President, to your knowledge, even know what liberation theology is?

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t know the answer to that.  I will say this, Bill, a crude paraphrasing of an old quote, and that is people are entitled to their own opinion, as ill-informed as it may be, but they’re not entitled to their own facts.  The President is a committed mainstream Christian.  I don’t -- I have no evidence that would guide me as to what Glenn Beck would have any genuine knowledge as to what the President does or does not believe.

Q    When is he going back to church?

Q    So this Marxist form of Christianity --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I can only imagine where Mr. Beck conjured that from.

Kirk.

Q    Thanks, Robert.  Would the President be pleased if on Election Day people say -- people base their vote on whether they’re better off -- if they’re better off on Election Day than when then-Senator Obama was elected?

MR. GIBBS:  I think that’s one of the measures that people will generally use.  I think that -- this may not be true for every person, obviously, but there are -- I think, Kirk, if you look at where our economy will likely be November the 2nd of 2010 and where it was that beautiful November day in 2008, they’re very different places.  Again, we’ll do a little of the jobs numbers -- I don’t know the jobs numbers -- that’s why --

Q    Do you know the jobs numbers?  (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS:  I can’t tell you.  I think I used this statistic earlier in the briefing, that we’ve created 600,000 private sector jobs in this year alone.  To take your point of comparison, in the previous -- in the last six months of 2008, we lost 3 million jobs.  So I think -- I don’t think there’s any doubt there’s been a change in that trajectory.  I will say this, Kirk -- and I think I’ve said this on a number of answers today -- that is not satisfying to the President because obviously our economy has to grow more, we have to add more to the rolls of the employed and take them out of the rolls of the unemployed.  And the President understands because he is among those that is frustrated that it is not happening as quickly as he would like it to, as he understands that the depth of the hole that we’re in is unlike anything we’ve faced in a long, long time.

Yes, sir.

Q    One other thing, too.  You’ve undoubtedly heard some commentators second-guess the choice of using the Oval as the forum, the venue, for the speech.  Why was that chosen as opposed to giving the same sort of speech at Fort Bliss?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I obviously was involved in part of that decision.  I think there are very few issues that if you look back to the spring of 2003 that have played a bigger role in our recent history than our -- than the war in Iraq.  I think that is -- a tremendous number of men and women served in Iraq.  A tremendous number were killed and have been injured as a result of their participation in that.  I think the President believed that the milestone that we marked on Tuesday, the change in our mission away from a combat role and one to a role of assistance, should be marked in many of the same ways that President Bush marked it in announcing the beginning of combat.

And I will say this, if -- I read -- obviously read a number of stories.  There was an AP story that quoted a number of soldiers that are happy that we have made a transition in a country where some of them served once, twice, three, four times.  I think it was important that those that spent their time in Iraq -- some who left friends in Iraq -- deserved the national thanks of their Commander-in-Chief.

Q    Sorry, one more.  George Mitchell says there’s going to be another round of talks, the 14th and the 15th.  Is the President going to play a role in that?  Is he going to invite some of the principals back here?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me double-check on the schedule.

Thanks, guys.

END
1:13 P.M. EDT

Under section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223 (91 Stat. 1625; 50 U.S.C. App. 5(b) note), and a previous determination on September 11, 2009 (74 FR 47431, September 16, 2009), the exercise of certain authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act is scheduled to terminate on September 14, 2010.

I hereby determine that the continuation for 1 year of the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba is in the national interest of the United States.

Therefore, consistent with the authority vested in me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for 1 year, until September 14, 2011, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba, as implemented by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515.

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

I’m an iPhone developer. It can be an exciting job: there are always puzzles to solve, you meet a lot of clever people, you’re always working late and shipping yesterday—but it can quickly start to feel like a grind. How many interactive corporate brochures can a person make before starting to wonder whether technology really has the power to change the world?

That’s why I’m so excited about the project I just finished working on: today’s update to the Organizing for America iPhone app, which gives volunteers everything they need to go door to door talking with people about what’s important to them.

The app takes the usual unwieldy accouterments of canvassing—the pen and paper, clipboards, and lists of voters—and puts them all on your mobile phone. It lets you connect with real people wherever you are and whenever you want. It gets rid of the time-consuming process of assembling lists of houses and entering data, and makes it easier for people on the ground to focus on the things that matter: the one-on-one conversations with your neighbors. (And it makes for a pretty exciting video, too.)

For me, this is exciting in a way software seldom is: it’s technology that affects the real world, that can change the lives of the people who use it and those around them. This is why I’m a programmer.

Most importantly, I think it could have the ability to bring a little spark back to the lives of those who have become jaded by the current political scene. Too many people have become disenchanted with the idea that politics can change the world for the better. In a time when moving forward can seem too difficult to bother, this old-fashioned activity—talking to neighbors about their hopes and concerns—might help remind us that change and connection can still happen. OFA volunteers are already out there knocking on doors—more than 200,000 just last weekend—and now it’s easier than ever to join in.

My favorite Obama slogan was always “We are the change we have been waiting for.” We all still are. Get out there. Talk to your friends, to your neighbors, to strangers. That change and energy is still all around us, even if it can be sometimes a little hard to see. But you’ll never find it if you don’t look.

If a simple iPhone app can help even one person to realize that, it’s worth all the e-brochures in the world.

Download the OFA iPhone app, get today’s canvassing update, or learn more here.

The app takes the usual unwieldy accouterments of canvassing—the pen and paper, clipboards, and lists of voters—and puts them all on your mobile phone. It lets you connect with real people wherever you are and whenever you want. It gets rid of the time-consuming process of assembling lists of houses and entering data, and makes it easier for people on the ground to focus on the things that matter: the one-on-one conversations with your neighbors. (And it makes for a pretty exciting video, too.)

For me, this is exciting in a way software seldom is: it’s technology that affects the real world, that can change the lives of the people who use it and those around them. This is why I’m a programmer.

Most importantly, I think it could have the ability to bring a little spark back to the lives of those who have become jaded by the current political scene. Too many people have become disenchanted with the idea that politics can change the world for the better. In a time when moving forward can seem too difficult to bother, this old-fashioned activity—talking to neighbors about their hopes and concerns—might help remind us that change and connection can still happen. OFA volunteers are already out there knocking on doors—more than 200,000 just last weekend—and now it’s easier than ever to join in.

My favorite Obama slogan was always “We are the change we have been waiting for.” We all still are. Get out there. Talk to your friends, to your neighbors, to strangers. That change and energy is still all around us, even if it can be sometimes a little hard to see. But you’ll never find it if you don’t look.

If a simple iPhone app can help even one person to realize that, it’s worth all the e-brochures in the world.

Download the OFA iPhone app, get today’s canvassing update, or learn more here.

By the end of the day, NH volunteers had connected with nearly 1,000 voters and everyone had a great day canvassing their neighborhoods. In Manchester, the group kicked off the day with a rousing speech by Field Organizer Mike O’Brien who highlighted the gravity of this midterm election. After the volunteers were out the door, Mike noted “It is so important that our volunteers treat the number of houses in each walk packet as their ultimate goal of contacts today. With 40 doors per packet, that is potentially 40 households they can get to vote in the next three hours. If you think of anything else you do in three hours- watch a movie, make a cake, fight the crowds at Hampton Beach – this is the most worthwhile use of a Saturday because days like these will impact the next two years in this country.” And then he hit the streets too.

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate about preparations for Hurricane Earl during a call in the Oval Office. Listening at right is Richard A. Reed, Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

read more

As students head back to school this fall, I travelled over the last two weeks on an eight-state bus tour to highlight “Courage in the Classroom.” The mission of the tour was simple: to honor our nation’s unsung heroes—our teachers.  

read more

As students head back to school this fall, I travelled over the last two weeks on an eight-state bus tour to highlight “Courage in the Classroom.” The mission of the tour was simple: to honor our nation’s unsung heroes—our teachers.  

read more

Politico has more:

The nation’s Democrats next Wednesday will kick off their fall campaign with a media blitz that will include back-to-back appearances by Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and Vice President Joe Biden on “The Colbert Report.”

As workers reengage after Labor Day, Kaine will go on morning shows Wednesday to preview a major speech he plans to deliver at lunchtime in the Hall of Flags at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

An aide said Kaine plans “the sharpest contrast that he has made to date on the direction the country would go if Republicans got back in charge.”...

The audience for Kaine's national kickoff address will include students, activists and labor leaders.

“He’ll make a strong case for what Democrats and President Obama have done, and make an analogy to how often Americans have turned to Democrats for heavy lifting in tough times,” the aide said.

Read the full article.

The Affordable Care Act helps make it easier for employers to provide health benefits. This year, small businesses are eligible for health care tax credits and starting in 2014, small businesses with up to 100 employees will have access to state-based Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges, which will expand their purchasing power. Additionally, the Business Roundtable estimated that provisions in the legislation could save $3,000 per person in health costs.    

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response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Earl beginning on September 1, 2010, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Michael Bolch as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  FEMA (202) 646-3272.

Dennis R., 70, had not canvassed since the 2008 elections, but said he was motivated to come out this weekend and knock on doors to inform people about the upcoming election in November as part of our national weekend of action.

 April R., canvassed for the first-time and was a top performer by knocking on 50 doors and collecting 12 pledge cards!

Thank you Nevada volunteers for your outstanding commitment to this important mid-term election. Your hard work over the weekend coupled with the President’s announcement of our draw down of troops in Iraq, a promise that he made during his campaign and has now kept, is a testament to a forward looking vision of where our country needs to be. 

Join us this weekend for a youth phone bank to help us get out the vote.  http://bit.ly/OFALVYPB

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good evening, everyone.  Tomorrow, after nearly two years, Israelis and Palestinians will resume direct talks in pursuit of a goal that we all share —- two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Tonight, I’m pleased to welcome to the White House key partners in this effort, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the representative of our Quartet partners, former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

President Abbas, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Your Majesty King Abdullah, and President Mubarak —- we are but five men.  Our dinner this evening will be a small gathering around a single table.  Yet when we come together, we will not be alone.  We’ll be joined by the generations —- those who have gone before and those who will follow.

Each of you are the heirs of peacemakers who dared greatly -— Begin and Sadat, Rabin and King Hussein -— statesmen who saw the world as it was but also imagined the world as it should be. It is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand.  It is their work that we carry on.  Now, like each of them, we must ask, do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?  All of us are leaders of our people, who, no matter the language they speak or the faith they practice, all basically seek the same things:  to live in security, free from fear; to live in dignity, free from want; to provide for their families and to realize a better tomorrow.  Tonight, they look to us, and each of us must decide, will we work diligently to fulfill their aspirations?

And though each of us holds a title of honor —- President, Prime Minister, King —- we are bound by the one title we share. We are fathers, blessed with sons and daughters.  So we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.

Tonight, and in the days and months ahead, these are the questions that we must answer.  And this is a fitting moment to do so.For Muslims, this is Ramadan.  For Jews, this is Elul.  It is rare for those two months to coincide.  But this year, tonight, they do.  Different faiths, different rituals, but a shared period of devotion —- and contemplation.  A time to reflect on right and wrong; a time to ponder one’s place in the world; a time when the people of two great religions remind the world of a truth that is both simple and profound, that each of us, all of us, in our hearts and in our lives, are capable of great and lasting change.

In this spirit, I welcome my partners.  And I invite each to say a few words before we begin our meal, beginning with President Mubarak, on to His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.

President Mubarak.

PRESIDENT MUBARAK:  (As prepared for delivery.)  I am pleased to participate with you today in relaunching direct peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.  Like you, and the millions of Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs and the rest of the world, I look forward that these negotiations be final and decisive, and that they lead to a peace agreement within one year.

Our meet today would not have taken place without the considerable effort exerted by the American administration under the leadership of President Obama.  I pay tribute to you, Mr. President, for your personal, serious commit and for your determination to work for a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine since the early days of your presidency.  I appreciate your perseverance throughout the past period to overcome the difficulties facing the relaunching of the negotiations.

(Continued as translated.)  I consider this invitation a manifestation of your commitment and a significant message that the United States will shepherd these negotiations seriously and at the highest level.

No one realizes the value of peace more than those who have known wars and their havoc.  It was my destiny to witness over many events in our region during the years of war and peace.  I have gone through wars and hostilities, and have participated in the quest for peace since the first day of my administration.  I have never spared an effort to push it forward, and I still look forward to its success and completion.

The efforts to achieve peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis encountered many difficulties since the Madrid Conference in October 1999, and progress and regression, breakthroughs and setbacks, but the occupation of the Palestinian Territory remains an independent -- an independent Palestinian state is yet -- remains a dream in the conscious of the Palestinian people.There is no doubt that this situation should raise great frustration and anger among our people, for it is no longer acceptable or conceivable on the verge of the second decade of the third millennium that we fail to achieve just and true peace -- peace that would put an end to the century of conflict, fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, lift the occupation, allow for the establishment of normal relations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

It is true that reaching a just and comprehensive peace treaty between both sides has been an elusive hope for almost two decades.  Yet the accumulated experience of both parties, the extended rounds of negotiations, and the previous understandings, particularly during the Clinton parameters of 2000, and subsequent understandings of Taba and with the previous Israeli government, all contributed in setting the outline of the final settlement.

This outline has become well known to the international community and to both peoples -- the Palestinian and Israeli people.  Hence, it is expected that the current negotiations will not start from scratch or in void.  No doubt, the position of the international community, as is stated in the consecutive statements of the Quartet, in particular, in its latest August 20th statement, paid due respect to relevant international resolutions and supported the outline of final settlements using different formulation without prejudice to the outcome of negotiations.

It has stressed that the aim of the soon-to-start direct negotiation is to reach a peaceful settlement that would end the Israeli occupation which began in 1967, allowing for the independent and sovereign state of Palestine to emerge and live side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.

I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu many times since he took office last year.  In our meetings, I listened to assertions on his willingness to achieve peace with the Palestinians, and for history to record his name for such an achievement.  I say to him today that I look forward to achieving those assertions in reality, and his success in achieving the long-awaited peace, which I know the people of Israel yearn for, just like all other people in the region.Reaching just peace with the Palestinians will require from Israel taking important and decisive decisions -- decisions that are undoubtedly difficult yet they will be necessary to achieve peace and stability, and in a different context than the one that prevailed before.Settlement activities on the Palestinian Territory are contrary to international law.  They will not create rights for Israel, nor are they going to achieve peace or security for Israel.  It is, therefore, a priority to completely freeze all these activities until the entire negotiation process comes to a successful end.

I say to the Israelis, seize the current opportunity.  Do not let it slip through your fingers.  Make comprehensive peace your goal.  Extend your hand to meet the hand already extended in the Arab Peace Initiative. I say to President Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt will continue its faithful support to the patient Palestinian people and their just cause.  We will continue our concerted efforts to help fulfill the aspirations of your people and retrieve their legitimate rights.  We will stand by you until the independent state of Palestine on the land occupied since 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.  We will also continue our efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation for the sake of the Palestinian national interest.

Once again, I’d like to express my thanks to President Obama, and I renew Egypt’s commitment to continue exerting all efforts, sharing honest advice and a commitment to the principles on which Arab and regional policy rests upon.

Please accept my appreciation, and peace be upon you. (Applause.)HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH:  (As translated.)  In the name of God most merciful, most compassionate, President Obama, peace be upon you.(In English.)  For decades, a Palestinian-Israeli settlement has eluded us.  Millions of men, women and children have suffered.  Too many people have lost faith in our ability to bring them the peace they want.  Radicals and terrorists have exploited frustrations to feed hatred and ignite wars.  The whole world has been dragged into regional conflicts that cannot be addressed effectively until Arabs and Israelis find peace.

This past record drives the importance of our efforts today. There are those on both sides who want us to fail, who will do everything in their power to disrupt our efforts today -- because when the Palestinians and Israelis find peace, when young men and women can look to a future of promise and opportunity, radicals and extremists lose their most potent appeal.  This is why we must prevail.  For our failure would be their success in sinking the region into more instability and wars that will cause further suffering in our region and beyond.

President Obama, we value your commitment to the cause of peace in our region.  We count on your continued engagement to help the parties move forward.  You have said that Middle East peace is in the national security interest of your country.  And we believe it is.  And it is also a strategic European interest, and it is a necessary requirement for global security and stability.  Peace is also a right for every citizen in our region.A Palestinian-Israeli settlement on the basis of two states living side by side is a precondition for security and stability of all countries of the Middle East, with a regional peace that will lead to normal relations between Israel and 57 Arab and Muslim states that have endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative.  That would be -- well, that would also be an essential step towards neutralizing forces of evil and war that threaten all peoples.

Mr. President, we need your support as a mediator, honest broker, and a partner, as the parties move along the hard but inevitable path of settlements.

Your Excellencies, all eyes are upon us.  The direct negotiations that will start tomorrow must show results -- and sooner rather than later.  Time is not on our side.  That is why we must spare no effort in addressing all final status issues with a view to reaching the two-state solution, the only solution that can create a future worthy of our great region -- a future of peace in which fathers and mothers can raise their children without fear, young people can look forward to lives of achievement and hope, and 300 million people can cooperate for mutual benefit.

For too long, too many people of the region have been denied their most basic of human rights:  the right to live in peace and security; respected in their human dignity; enjoying freedom and opportunity.  If hopes are disappointed again, the price of failure will be too high for all.

Our peoples want us to rise to their expectations.  And we can do so if we approach these negotiations with goodwill, sincerity and courage.  (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Mr. President, Excellencies, Shalom Aleichem.  Shalom Alkulanu.  Peace unto us all.

I’m very pleased to be here today to begin our common effort to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

I want to thank you, President Obama, for your tireless efforts to renew this quest for peace.  I want to thank Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Mitchell, the many members of the Obama administration, and Tony Blair, who’ve all worked so hard to bring Israelis and Palestinians together here today.

I also want to thank President Mubarak and King Abdullah for their dedicated and meaningful support to promote peace, security, and stability throughout our region.  I deeply appreciate your presence here today.

I began with a Hebrew word for peace, “shalom.”  Our goal is shalom.  Our goal is to forge a secure and durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  We don’t seek a brief interlude between two wars.  We don’t seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror.  We seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all.  We seek a peace that will last for generations -- our generation, our children’s generation, and the next.

This is the peace my people fervently want.  This is the peace all our peoples fervently aspire to.  This is the peace they deserve.

Now, a lasting peace is a peace between peoples -- between Israelis and Palestinians.  We must learn to live together, to live next to one another and with one another.  But every peace begins with leaders.

President Abbas, you are my partner in peace.  And it is up to us, with the help of our friends, to conclude the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to afford them a new beginning. The Jewish people are not strangers in our ancestral homeland, the land of our forefathers.  But we recognize that another people shares this land with us.I came here today to find an historic compromise that will enable both our peoples to live in peace and security and in dignity.  I’ve been making the case for Israel all of my life.  But I didn’t come here today to make an argument.  I came here today to make peace.  I didn’t come here today to play a blame game where even the winners lose.  Everybody loses if there’s no peace.  I came here to achieve a peace that will bring a lasting benefit to us all.I didn’t come here to find excuses or to make them.  I came here to find solutions.  I know the history of our conflict and the sacrifices that have been made.  I know the grief that has afflicted so many families who have lost their dearest loved ones.  Only yesterday four Israelis, including a pregnant women  -- a pregnant woman -- and another woman, a mother of six children, were brutally murdered by savage terrorists.  And two hours ago, there was another terror attack.  And thank God no one died.  I will not let the terrorists block our path to peace, but as these events underscore once again, that peace must be anchored in security. I’m prepared to walk down the path of peace, because I know what peace would mean for our children and for our grandchildren. I know it would herald a new beginning that could unleash unprecedented opportunities for Israelis, for Palestinians, and for the peoples -- all the peoples -- of our region, and well beyond our region.  I think it would affect the world.

I see what a period of calm has created in the Palestinian cities of Ramallah, of Janin, throughout the West Bank, a great economic boom.  And real peace can turn this boom into a permanent era of progress and hope.

If we work together, we can take advantage of the great benefits afforded by our unique place under the sun.  We’re the crossroads of three continents, at the crossroads of history, and the crossroads of the future.  Our geography, our history, our culture, our climate, the talents of our people can be unleashed to create extraordinary opportunities in tourism, in trade, in industry, in energy, in water, in so many areas. But peace must also be defended against its enemies.  We want the skyline of the West Bank to be dominated by apartment towers -- not missiles.  We want the roads of the West Bank to flow with commerce -- not terrorists.

And this is not a theoretic request for our people.  We left Lebanon, and we got terror.  We left Gaza, and we got terror once again.  We want to ensure that territory we’ll concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave armed at the heart of Israel -- and may I add, also aimed at every one of us sitting on this stage.

This is why a defensible peace requires security arrangements that can withstand the test of time and the many challenges that are sure to confront us.  And there will be many challenges, both great and small.  Let us not get bogged down by every difference between us.  Let us direct our courage, our thinking, and our decisions at those historic decisions that lie ahead.

Now, there are many skeptics.  One thing there’s no shortage of, Mr. President, are skeptics.  This is something that you’re so familiar with, that all of us in a position of leadership are familiar with.  There are many skeptics.  I suppose there are many reasons for skepticism.  But I have no doubt that peace is possible.

President Abbas, we cannot erase the past, but it is within our power to change the future.  Thousands of years ago, on these very hills where Israelis and Palestinians live today, the Jewish prophet Isaiah and the other prophets of my people envisaged a future of lasting peace for all mankind.  Let today be an auspicious step in our joint effort to realize that ancient vision for a better future.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT ABBAS:  (As translated.)  His Excellency President Barack Obama, His Excellency President Hosni Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah II, His Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Mr. Tony Blair, ladies and gentlemen.I would like to start by thanking President Obama for his invitation to host us here today to relaunch the permanent status negotiations to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement covering all the permanent status issues within a year in accordance with international law and relevant resolutions. As we move towards the relaunch of these negotiations tomorrow, we recognize the difficulties, challenges and obstacles that lie ahead.  Yet we assure you, in the name of the PLO, that we will draw on years of experience in negotiations and benefit from the lessons learned to make these negotiations successful.

We also reiterate our commitment to carry out all our obligations, and we call on the Israelis to carry out their obligations, including a freeze on settlements activities, which is not setting a precondition but a call to implement an agreed obligation and to end all the closure and blockade, preventing freedom of movement, including the (inaudible) siege.

We will spare no effort and will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure that these new negotiations achieve their goals and objectives in dealing with all of the issues:  Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, border security, water, as well as the release of all our prisoners -- in order to achieve peace. The people of our area are looking for peace that achieves freedom, independence, and justice to the Palestinian people in their country and in their homeland and in the diaspora -- our people who have endured decades of longstanding suffering.

We want a peace that will correct the historical injustice caused by the (inaudible) of 1948, and one that brings security to our people and the Israeli people.  And we want peace that will give us both and the people of the region a new era where we enjoy just peace, stability, and prosperity. Our determination stems to a great extent from your willpower, Mr. President, and your firm and sweeping drive with which you engulfed the entire world from the day you took office to set the parties on the path for peace -- and also this same spirit, exhibited by Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator George Mitchell and his team.  The presence of His Excellency President Mubarak and His Majesty King Abdullah is another telling indication of their substantial and effective commitment overall, where Egypt and Jordan have been playing a supportive role for advancing the peace process.  Their effective role is further demonstrated by the Arab Peace Initiative, which was fully endorsed by all of the Arab states, and the Islamic countries as well.

This initiative served a genuine and sincere opportunity to achieve a just and comprehensive peace on all tracks in our region, including the Syrian-Israeli track and the Lebanese-Israeli track, and provided a sincere opportunity to make peace.

The presence here today of the envoy of the Quartet, Mr. Tony Blair, is a most telling signal, especially since he has been personally involved in the Palestinian Authority for many years and in the efforts for state building in Palestine.

Excellencies, the time has come for us to make peace and it is time to end the occupation that started in 1967, and for the Palestinian people to get freedom, justice, and independence.  It is time that a independent Palestinian state be established with sovereignty side by side with the state of Israel.  It is time to put an end to the struggle in the Middle East. The Palestinian people who insist on the rights and freedom and independence are in most need for justice, security, and peace, because they are the victim, the ones that were harmed the most from this violence.  And it is sending message to our neighbors, the Israelis, and to the world that they are also careful about supporting the opportunities for the success of these negotiations and the just and lasting peace as soon as possible.

With this spirit, we will work to make these negotiations succeed.  And with this spirit, we are -- trust that we are capable to achieve our historical, difficult mission -- making peace in the land of peace.

Mr. Netanyahu, what happened yesterday and what is happening today is also condemned.  We do not want at all that any blood be shed, one drop of blood, on the part of the -- from the Israelis or the Palestinians.  We want people in the two countries to lead a normal life.  We want them to live as neighbors and partners forever.  Let us sign an agreement, a final agreement, for peace, and put an end to a very long period of struggle forever.And peace be upon you.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I want to thank all the leaders for their thoughtful statements.  I want to thank the delegations that are represented here because they are the ones who oftentimes are doing a lot of the work.  This is just the beginning.  We have a long road ahead, but I appreciate very much the leaders who are represented here for giving us such an excellent start. And I particularly want to commend Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas for their presence here.  This is not easy.  Both of them have constituencies with legitimate claims, legitimate concerns, and a lot of history between them.  For them to be here, to be willing to take this first step -- the most difficult step -- is a testament to their courage and their integrity and I think their vision for the future.And so I am hopeful -- cautiously hopeful, but hopeful -- that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated. Thank you very much, everybody.

  END  7:41 P.M. EDT

Read a translation: Arabic | Hebrew

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good evening, everyone.  Tomorrow, after nearly two years, Israelis and Palestinians will resume direct talks in pursuit of a goal that we all share —- two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Tonight, I’m pleased to welcome to the White House key partners in this effort, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the representative of our Quartet partners, former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

President Abbas, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Your Majesty King Abdullah, and President Mubarak —- we are but five men.  Our dinner this evening will be a small gathering around a single table.  Yet when we come together, we will not be alone.  We’ll be joined by the generations —- those who have gone before and those who will follow.

Each of you are the heirs of peacemakers who dared greatly -— Begin and Sadat, Rabin and King Hussein -— statesmen who saw the world as it was but also imagined the world as it should be. It is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand.  It is their work that we carry on.  Now, like each of them, we must ask, do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?  All of us are leaders of our people, who, no matter the language they speak or the faith they practice, all basically seek the same things:  to live in security, free from fear; to live in dignity, free from want; to provide for their families and to realize a better tomorrow.  Tonight, they look to us, and each of us must decide, will we work diligently to fulfill their aspirations?

And though each of us holds a title of honor —- President, Prime Minister, King —- we are bound by the one title we share. We are fathers, blessed with sons and daughters.  So we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.

Tonight, and in the days and months ahead, these are the questions that we must answer.  And this is a fitting moment to do so.For Muslims, this is Ramadan.  For Jews, this is Elul.  It is rare for those two months to coincide.  But this year, tonight, they do.  Different faiths, different rituals, but a shared period of devotion —- and contemplation.  A time to reflect on right and wrong; a time to ponder one’s place in the world; a time when the people of two great religions remind the world of a truth that is both simple and profound, that each of us, all of us, in our hearts and in our lives, are capable of great and lasting change.

In this spirit, I welcome my partners.  And I invite each to say a few words before we begin our meal, beginning with President Mubarak, on to His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.

President Mubarak.

PRESIDENT MUBARAK:  (As prepared for delivery.)  I am pleased to participate with you today in relaunching direct peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.  Like you, and the millions of Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs and the rest of the world, I look forward that these negotiations be final and decisive, and that they lead to a peace agreement within one year.

Our meet today would not have taken place without the considerable effort exerted by the American administration under the leadership of President Obama.  I pay tribute to you, Mr. President, for your personal, serious commit and for your determination to work for a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine since the early days of your presidency.  I appreciate your perseverance throughout the past period to overcome the difficulties facing the relaunching of the negotiations.

(Continued as translated.)  I consider this invitation a manifestation of your commitment and a significant message that the United States will shepherd these negotiations seriously and at the highest level.

No one realizes the value of peace more than those who have known wars and their havoc.  It was my destiny to witness over many events in our region during the years of war and peace.  I have gone through wars and hostilities, and have participated in the quest for peace since the first day of my administration.  I have never spared an effort to push it forward, and I still look forward to its success and completion.

The efforts to achieve peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis encountered many difficulties since the Madrid Conference in October 1999, and progress and regression, breakthroughs and setbacks, but the occupation of the Palestinian Territory remains an independent -- an independent Palestinian state is yet -- remains a dream in the conscious of the Palestinian people.There is no doubt that this situation should raise great frustration and anger among our people, for it is no longer acceptable or conceivable on the verge of the second decade of the third millennium that we fail to achieve just and true peace -- peace that would put an end to the century of conflict, fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, lift the occupation, allow for the establishment of normal relations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

It is true that reaching a just and comprehensive peace treaty between both sides has been an elusive hope for almost two decades.  Yet the accumulated experience of both parties, the extended rounds of negotiations, and the previous understandings, particularly during the Clinton parameters of 2000, and subsequent understandings of Taba and with the previous Israeli government, all contributed in setting the outline of the final settlement.

This outline has become well known to the international community and to both peoples -- the Palestinian and Israeli people.  Hence, it is expected that the current negotiations will not start from scratch or in void.  No doubt, the position of the international community, as is stated in the consecutive statements of the Quartet, in particular, in its latest August 20th statement, paid due respect to relevant international resolutions and supported the outline of final settlements using different formulation without prejudice to the outcome of negotiations.

It has stressed that the aim of the soon-to-start direct negotiation is to reach a peaceful settlement that would end the Israeli occupation which began in 1967, allowing for the independent and sovereign state of Palestine to emerge and live side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.

I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu many times since he took office last year.  In our meetings, I listened to assertions on his willingness to achieve peace with the Palestinians, and for history to record his name for such an achievement.  I say to him today that I look forward to achieving those assertions in reality, and his success in achieving the long-awaited peace, which I know the people of Israel yearn for, just like all other people in the region.Reaching just peace with the Palestinians will require from Israel taking important and decisive decisions -- decisions that are undoubtedly difficult yet they will be necessary to achieve peace and stability, and in a different context than the one that prevailed before.Settlement activities on the Palestinian Territory are contrary to international law.  They will not create rights for Israel, nor are they going to achieve peace or security for Israel.  It is, therefore, a priority to completely freeze all these activities until the entire negotiation process comes to a successful end.

I say to the Israelis, seize the current opportunity.  Do not let it slip through your fingers.  Make comprehensive peace your goal.  Extend your hand to meet the hand already extended in the Arab Peace Initiative. I say to President Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt will continue its faithful support to the patient Palestinian people and their just cause.  We will continue our concerted efforts to help fulfill the aspirations of your people and retrieve their legitimate rights.  We will stand by you until the independent state of Palestine on the land occupied since 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.  We will also continue our efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation for the sake of the Palestinian national interest.

Once again, I’d like to express my thanks to President Obama, and I renew Egypt’s commitment to continue exerting all efforts, sharing honest advice and a commitment to the principles on which Arab and regional policy rests upon.

Please accept my appreciation, and peace be upon you. (Applause.)HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH:  (As translated.)  In the name of God most merciful, most compassionate, President Obama, peace be upon you.(In English.)  For decades, a Palestinian-Israeli settlement has eluded us.  Millions of men, women and children have suffered.  Too many people have lost faith in our ability to bring them the peace they want.  Radicals and terrorists have exploited frustrations to feed hatred and ignite wars.  The whole world has been dragged into regional conflicts that cannot be addressed effectively until Arabs and Israelis find peace.

This past record drives the importance of our efforts today. There are those on both sides who want us to fail, who will do everything in their power to disrupt our efforts today -- because when the Palestinians and Israelis find peace, when young men and women can look to a future of promise and opportunity, radicals and extremists lose their most potent appeal.  This is why we must prevail.  For our failure would be their success in sinking the region into more instability and wars that will cause further suffering in our region and beyond.

President Obama, we value your commitment to the cause of peace in our region.  We count on your continued engagement to help the parties move forward.  You have said that Middle East peace is in the national security interest of your country.  And we believe it is.  And it is also a strategic European interest, and it is a necessary requirement for global security and stability.  Peace is also a right for every citizen in our region.A Palestinian-Israeli settlement on the basis of two states living side by side is a precondition for security and stability of all countries of the Middle East, with a regional peace that will lead to normal relations between Israel and 57 Arab and Muslim states that have endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative.  That would be -- well, that would also be an essential step towards neutralizing forces of evil and war that threaten all peoples.

Mr. President, we need your support as a mediator, honest broker, and a partner, as the parties move along the hard but inevitable path of settlements.

Your Excellencies, all eyes are upon us.  The direct negotiations that will start tomorrow must show results -- and sooner rather than later.  Time is not on our side.  That is why we must spare no effort in addressing all final status issues with a view to reaching the two-state solution, the only solution that can create a future worthy of our great region -- a future of peace in which fathers and mothers can raise their children without fear, young people can look forward to lives of achievement and hope, and 300 million people can cooperate for mutual benefit.

For too long, too many people of the region have been denied their most basic of human rights:  the right to live in peace and security; respected in their human dignity; enjoying freedom and opportunity.  If hopes are disappointed again, the price of failure will be too high for all.

Our peoples want us to rise to their expectations.  And we can do so if we approach these negotiations with goodwill, sincerity and courage.  (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Mr. President, Excellencies, Shalom Aleichem.  Shalom Alkulanu.  Peace unto us all.

I’m very pleased to be here today to begin our common effort to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

I want to thank you, President Obama, for your tireless efforts to renew this quest for peace.  I want to thank Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Mitchell, the many members of the Obama administration, and Tony Blair, who’ve all worked so hard to bring Israelis and Palestinians together here today.

I also want to thank President Mubarak and King Abdullah for their dedicated and meaningful support to promote peace, security, and stability throughout our region.  I deeply appreciate your presence here today.

I began with a Hebrew word for peace, “shalom.”  Our goal is shalom.  Our goal is to forge a secure and durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  We don’t seek a brief interlude between two wars.  We don’t seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror.  We seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all.  We seek a peace that will last for generations -- our generation, our children’s generation, and the next.

This is the peace my people fervently want.  This is the peace all our peoples fervently aspire to.  This is the peace they deserve.

Now, a lasting peace is a peace between peoples -- between Israelis and Palestinians.  We must learn to live together, to live next to one another and with one another.  But every peace begins with leaders.

President Abbas, you are my partner in peace.  And it is up to us, with the help of our friends, to conclude the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to afford them a new beginning. The Jewish people are not strangers in our ancestral homeland, the land of our forefathers.  But we recognize that another people shares this land with us.I came here today to find an historic compromise that will enable both our peoples to live in peace and security and in dignity.  I’ve been making the case for Israel all of my life.  But I didn’t come here today to make an argument.  I came here today to make peace.  I didn’t come here today to play a blame game where even the winners lose.  Everybody loses if there’s no peace.  I came here to achieve a peace that will bring a lasting benefit to us all.I didn’t come here to find excuses or to make them.  I came here to find solutions.  I know the history of our conflict and the sacrifices that have been made.  I know the grief that has afflicted so many families who have lost their dearest loved ones.  Only yesterday four Israelis, including a pregnant women  -- a pregnant woman -- and another woman, a mother of six children, were brutally murdered by savage terrorists.  And two hours ago, there was another terror attack.  And thank God no one died.  I will not let the terrorists block our path to peace, but as these events underscore once again, that peace must be anchored in security. I’m prepared to walk down the path of peace, because I know what peace would mean for our children and for our grandchildren. I know it would herald a new beginning that could unleash unprecedented opportunities for Israelis, for Palestinians, and for the peoples -- all the peoples -- of our region, and well beyond our region.  I think it would affect the world.

I see what a period of calm has created in the Palestinian cities of Ramallah, of Janin, throughout the West Bank, a great economic boom.  And real peace can turn this boom into a permanent era of progress and hope.

If we work together, we can take advantage of the great benefits afforded by our unique place under the sun.  We’re the crossroads of three continents, at the crossroads of history, and the crossroads of the future.  Our geography, our history, our culture, our climate, the talents of our people can be unleashed to create extraordinary opportunities in tourism, in trade, in industry, in energy, in water, in so many areas. But peace must also be defended against its enemies.  We want the skyline of the West Bank to be dominated by apartment towers -- not missiles.  We want the roads of the West Bank to flow with commerce -- not terrorists.

And this is not a theoretic request for our people.  We left Lebanon, and we got terror.  We left Gaza, and we got terror once again.  We want to ensure that territory we’ll concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave armed at the heart of Israel -- and may I add, also aimed at every one of us sitting on this stage.

This is why a defensible peace requires security arrangements that can withstand the test of time and the many challenges that are sure to confront us.  And there will be many challenges, both great and small.  Let us not get bogged down by every difference between us.  Let us direct our courage, our thinking, and our decisions at those historic decisions that lie ahead.

Now, there are many skeptics.  One thing there’s no shortage of, Mr. President, are skeptics.  This is something that you’re so familiar with, that all of us in a position of leadership are familiar with.  There are many skeptics.  I suppose there are many reasons for skepticism.  But I have no doubt that peace is possible.

President Abbas, we cannot erase the past, but it is within our power to change the future.  Thousands of years ago, on these very hills where Israelis and Palestinians live today, the Jewish prophet Isaiah and the other prophets of my people envisaged a future of lasting peace for all mankind.  Let today be an auspicious step in our joint effort to realize that ancient vision for a better future.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT ABBAS:  (As translated.)  His Excellency President Barack Obama, His Excellency President Hosni Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah II, His Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Mr. Tony Blair, ladies and gentlemen.I would like to start by thanking President Obama for his invitation to host us here today to relaunch the permanent status negotiations to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement covering all the permanent status issues within a year in accordance with international law and relevant resolutions. As we move towards the relaunch of these negotiations tomorrow, we recognize the difficulties, challenges and obstacles that lie ahead.  Yet we assure you, in the name of the PLO, that we will draw on years of experience in negotiations and benefit from the lessons learned to make these negotiations successful.

We also reiterate our commitment to carry out all our obligations, and we call on the Israelis to carry out their obligations, including a freeze on settlements activities, which is not setting a precondition but a call to implement an agreed obligation and to end all the closure and blockade, preventing freedom of movement, including the (inaudible) siege.

We will spare no effort and will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure that these new negotiations achieve their goals and objectives in dealing with all of the issues:  Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, border security, water, as well as the release of all our prisoners -- in order to achieve peace. The people of our area are looking for peace that achieves freedom, independence, and justice to the Palestinian people in their country and in their homeland and in the diaspora -- our people who have endured decades of longstanding suffering.

We want a peace that will correct the historical injustice caused by the (inaudible) of 1948, and one that brings security to our people and the Israeli people.  And we want peace that will give us both and the people of the region a new era where we enjoy just peace, stability, and prosperity. Our determination stems to a great extent from your willpower, Mr. President, and your firm and sweeping drive with which you engulfed the entire world from the day you took office to set the parties on the path for peace -- and also this same spirit, exhibited by Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator George Mitchell and his team.  The presence of His Excellency President Mubarak and His Majesty King Abdullah is another telling indication of their substantial and effective commitment overall, where Egypt and Jordan have been playing a supportive role for advancing the peace process.  Their effective role is further demonstrated by the Arab Peace Initiative, which was fully endorsed by all of the Arab states, and the Islamic countries as well.

This initiative served a genuine and sincere opportunity to achieve a just and comprehensive peace on all tracks in our region, including the Syrian-Israeli track and the Lebanese-Israeli track, and provided a sincere opportunity to make peace.

The presence here today of the envoy of the Quartet, Mr. Tony Blair, is a most telling signal, especially since he has been personally involved in the Palestinian Authority for many years and in the efforts for state building in Palestine.

Excellencies, the time has come for us to make peace and it is time to end the occupation that started in 1967, and for the Palestinian people to get freedom, justice, and independence.  It is time that a independent Palestinian state be established with sovereignty side by side with the state of Israel.  It is time to put an end to the struggle in the Middle East. The Palestinian people who insist on the rights and freedom and independence are in most need for justice, security, and peace, because they are the victim, the ones that were harmed the most from this violence.  And it is sending message to our neighbors, the Israelis, and to the world that they are also careful about supporting the opportunities for the success of these negotiations and the just and lasting peace as soon as possible.

With this spirit, we will work to make these negotiations succeed.  And with this spirit, we are -- trust that we are capable to achieve our historical, difficult mission -- making peace in the land of peace.

Mr. Netanyahu, what happened yesterday and what is happening today is also condemned.  We do not want at all that any blood be shed, one drop of blood, on the part of the -- from the Israelis or the Palestinians.  We want people in the two countries to lead a normal life.  We want them to live as neighbors and partners forever.  Let us sign an agreement, a final agreement, for peace, and put an end to a very long period of struggle forever.And peace be upon you.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I want to thank all the leaders for their thoughtful statements.  I want to thank the delegations that are represented here because they are the ones who oftentimes are doing a lot of the work.  This is just the beginning.  We have a long road ahead, but I appreciate very much the leaders who are represented here for giving us such an excellent start. And I particularly want to commend Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas for their presence here.  This is not easy.  Both of them have constituencies with legitimate claims, legitimate concerns, and a lot of history between them.  For them to be here, to be willing to take this first step -- the most difficult step -- is a testament to their courage and their integrity and I think their vision for the future.And so I am hopeful -- cautiously hopeful, but hopeful -- that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated. Thank you very much, everybody.

  END  7:41 P.M. EDT

The leaders stated their strong support for the resumption of direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and President Obama thanked President Mubarak for his leadership and support for peace in the region.  They expressed their hope that the resumption of direct talks will lead to two states living side-by-side in peace and security.    

President Obama and President Mubarak consulted on the details of the launch event for direct talks at the Department of State scheduled for tomorrow.  The President committed to staying in close contact with President Mubarak as the talks develop, and made clear that Egypt’s leadership will be needed to ensure that the talks are successful.   

The leaders also discussed various regional issues of mutual interest, and President Obama reaffirmed the importance of a vibrant civil society, open political competition, and credible and transparent elections in Egypt.   The President welcomes commitments Egypt has made as part of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.

Childhood obesity has been a growing problem for decades.  While it has afflicted children across our country, certain Americans have been disproportionately affected.  Particular racial and ethnic groups are more severely impacted, as are certain regions of the country.  In addition, obesity can be influenced by a number of environmental and behavioral factors, including unhealthy eating patterns and too little physical activity at home and at school.

We must do more to halt and reverse this epidemic, as obesity can lead to severe and chronic health problems during childhood, adolescence and adulthood, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and asthma.  Not only does excess weight adversely affect our children's well-being, but its associated health risks also impose great costs on families, our health care system, and our economy.  Each year, nearly $150 billion are spent to treat obesity-related medical conditions.  This is not the future to which we want to consign our children, and it is a burden our health care system cannot bear.

Earlier this year, the First Lady announced "Let's Move!"    an initiative to combat childhood obesity at every stage of a child's life.  As President, I created a Task Force on Childhood Obesity to marshal the combined resources of the Federal Government to develop interagency solutions and make recommendations on how to respond to this crisis.  The Task Force produced a report containing a comprehensive set of recommendations that will put our country on track for solving this pressing health issue and preventing it from threatening future generations.

The report outlines broad strategies to address childhood obesity, including providing healthier food in schools, ensuring access to healthy affordable food, increasing opportunities for physical activity, empowering parents and caregivers with better information about making healthy choices, and giving children a healthy start in life.  I invite all Americans to visit LetsMove.gov to learn more about these recommendations and find additional information and resources on how to help children eat healthy and stay active.

The new landmark health care law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), includes a number of important tools for fighting and reversing the rise of childhood obesity.  All new health insurance plans will be required to cover both screenings for childhood obesity and counseling on nutrition and sustained weight loss, without charging any out of pocket costs.  The ACA also requires large restaurant and vending machine operators to provide visible nutritional information about the products they sell, enabling all Americans to make more informed choices about the foods they eat.  As part of my Administration's comprehensive approach to combating this epidemic, the ACA includes millions in new funds to implement prevention activities nationwide that support recommendations of the Task Force on Childhood Obesity.

Our history shows that when we are united in our convictions, we can safeguard the health and safety of America's children for generations to come.  When waves of American children were stricken with polio and disabled for life, we developed a nationwide immunization program that eradicated this crippling disease from our shores within a matter of decades.  When we discovered that children were going to school hungry because their families could not afford nutritious meals, we created the National School Lunch Program.  Today, this program feeds more than 30 million American children, often at little or no charge.  When we work together, we can overcome any obstacle and protect our Nation's most precious resource -- our children.  As we take steps to turn around the epidemic of childhood obesity, I am confident that we will solve this problem together, and that we will solve it in a generation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  I encourage all Americans to take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all of our Nation's children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

That is why the State Department has established the Pakistan Relief Fund for American's to join the relief, recovery and reconstruction effort by donating online or by texting "FLOOD" to 27722 for a contribution of $10 that will be added to their cell phone bill. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encourages American's to help continue our tradition of generosity in a public service announcement released by the Ad Council.

 Contributions to the Pakistan Relief Fund will go towards funding programs run by the Department of State and other federal agencies for relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan, or to provide funds to international organizations, non-profit organizations and other appropriate recipients for relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan.   For more information about the Pakistan Relief Fund, visit www.state.gov/pakistanrelief.

This recovery is a testament to the 2008 Farm Bill, to a wide range of efforts of the Obama Administration – such as the Recovery Act – to move the economy forward and to support the agriculture economy, and the hard work and resilience of America’s farmers and ranchers. 

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5:27 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody. 

Upon taking office, I declared that America is a friend of each nation and every person who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that the United States was ready to lead in pursuit of that future.  At the beginning of my administration, I stated that it was our policy to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors. And to support my outstanding Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s leadership, I appointed a special envoy and one of our nation’s finest statesmen, former Senator George Mitchell, to guide our efforts.

As I’ve said many times, our goal is a two-state solution that ends the conflict and ensures the rights and security of both Israelis and Palestinians.  And despite the inevitable challenges, we have never wavered in pursuit of this goal.  I’ve met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on numerous occasions.  Between them, Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell have made countless trips to the region.  

Over the past year, both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have taken important steps to build confidence.  And with Senator Mitchell’s support, Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in several rounds of proximity talks   -— even in the face of difficult circumstances.  But we’ve always made it clear that the only path to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Tomorrow, after nearly two years, the parties will relaunch those direct talks.

Today, I had a series of very productive meetings with key partners in this effort.  I urged Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas to recognize this as a moment of opportunity that must be seized.  I thanked President Mubarak of Egypt and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan, for their valuable leadership and for the support that will be necessary going forward.  And I look forward to hosting these four leaders at a private working dinner at the White House tonight. 

I also want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to many friends and allies, especially our Quartet partners.  And former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be joining us as representing the Quartet at the dinner this evening.

The purpose of these talks is clear.  These will be direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.  These negotiations are intended to resolve all final status issues.  The goal is a settlement, negotiated between the parties, that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with a Jewish state of Israel and its other neighbors. That’s the vision we are pursuing.

Now, I know these talks have been greeted in some quarters with skepticism.  We are under no illusions.  Passions run deep.  Each side has legitimate and enduring interests.  Years of mistrust will not disappear overnight.  Building confidence will require painstaking diplomacy and trust by the parties. After all, there’s a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations —- this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult.

But we know that the status quo is unsustainable -- for Israelis, for Palestinians, for the region and for the world. It is in the national interests of all involved, including the United States, that this conflict be brought to a peaceful conclusion. 

So even as we are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, so, too, do we see the foundation for progress.  The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority are already cooperating on a daily basis to increase security and reduce violence, to build institutions and improve conditions on the ground. 

Among the Israeli and Palestinian publics, there is wide support for a two-state solution, the broad outlines of which are well known to both peoples.  And even in the midst of discord, ordinary Israelis and Palestinians -— faith leaders, civil society groups, doctors, scientists, businessmen, students -- find ways to work together every day.  Their heroic efforts at the grassroots show that cooperation and progress is possible and should inspire us all.

In addition, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas are two leaders who I believe want peace.  Both sides have indicated that these negotiations can be completed within one year.  And as I told each of them today, this moment of opportunity may not soon come again -— they cannot afford to let it slip away. Now is the time for leaders of courage and vision to deliver the peace that their people deserve. 

The United States will put our full weight behind this effort.  We will be an active and sustained participant.  We will support those who make difficult choices in pursuit of peace.  But let me very clear.  Ultimately the United States cannot impose a solution, and we cannot want it more than the parties themselves.  There are enormous risks involved here for all the parties concerned, but we cannot do it for them. We can create the environment and the atmosphere for negotiations, but ultimately it’s going to require the leadership on both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, as well as those in the region who say they want a Palestinian state. 

A lot of times I hear from those who insist that this is a top priority and yet do very little to actually support efforts that could bring about a Palestinian state. 

So only Israelis and Palestinians can make the difficult choices and build the consensus at home for progress.  Only Israelis and Palestinians can prove to each other their readiness to end this conflict and make the compromises upon which lasting peace deserves. 

What the rest of us can do, including the United States, is to support those conversations, support those talks, support those efforts -- not try to undermine them.

So the hard work is only beginning.  Neither success nor failure is inevitable.  But this much we know:  If we do not make the attempt, then failure is guaranteed.  If both sides do not commit to these talks in earnest, then the longstanding conflict will only continue to fester and consume another generation.  And this we simply cannot allow.

We know that there will be moments that test our resolve.  We know that extremists and enemies of peace will do everything in their power to destroy this effort —- as we saw in the heinous attacks near Hebron, which we have strongly condemned.  But we also know this:  Too much blood has already been shed.  Too many lives have already been lost.  Too many hearts have already been broken. 

And despite what the cynics say, history teaches us that there is a different path.  It is the path of resolve and determination, where compromise is possible, and old conflicts, at long last, can end.  It is the path traveled by those who brought peace to their countries, from Northern Ireland -- where Senator Mitchell was so deeply involved -- to the Balkans, to Africa, Asia, to those who forged peace between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Jordan. 

This path is open to Israelis and Palestinians.  If all sides persevere, in good faith and with a sense of purpose and possibility, we can build a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. 

Thank you very much. 

END
5:35 P.M. EDT

Click here to see the photo gallery.

Today the White House is focused on the re-launch of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians for the first time in nearly two years. As the President has said, we are under no illusions about how difficult and complex a task reaching a peace agreement will be, but we also know that resolving this conflict is in the national security interests of the United States. Re-launching direct talks is an important step along this path.

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President Obama thanked King Abdullah for his leadership and support for peace in the region, and both leaders stated their strong support for the resumption of direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and for comprehensive peace in the region.  They expressed their hope that the resumption of direct negotiations will lead to two states living side-by-side in peace and security.  

President Obama and King Abdullah consulted on the details of the launch event for direct talks at the Department of State scheduled for tomorrow.  The President made clear that Jordan’s leadership will be needed to ensure that the talks are successful, and reassured King Abdullah that the United States believes that the only way to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is through direct negotiations.  

The leaders also discussed regional and bilateral issues, and committed to seeking ways to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Jordan.

Last night President Obama marked the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As the President said, the struggle for peace is not over, but the progress we've made is undeniable.

This moment also represents a promise kept. As a candidate, President Obama laid out a vision for this country -- and bringing our troops home from Iraq was a defining part of that vision. It was one of the reasons that all of us knocked on doors, made phone calls, and voted.

Keeping that promise is important, not only for our brave women and men in uniform, but also for their loved ones, and for all Americans who have hoped and prayed for a resolution to this war.

Please take a moment to watch the President's speech if you missed it last night:

Watch the President's Oval Office address:

http://my.barackobama.com/IraqAddress

Thanks,

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

The New York Times highlighted new estimates out yesterday that represent good news for farmers and other rural Americans:

Even as the broader economy falters amid signs of a weakening recovery, the nation’s agriculture sector is going strong, bolstered in part by a surge in exports, according to federal estimates of farm trade and income released on Tuesday.

The estimates confirm what economists have been saying for months: agriculture, which was generally not hit as hard by the recession as many other segments of the economy, remains a small bright spot going forward.

“We’re just having a robust rebound in the agricultural sector and promises of more growth,” Jason R. Henderson, vice president and economist at the Omaha branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said in a recent interview.

The estimates show that American farmers will ship $107.5 billion in agricultural products abroad in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. That is the second-highest amount ever, behind the record $115.3 billion in exports logged in 2008, when commodity prices soared as the global demand for agricultural products was helped by fast-growing economies in the developing world....

“The better the demand, the higher the price, and it’s going to put another 10, 15, possibly 20 cents in the price of a bushel of corn,” said Bill Horan, a corn farmer in Iowa. Corn is about $4 a bushel, which is about 50 cents higher than last year. “It means my wife can go out and buy a new sofa, and I can put new tires on the pickup.”

Read the full article here.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Ladies and gentlemen, the last several years, every time I have been in this old palace, am here, I can’t but help think of the irony that we are here today occupying a palace for a noble reason that was once occupied by Saddam Hussein. 

Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, General Mattis, General Odierno, General Austin, Ambassador Jeffrey, our distinguished and honored Iraqi leaders and military, it’s an honor to be with you today. 

It’s an honor to be joined by such a distinguished group of Americans and Iraqi commanders and civilian leaders bound together, I might add -- as a nation, we are now bound together as well by years of shared struggle and significant sacrifice.

In the predawn hours of March 20, 2003, columns of coalition troops set off across the desert and marshlands from Kuwait en route to Baghdad.  Last week -- after seven-and-a-half years that tested our mettle like no conflict in recent American history -- the last of our combat units followed that same dusty highway out of Iraq, on their way home.

As President Obama declared in the Oval Office last night, the United States has now ended our combat mission in Iraq and Iraqi troops are taking lead responsibility for their country’s security.

We’ve kept a promise, a promise made to the American people and to the people of Iraq, by drawing down our forces to roughly 50,000.  And we’re on track to remove all of our troops by the end of next year, according to the agreement signed by President Bush made with the Iraqi government.

Operation Iraqi Freedom is over. But American engagement with Iraq will continue with the mission that begins today -- Operation New Dawn.

As the name suggests, this ceremony not only marks the change of a command, but the start of a different chapter in the relationship with Iraq.  Our remaining troops -- I might add, as combat ready, if need be, as any in our military -- will advise and assist Iraqi forces, support partnered counterterrorism operations and protect our military and civilian personnel, as well as our infrastructure.

And we are ramping up our civilian and diplomatic effort to strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty, stability and self-reliance at the very time we are drawing down combat forces.

Our goal -- our goal is not just a physically secure Iraq, but an economically prosperous and stable one as well. 

With our Iraqi partners, our hope is to be able to enhance the ties of trade and commerce, increase our cultural and educational exchanges, open consulates in Basra and Erbil -- all to ensure that our engagement spans the breadth and length of this country.

Our diplomats -- our diplomats will support Iraq's efforts to build strong ties with their neighbors and the wider world, while working through the remaining obligations at the United Nations.

And here in Baghdad, those efforts will be led by an outstanding ambassador, Jim Jeffrey, who may be new to this particular job, but is certainly not new to the region nor this country.  His knowledge and commitment run deep.  They go back to his earlier service in the Bush administration as a Deputy National Security Advisor, as well as at one point the DCM right here in Baghdad. 

And he is backed by an extraordinary team of Foreign Service professionals and civilian experts, who are moving to the forefront of our effort now.  They have always been engaged, but now they’re moving to the forefront, people like Erin Eddy, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, who now serves “outside the wire” as a public diplomacy officer on a regional -- provincial reconstruction team in Kirkuk. 

Or Madeline Chikko, who became an American citizen after her family fled Iraq three decades ago and has now chosen to return in 2008 to work with the Ministry of Justice here in Iraq on property rights and rule of law.

Or Dave Butzer, a 27 year-veteran of the Oregon police force, who has since then trained law enforcement officers in Kosovo, Jordan and Yemen, and who now advises the Iraqi Interior Ministry. 

Along with our military and diplomats, and the civilians in Iraq -- we have borne -- they have borne the burden of lengthy deployments, like you in the military, missing anniversaries and holidays, births of children and the loss of loved ones.

This change of mission, to state the obvious, would never have been possible without the resolve and tremendous sacrifice and competence of our military -- the finest -- if our Iraqi friends will forgive us, the finest fighting force in the world and I would argue the finest fighting force that ever has existed.  And I don’t believe that is hyperbole.

And that’s a large part, because it has been led by such a significant group of men and women over the last three decade.  And I want to thank my friend, Secretary Gates, for his unique willingness to serve two Presidents of different parties with differing views -- a testimony to Bob’s patriotism, his commitment to service and above all his determination to see this effort through.  (Applause.)  He deserves your applause. 

If you excuse the personal reference, as we used to say in the Senate, this is one good man -- one good man.  We’ve also been blessed by the wisdom and steady hand of Admiral Mike Mullen and the leadership of General David Petraeus, who I might add is still serving this country in a way that is beyond what we should ask of anyone.  I shouldn’t joke about this, but I visited him down in Florida and -- before he headed off, Bob.  And he said, “Just as I was getting -- finally getting to live like the Air Force, you’re asking me to move.”  (Laughter.)  It was a lovely place.  (Laughter.)  And by the way, we owe his wife and his family as well.

And also by General Jim Mattis, who is taking his command.  And on his last day of his command, I’d like to especially thank General Ray Odierno.  This man is not only a warrior, but a diplomat in the best American tradition.  I want to thank him for his exceptional -- and I’m not exaggerating, his exceptional service for more than four years leading forces here and working closely with Iraqi political leaders, many of them sitting here today.  And I think they would all acknowledge they have absolute complete faith and trust in this man.

General, four years and five months is an extraordinary sacrifice for both you and your family, and I can only imagine -- as a matter of fact, I know how joyous your homecoming is going to be and you richly deserve it.  And by the way, you owe Linda big -- really, really big.

And I would be remiss if I did not in mentioning the sacrifices that the General has made, like many of you, I would be remiss if I did not recognize his son, Capt. Tony Odierno, who made a great sacrifice here in Iraq on behalf of his country and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with a V for Valor.  And now he works for the New York Yankees, and I imagine you’re going to go home and see a couple of games -- I imagine.

I’m confident as well that General Austin, who has already served valiantly in Iraq and beyond, is going to continue this proud legacy.  We’re extremely fortunate to have you take command, General, and I look forward to working with you.  And I know you know many of the Iraqi political leaders here and their commanding generals, and it’s going to be a seamless transition.

Our fighting men and women were given a mission in Iraq that was as complicated as any in our history, an assignment that proved, as Clausewitz taught us, that “War is the realm of uncertainty.”

Troops steeped in military doctrine were asked to deal with challenges ranging from electricity to unemployment, currency exchange to trash collection.

A high-speed invasion that toppled a tyrant became a grinding struggle against violent extremists.  Empty roads became deathtraps.  Suicide became a devastating weapon, requiring split-second decisions by young American military women and men that could save the life of a comrade or shed the blood of an innocent.

And enemies like Al Qaeda in Iraq waged unspeakable violence against Iraqi civilians in an attempt to foster hatred in communities that worship the exact same God.

Thus far, they have failed.  The Iraqi people, to their great credit, have rejected the ugly face of violence and cast their lot, as well as their ballots, for a better future.

And so today, while the threat -- a tragic reality -- of further bloodshed remains, violence has reached the lowest point since 2003, when we arrived here -- shortly after we arrived here.  

And a great deal of credit goes to Iraq’s security forces -- more than 650,000 strong, including highly trained special operations forces who are increasingly ready to defend their fellow citizens.  In recent months, the Iraqi military secured an election, killed or captured most of Al Qaeda in Iraq and most of their leaders and made significant inroads against other terrorist groups.

Because of their competence, we have over the past year -- and it’s been over the past year as the General will tell you and you all know -- been able to transfer thousands of square miles of territory and hundreds of bases to Iraqi control.

Perhaps the most important development of all is that in the aftermath of a second national election, Iraqi leaders are sitting down to settle their differences through negotiation and not through violence.  Another way of putting it -- as my staff always kids me for saying -- politics has broken out in Iraq.

The fact that no single party or coalition got anywhere near a clear majority would make forming a government, a parliamentary system, difficult under any circumstances.  A decade -- after a decade of dictatorship and war, it’s an even more daunting task here in Iraq.

Unlike after the last election, however, a caretaker government is providing security and basic services and preventing a dangerous power vacuum from erupting.  But that is not a durable solution to the many challenges and significant opportunities Iraq faces.  The Iraqi people voted in large numbers across communities, and if you don’t mind -- forgive me for saying so -- they expect a government that reflects the result of the votes they cast.

And that’s going to require Iraqi politicians to place the national interest above their own, a difficult thing in any country, including ours.  It is not our place to tell the Iraqis who should lead.  But I strongly urge them to match the courage that their citizens have shown by bringing this process to a close and forming a government.  And I trust they will do so soon.

Since war is a human endeavor, its contours can never be fully drawn with numbers.  But the sheer scope of our commitment to the Iraqi people bears some reflection.

More than a million American service members have deployed here since the conflict began.  And I am awed -- I mean, I am in awe of their accomplishments and their significant sacrifices, including all of you sitting before me today.

This is particularly true for more than 30,000 troops wounded in action, and over 4,408 fallen angels who have made the ultimate sacrifice along with members of the international coalition.

It’s no secret that this war has divided Americans, but they have never shrunk -- or either political party has shrunk from a united support for an extraordinary United States military, for extraordinary service of our troops.

As President Obama said last night, now is the time to put these differences behind us and come together to meet the many challenges that remain and that we face at home.

Today is also an important acknowledgment -- it’s important to acknowledge the magnitude -- the magnitude of the Iraqi losses in this conflict.  Tens of thousands of security forces and innocent civilians have been killed.  Many times that number have been wounded and displaced.

I pray that all those scarred by this war in Iraq come to know the balm of lasting peace.  And I believe -- I truly believe that their darkest days are now behind them.  They have such a great opportunity as they step up to it.

After all that Iraqis endured, we understand their deeply felt desire to control their own lives, determine their own fate, and maintain their own security.

That’s why we kept President Bush’s commitment to withdraw our forces from Iraqi cities last summer, why President Obama has now kept his promise, made one month after we took office to end our combat mission and draw down to a force of 50,000, and why we will make good on our agreement with the Iraqis to remove all our forces by the end of next year.

We gather today in a capital that once boasted the planet’s greatest assemblage of universities, hospitals, and museums -- a cultural beacon whose centerpiece was a grand intellectual bazaar known literally as the House of Wisdom.

In modern times, Iraq has faced hardships most nations cannot fathom.  But it is blessed with vast national bounty, natural resources.  And the wisdom of the ages lives on in the people here in Iraq -- educated, adaptive, and above all resilient people.

This inevitable store of human talent and natural wealth are the tools that can now forge a secure and prosperous future for the people of Iraq.  And god-willing, you’re on the path to fulfill that promise again.  We’re proud to be your partner. 

Thank you all.  May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.  (Applause.)

END

“Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.” — President Obama

In 2008, many volunteers were first drawn to Barack Obama as a candidate for President because of his firm promise to end the was in Iraq.

Last night, the President made good on that campaign pledge, and spoke to the nation to mark the end of our combat mission in Iraq.

In just his second Oval Office address, President Obama thanked the millions of Americans who put their lives on the line, including the 4,400 who gave their lives in this war.

We’ve now been through nearly a decade of war.  We’ve endured a long and painful recession.  And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we’re trying to build for our nation -- a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity -- may seem beyond our reach.

But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment.  It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.

From this desk, seven and a half years ago, President Bush announced the beginning of military operations in Iraq.  Much has changed since that night.  A war to disarm a state became a fight against an insurgency.  Terrorism and sectarian warfare threatened to tear Iraq apart.  Thousands of Americans gave their lives; tens of thousands have been wounded.  Our relations abroad were strained.  Our unity at home was tested.

These are the rough waters encountered during the course of one of America’s longest wars.  Yet there has been one constant amidst these shifting tides.  At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve.  As Commander-in-Chief, I am incredibly proud of their service.  And like all Americans, I’m awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.

The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given.  They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people.  Together with Iraqis and coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future.  They shifted tactics to protect the Iraqi people, trained Iraqi Security Forces, and took out terrorist leaders.  Because of our troops and civilians -- and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people -- Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain.

So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.  Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.

This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office.

The President also emphasized his steadfast commitment to taking care of our troops once they return home as veterans:

Part of that responsibility is making sure that we honor our commitments to those who have served our country with such valor.  As long as I am President, we will maintain the finest fighting force that the world has ever known, and we will do whatever it takes to serve our veterans as well as they have served us.  This is a sacred trust.  That’s why we’ve already made one of the largest increases in funding for veterans in decades.  We’re treating the signature wounds of today’s wars -- post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury -- while providing the health care and benefits that all of our veterans have earned.  And we’re funding a Post-9/11 GI Bill that helps our veterans and their families pursue the dream of a college education.  Just as the GI Bill helped those who fought World War II -- including my grandfather -- become the backbone of our middle class, so today’s servicemen and women must have the chance to apply their gifts to expand the American economy.  Because part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who have fought it.

Last night we witnessed a historic milestone in our nation’s history. You can join in and mark this moment by welcoming our troops home—send our men and women in uniform your personal message of thanks.

Click here to see the video.

The President's schedule today is packed with bilateral meetings: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.  The talks will stretch into the night with a working dinner with all five leaders in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House.  Learn more from last night's press briefing with Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Senator George Mitchell.

Emerging from the first in that series of meetings, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu made clear that the "senseless slaughter" that took place last night would not deter the pursuit of peace:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, everybody.  Prime Minister Netanyahu and I just had a very productive discussion about our shared efforts to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East.  I'm going to have more to say about today’s meetings not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with the other participants of the talks here in the Rose Garden later this afternoon.  But I did want to specifically take some time out to speak to the people of Israel and to the region about the senseless slaughter that took place near Hebron yesterday.
 
There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction.  And the tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we're up against.  But I want everybody to be very clear:  The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.
 
And so the message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course.
 
I also want to express the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who were gunned down.  And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a very difficult time for his country, still being so committed to the cause of peace that he is here with us today.
 
Prime Minister.
 
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for expressing what I think is the sentiment of decent people everywhere, in the face of this savagery and brutality.  
 
Four innocent people were gunned down and seven new orphans were added, by people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose. 
 
I think that the President’s statement is an expression of our desire to fight against this terror.  And the talks that we had, which were, indeed, open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel’s security.  That is a fundamental element, an important foundation, of the peace that we seek and work for.
 
And I appreciate, Mr. President, your efforts to advance this peace for us and for our neighbors, for our region, and I think we can say, for the world.
 
Thank you. 
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you. 
 
And let me just say that I will be meeting with President Abbas this afternoon.  He condemned this outrageous attack, as well.  I have the utmost confidence in him and his belief in a two-state solution in which the people of Israel and the Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.  And so I am also grateful to him for his presence here today.
 
We’ve got a lot of work to do.  There are going to be those who are going to do everything they can to undermine these talks, but we are going to remain stalwart. 
 
And so, to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to Prime Minister -- and to President Abbas, as well as to President Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, I am very grateful for their participation.  I will have a longer discussion about that this afternoon after my bilateral meetings. 
 
Thank you.  

Emerging from the first in that series of meetings, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu made clear that the "senseless slaughter" that took place last night would not deter the pursuit of peace:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, everybody.  Prime Minister Netanyahu and I just had a very productive discussion about our shared efforts to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East.  I'm going to have more to say about today’s meetings not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with the other participants of the talks here in the Rose Garden later this afternoon.  But I did want to specifically take some time out to speak to the people of Israel and to the region about the senseless slaughter that took place near Hebron yesterday.
 
There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction.  And the tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we're up against.  But I want everybody to be very clear:  The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.
 
And so the message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course.
 
I also want to express the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who were gunned down.  And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a very difficult time for his country, still being so committed to the cause of peace that he is here with us today.
 
Prime Minister.
 
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for expressing what I think is the sentiment of decent people everywhere, in the face of this savagery and brutality.  
 
Four innocent people were gunned down and seven new orphans were added, by people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose. 
 
I think that the President’s statement is an expression of our desire to fight against this terror.  And the talks that we had, which were, indeed, open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel’s security.  That is a fundamental element, an important foundation, of the peace that we seek and work for.
 
And I appreciate, Mr. President, your efforts to advance this peace for us and for our neighbors, for our region, and I think we can say, for the world.
 
Thank you. 
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you. 
 
And let me just say that I will be meeting with President Abbas this afternoon.  He condemned this outrageous attack, as well.  I have the utmost confidence in him and his belief in a two-state solution in which the people of Israel and the Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.  And so I am also grateful to him for his presence here today.
 
We’ve got a lot of work to do.  There are going to be those who are going to do everything they can to undermine these talks, but we are going to remain stalwart. 
 
And so, to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to Prime Minister -- and to President Abbas, as well as to President Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, I am very grateful for their participation.  I will have a longer discussion about that this afternoon after my bilateral meetings. 
 
Thank you.  

Emerging from the first in that series of meetings, President Obama and President Netanyahu made clear that the "senseless slaughter" that took place last night would not deter the pursuit of peace:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, everybody.  Prime Minister Netanyahu and I just had a very productive discussion about our shared efforts to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East.  I'm going to have more to say about today’s meetings not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with the other participants of the talks here in the Rose Garden later this afternoon.  But I did want to specifically take some time out to speak to the people of Israel and to the region about the senseless slaughter that took place near Hebron yesterday.
 
There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction.  And the tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we're up against.  But I want everybody to be very clear:  The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.
 
And so the message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course.
 
I also want to express the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who were gunned down.  And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a very difficult time for his country, still being so committed to the cause of peace that he is here with us today.
 
Prime Minister.
 
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for expressing what I think is the sentiment of decent people everywhere, in the face of this savagery and brutality.  
 
Four innocent people were gunned down and seven new orphans were added, by people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose. 
 
I think that the President’s statement is an expression of our desire to fight against this terror.  And the talks that we had, which were, indeed, open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel’s security.  That is a fundamental element, an important foundation, of the peace that we seek and work for.
 
And I appreciate, Mr. President, your efforts to advance this peace for us and for our neighbors, for our region, and I think we can say, for the world.
 
Thank you. 
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you. 
 
And let me just say that I will be meeting with President Abbas this afternoon.  He condemned this outrageous attack, as well.  I have the utmost confidence in him and his belief in a two-state solution in which the people of Israel and the Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.  And so I am also grateful to him for his presence here today.
 
We’ve got a lot of work to do.  There are going to be those who are going to do everything they can to undermine these talks, but we are going to remain stalwart. 
 
And so, to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to Prime Minister -- and to President Abbas, as well as to President Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, I am very grateful for their participation.  I will have a longer discussion about that this afternoon after my bilateral meetings. 
 
Thank you.  

     PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, everybody.  Prime Minister Netanyahu and I just had a very productive discussion about our shared efforts to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East.  I'm going to have more to say about today’s meetings not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with the other participants of the talks here in the Rose Garden later this afternoon.  But I did want to specifically take some time out to speak to the people of Israel and to the region about the senseless slaughter that took place near Hebron yesterday.

     There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction.  And the tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we're up against.  But I want everybody to be very clear:  The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.

     And so the message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course.

     I also want to express the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who were gunned down.  And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a very difficult time for his country, still being so committed to the cause of peace that he is here with us today.

     Prime Minister.

     PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for expressing what I think is the sentiment of decent people everywhere, in the face of this savagery and brutality. 

     Four innocent people were gunned down and seven new orphans were added, by people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose.

     I think that the President’s statement is an expression of our desire to fight against this terror.  And the talks that we had, which were, indeed, open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel’s security.  That is a fundamental element, an important foundation, of the peace that we seek and work for.

     And I appreciate, Mr. President, your efforts to advance this peace for us and for our neighbors, for our region, and I think we can say, for the world.

     Thank you.

     PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you. 

And let me just say that I will be meeting with President Abbas this afternoon.  He condemned this outrageous attack, as well.  I have the utmost confidence in him and his belief in a two-state solution in which the people of Israel and the Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.  And so I am also grateful to him for his presence here today.

We’ve got a lot of work to do.  There are going to be those who are going to do everything they can to undermine these talks, but we are going to remain stalwart. 

And so, to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to Prime Minister -- and to President Abbas, as well as to President Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, I am very grateful for their participation.  I will have a longer discussion about that this afternoon after my bilateral meetings. 

Thank you. 

                                     END                       12:28 P.M. EDT

Administrator Fugate discussed FEMA’s close coordination with state and local officials in potentially affected states from North Carolina to Maine. FEMA is continuing to monitor the storm’s movement in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center, and has deployed teams to North Carolina and other East Coast states to support storm preparations as well as response and recovery efforts as needed. FEMA has also prepositioned commodities for rapid delivery, including water, meals, tarps, blankets, generators and other essential items. 

Administrator Fugate also briefed the President on the impacts from Hurricane Earl on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which have had FEMA teams on the ground since the weekend supporting the Governors’ efforts related to the storm.

The President stressed that the team needs to be prepared for all scenarios, including the worst case and do everything needed to protect the residents and communities along the East Coast, including encouraging residents and visitors in potentially affected areas to follow all evacuation orders issued by local and state officials.

To view a photograph of the President’s call with FEMA Administrator Fugate click HERE

Tonight marks the end of the American combat mission in Iraq.

As a candidate for this office, I pledged to end this war responsibly. And, as President, that is what I am doing.

Since I became Commander-in-Chief, we've brought home nearly 100,000 U.S. troops. We've closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of our bases.

As Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, our commitment to a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq continues. Under Operation New Dawn, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain to advise and assist Iraqi forces, protect our civilians on the ground, and pursue targeted counterterrorism efforts.

By the end of next year, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, these men and women, too, will come home.

Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest -- it is in our own. Our nation has paid a huge price to put Iraq's future in the hands of its people. We have sent our men and women in uniform to make enormous sacrifices. We have spent vast resources abroad in the face of several years of recession at home.

We have met our responsibility through the courage and resolve of our women and men in uniform.

In seven years, they confronted a mission as challenging and as complex as any our military has ever been asked to face.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans put their lives on the line. Many returned for multiple tours of duty, far from their loved ones who bore a heroic burden of their own. And most painfully, more than 4,400 Americans have given their lives, fighting for people they never knew, for values that have defined our people for more than two centuries.

What their country asked of them was not small. And what they sacrificed was not easy.

For that, each and every American owes them our heartfelt thanks.

Our promise to them -- to each woman or man who has donned our colors -- is that our country will serve them as faithfully as they have served us. We have already made the largest increase in funding for veterans in decades. So long as I am President, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that sacred trust.

Tonight, we mark a milestone in our nation's history. Even at a time of great uncertainty for so many Americans, this day and our brave troops remind us that our future is in our own hands and that our best days lie ahead.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Over all that time, though, as the President pointed out, “there has been one constant amidst those shifting tides”:

read more

Click here to see the video.

Having returned hours earlier from a conversation with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas – troops who had seen every phase of what has become one of America’s longest wars – the President spoke to the Nation for just the second time from the Oval Office to announce the end of America’s combat role in that war.  Americans in high school today may barely remember a time when America was not in combat in Iraq, and young adults – including so many of our troops who have sacrificed so much – have almost by definition gone their entire adult lives in a country divided over the war.  Today, as the President put it, was a day to begin to “turn the page” – a day when America could turn its focus towards building itself back up from a devastating recession.

Over all that time, though, as the President pointed out, “there has been one constant amidst those shifting tides”:

read more

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the end of our combat mission in Iraq, the ongoing security challenges we face, and the need to rebuild our nation here at home. 

I know this historic moment comes at a time of great uncertainty for many Americans.  We’ve now been through nearly a decade of war.  We’ve endured a long and painful recession.  And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we’re trying to build for our nation -- a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity -- may seem beyond our reach.

But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment.  It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.

From this desk, seven and a half years ago, President Bush announced the beginning of military operations in Iraq.  Much has changed since that night.  A war to disarm a state became a fight against an insurgency.  Terrorism and sectarian warfare threatened to tear Iraq apart.  Thousands of Americans gave their lives; tens of thousands have been wounded.  Our relations abroad were strained.  Our unity at home was tested.

These are the rough waters encountered during the course of one of America’s longest wars.  Yet there has been one constant amidst these shifting tides.  At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve.  As Commander-in-Chief, I am incredibly proud of their service.  And like all Americans, I’m awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.

The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given.  They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people.  Together with Iraqis and coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future.  They shifted tactics to protect the Iraqi people, trained Iraqi Security Forces, and took out terrorist leaders.  Because of our troops and civilians -- and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people -- Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain.

So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.  Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.

     This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office.  Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. 

That’s what we’ve done.  We’ve removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq.  We’ve closed or transferred to the Iraqis hundreds of bases.  And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.

This completes a transition to Iraqi responsibility for their own security.  U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq’s cities last summer, and Iraqi forces have moved into the lead with considerable skill and commitment to their fellow citizens.  Even as Iraq continues to suffer terrorist attacks, security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began.  And Iraqi forces have taken the fight to al Qaeda, removing much of its leadership in Iraqi-led operations.

This year also saw Iraq hold credible elections that drew a strong turnout.  A caretaker administration is in place as Iraqis form a government based on the results of that election.  Tonight, I encourage Iraq’s leaders to move forward with a sense of urgency to form an inclusive government that is just, representative, and accountable to the Iraqi people.  And when that government is in place, there should be no doubt:  The Iraqi people will have a strong partner in the United States.  Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq’s future is not.

Going forward, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq with a different mission:  advising and assisting Iraq’s Security Forces, supporting Iraqi troops in targeted counterterrorism missions, and protecting our civilians.  Consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave by the end of next year.  As our military draws down, our dedicated civilians -- diplomats, aid workers, and advisors -- are moving into the lead to support Iraq as it strengthens its government, resolves political disputes, resettles those displaced by war, and builds ties with the region and the world.  That’s a message that Vice President Biden is delivering to the Iraqi people through his visit there today.

     This new approach reflects our long-term partnership with Iraq -- one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.  Of course, violence will not end with our combat mission.  Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife.  But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals.  Iraqis are a proud people.  They have rejected sectarian war, and they have no interest in endless destruction.  They understand that, in the end, only Iraqis can resolve their differences and police their streets.  Only Iraqis can build a democracy within their borders.  What America can do, and will do, is provide support for the Iraqi people as both a friend and a partner.

     Ending this war is not only in Iraq’s interest -- it’s in our own.  The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people.  We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home.  We’ve persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people -- a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization.  Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility.  Now, it’s time to turn the page.

As we do, I’m mindful that the Iraq war has been a contentious issue at home.  Here, too, it’s time to turn the page.  This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush.  It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset.  Yet no one can doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security.  As I’ve said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it.  And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hopes for Iraqis’ future.

     The greatness of our democracy is grounded in our ability to move beyond our differences, and to learn from our experience as we confront the many challenges ahead.  And no challenge is more essential to our security than our fight against al Qaeda.

     Americans across the political spectrum supported the use of force against those who attacked us on 9/11.  Now, as we approach our 10th year of combat in Afghanistan, there are those who are understandably asking tough questions about our mission there.  But we must never lose sight of what’s at stake.  As we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.  We will disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists.  And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense.  In fact, over the last 19 months, nearly a dozen al Qaeda leaders -- and hundreds of al Qaeda’s extremist allies -- have been killed or captured around the world.

Within Afghanistan, I’ve ordered the deployment of additional troops who -- under the command of General David Petraeus -- are fighting to break the Taliban’s momentum. 
As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future.  But, as was the case in Iraq, we can’t do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves.  That’s why we’re training Afghan Security Forces and supporting a political resolution to Afghanistan’s problems.  And next August, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility.  The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure.  But make no mistake:  This transition will begin -- because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s.

     Indeed, one of the lessons of our effort in Iraq is that American influence around the world is not a function of military force alone.  We must use all elements of our power -- including our diplomacy, our economic strength, and the power of America’s example -- to secure our interests and stand by our allies.  And we must project a vision of the future that’s based not just on our fears, but also on our hopes -- a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world,
but also the limitless possibilities of our time.

     Today, old adversaries are at peace, and emerging democracies are potential partners.  New markets for our goods stretch from Asia to the Americas.  A new push for peace in the Middle East will begin here tomorrow.  Billions of young people want to move beyond the shackles of poverty and conflict.  As the leader of the free world, America will do more than just defeat on the battlefield those who offer hatred and destruction -- we will also lead among those who are willing to work together to expand freedom and opportunity for all people.

     Now, that effort must begin within our own borders.  Throughout our history, America has been willing to bear the burden of promoting liberty and human dignity overseas, understanding its links to our own liberty and security.  But we have also understood that our nation’s strength and influence abroad must be firmly anchored in our prosperity at home.  And the bedrock of that prosperity must be a growing middle class.

     Unfortunately, over the last decade, we’ve not done what’s necessary to shore up the foundations of our own prosperity.  We spent a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas.  This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits.  For too long, we have put off tough decisions on everything from our manufacturing base to our energy policy to education reform.  As a result, too many middle-class families find themselves working harder for less, while our nation’s long-term competitiveness is put at risk.

     And so at this moment, as we wind down the war in Iraq, we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy, and grit, and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad.  They have met every test that they faced.  Now, it’s our turn.  Now, it’s our responsibility to honor them by coming together, all of us, and working to secure the dream that so many generations have fought for -- the dream that a better life awaits anyone who is willing to work for it and reach for it.

     Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work.  To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy.  We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil.  We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs.  This will be difficult.  But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President.

     Part of that responsibility is making sure that we honor our commitments to those who have served our country with such valor.  As long as I am President, we will maintain the finest fighting force that the world has ever known, and we will do whatever it takes to serve our veterans as well as they have served us.  This is a sacred trust.  That’s why we’ve already made one of the largest increases in funding for veterans in decades.  We’re treating the signature wounds of today’s wars -- post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury -- while providing the health care and benefits that all of our veterans have earned.  And we’re funding a Post-9/11 GI Bill that helps our veterans and their families pursue the dream of a college education.  Just as the GI Bill helped those who fought World War II -- including my grandfather -- become the backbone of our middle class, so today’s servicemen and women must have the chance to apply their gifts to expand the American economy.  Because part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who have fought it.

     Two weeks ago, America’s final combat brigade in Iraq -- the Army’s Fourth Stryker Brigade -- journeyed home in the pre-dawn darkness.  Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles made the trip from Baghdad, the last of them passing into Kuwait in the early morning hours.  Over seven years before, American troops and coalition partners had fought their way across similar highways, but this time no shots were fired.  It was just a convoy of brave Americans, making their way home.

     Of course, the soldiers left much behind.  Some were teenagers when the war began.  Many have served multiple tours of duty, far from families who bore a heroic burden of their own, enduring the absence of a husband’s embrace or a mother’s kiss.  Most painfully, since the war began, 55 members of the Fourth Stryker Brigade made the ultimate sacrifice -- part of over 4,400 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq.  As one staff sergeant said, “I know that to my brothers in arms who fought and died, this day would probably mean a lot.”

     Those Americans gave their lives for the values that have lived in the hearts of our people for over two centuries.  Along with nearly 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq, they fought in a faraway place for people they never knew.  They stared into the darkest of human creations -- war -- and helped the Iraqi people seek the light of peace.

     In an age without surrender ceremonies, we must earn victory through the success of our partners and the strength of our own nation.  Every American who serves joins an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar -- Americans who have fought to see that the lives of our children are better than our own.  Our troops are the steel in our ship of state.  And though our nation may be travelling through rough waters, they give us confidence that our course is true, and that beyond the pre-dawn darkness, better days lie ahead.

     Thank you.  May God bless you.  And may God bless the United States of America, and all who serve her.

                             END                8:19 P.M. EDT

MR. HAMMER:  Hi, good morning, everyone.  Sorry for the slight delay.  The senator was coming from a meeting.

So today we have Senator Mitchell, the Special Envoy for Middle East peace, will give you an on-the-record briefing.  It is embargoed until 9:00 p.m. tonight.  And with that, I don’t want to take up his valuable time and give him the most time with you.  So, Senator, if you will.

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Thank you, Mike.  Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 

Last week Secretary of State Clinton invited President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu to Washington on September 2nd to resume direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues.  We believe these negotiations can be completed within one year.

As you know, both have accepted.  They will have bilateral meetings with President Obama tomorrow, as will President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan.  The four leaders then will join President Obama for dinner at the White House to help launch these discussions.

Egypt and Jordan have a critical role to play, and their continued leadership and commitment to peace will be essential to success.

After the bilateral meetings, the President will make a public statement, and then just prior to the dinner, the President and the other leaders will make public statements.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Clinton will convene a meeting at the State Department between Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Abbas and their delegations, following which I will provide a readout to the press.

Since the beginning of this administration, we’ve worked with the Israelis, the Palestinians and our international partners to advance the cause of comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including two-state solution, which ensures security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.

We’re pleased that negotiations will be relaunched after a hiatus of more than a year and a half.  And we will engage with perseverance and patience to try to bring them to a successful conclusion.

Thank you.  And with that, I’ll be glad now to take your questions.

Q    Sir, can you put the negotiations in the context of the unfreezing of the settlement moratorium, and how much of it -- how important that deadline is, whether or not you guys are counting on Ehud Barak to not approve settlements going forward or whether you expect that settlements will commence once again?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Our position on settlements is well known, and it remains unchanged.  We’ve always made clear that the parties should promote an environment that is conducive to negotiations.

As Secretary of State Clinton has said, as we move forward it’s important that actions by all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it.

Q    Do you expect that the settlement freeze will continue, or what are the Israelis telling you in terms of if negotiations are still going on on the 26th, whether they will continue the freeze?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Our discussions continue with both sides, and they are consistent with and comprise in part the points that I just made.

Q    Senator, as you know, there’s so much pessimism in the region that they talk about failure more than success.  And many people believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu was tested in 1996 and he did everything to destroy the peace process.  Now they enter in this phase of negotiation where there’s no, like, timetable, there’s no, really, preconditions.  So what makes you optimistic that anything is going to substantially come out of it? 

And if I may, something else.  The President talked about in the beginning of the administration about comprehensive peace talks, on two tracks.  But now we’ve seen two leaders from the region being invited, and that excluded Syria.  So why Syria was not on the table?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  With respect to opinion in the region, by coincidence I just received last evening from Shibley Telhami, who is at the University of Maryland and with whom I consult regularly, among others, for advice and counsel, some key findings from polls taken in conjunction with the Zogby polling organization in six countries in the region:  Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

Among the key findings are that over 80 percent of Arabs polled are still in principle open to the two-state solution; also, that if and when a two-state solution were to come about, a plurality of those polled -- 39 percent -- believed it would happen through negotiations, and only 16 percent believed that it would come about through another war or conflict.

And finally, those polls, the respondents, believed that if prospects for the two-state solution collapse, a majority of those polled believed that the result would be intense conflict for years to come.

Now, I believe that it is an awareness of these and other realities by the two leaders and their leadership that there is a window of opportunity, a moment in time within which there remains the possibility of achieving the two-state solution, which is so essential to comprehensive peace in the region, that difficult as it may be for both leaders, and we recognize that difficulty for both of them, the alternatives for them and the members of their societies pose far greater difficulties and far greater problems in the future.

And so having spent much of the time that I served in this position in the region, meeting with these leaders and with many, many others in both societies, I think it is that general recognition combined with the presence, the patience, the perseverance and the commitment of President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and the leaders of this administration that have persuaded these leaders to take this step which, as I acknowledged and repeat, is difficult for them in many respects -- because their societies are divided, not just the Arab nations to whom I referred in these polls, but Israeli and Palestinian society.

With respect to Syria, our efforts continue to try to engage Israel and Syria in discussions and negotiations that would lead to peace there and also Israel and Lebanon. 

You will recall that when the President announced my appointment two days after he entered office, he referred to comprehensive peace and defined it as Israel and Palestinians, Israel and Syria, Israel and Lebanon, and Israel at peace with and having normal relations with all of its Arab neighbors.  And that remains our objective.

Q    I was wondering if you could tell us more about what comes after September the 2nd in terms of further meetings?  Is there any sense that while the parties are committed to a process, is there any sense of how you’re going to conduct the next round of talks?  And are you expecting there will always be an American presence in the room, or are you going to let the two parties sit together and call on you when needed?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  I’ll answer the second question first.  The United States will play an active and sustained role in the process.  That does not mean that the United States must be physically represented in every single meeting.  We recognize the value of direct, bilateral discussion between the parties and, in fact, will encourage that between the two leaders on a regular basis.

On the other hand, it does not mean that the United States will simply stand aside and not participate actively.  We will operate in a manner that is reasonable and sensible in the circumstances which exist, but the guiding principle will be an active and sustained United States presence.

Q    At what point did you --

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Oh, I’m sorry.

Q    What comes after September the 2nd?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  We hope to proceed promptly on an intensive basis with the parties.  Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated privately and publicly that he hopes to meet with President Abbas about every two weeks.  We think that’s a sensible approach, which we hope is undertaken and that, in addition to that, there will be meetings at other levels on a consistent basis.

Indeed, we have had extensive preparatory meetings with the two sides last week and yesterday and today and continuing through tomorrow, right up until the time when the two sides get together.  And so we want to maintain this -- we want to establish this process going forward and to maintain it in an intense way at several levels of engagement.

Q    At what point during the proximity talks you realized the two parties are ready for direct talks?  And everybody realizes during these future talks that Hamas will be the elephant in the room.  How confident are you that these talks will succeed and will achieve the two-state solution while excluding Hamas?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Once again, let me take the questions in reverse order, if I might.  We do not expect Hamas to play a role in this immediate process.  But as Secretary of State Clinton and I have said publicly many times, while in the Middle East and in the United States, we welcome the full participation by Hamas and all relevant parties once they comply with the basic requirements of democracy and nonviolence that are, of course, a prerequisite to engage in these serious types of discussions.

There has been a good deal of a discussion about references to Northern Ireland, and I have repeatedly been asked by reporters and individuals when I make public appearances, well, Senator, you talk to the IRA in Northern Ireland, but don’t you talk to Hamas here.  The questions reflect an incomplete understanding of what occurred in Northern Ireland and its relationship to this situation. 

So, first, let me say they’re very different.  It’s not useful to try to make direct comparisons because the participants, the circumstances, the situation, the timing are all very different.  And while we should learn what we can from other processes, each is unique.

But on the central point, the reality is that in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, the political party that is affiliated with the IRA, did not enter the negotiations until after 15 months had elapsed in the negotiations, and only then because they met two central conditions that had been established.  The first was a ceasefire, and the second was a publicly stated commitment to what came to be known as the Mitchell Principles because I was the chairman of the commission that established them. 

And those commitments included -- I’ll just quote briefly from them -- a commitment to democratic and exclusively peaceful means of resolving political issues; a commitment to renounce for themselves and to oppose any efforts by others to use force or threaten to use force to influence the course or the outcome of the negotiations; and finally a commitment to agree to abide by the terms of any agreement reached in negotiations and to resort to democratic and exclusively peaceful methods in trying to alter any aspect of that outcome with which they may disagree.

So there are analogous -- not identical and not directly comparable -- conditions that have been set forth by the Quartet with respect to Hamas.  And if there is movement to accept those principles, as occurred with Sinn Féin and the IRA in Northern Ireland, why then, of course, they would be welcome.  And we would want them to participate in those circumstances.  So I want to make clear in that regard what our position is.

Go ahead, I’m sorry.  Did you want to follow up?

Q    At what point in the proximity talks you realized that --

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Please keep in mind that when we began the proximity talks, I stated publicly in announcing them that the purpose was to provide a transition into direct negotiations, to encourage the parties to establish the conditions and reach the conclusion that this would be the best to accomplish. 

The circumstances were such that before we reached the four-month period which had been established for a review of those proximity talks by the Arab League Follow-up Committee, we felt that following the President’s personal meeting with President Abbas in June and his personal meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in July, and his direct discussions with them, that the opportunity existed to make the transition from proximity to direct talks at an earlier time.  As it turns out, the time is very nearly consistent with the four-month period that had been established.

Q    Yes, sir, Senator Mitchell.  We’ve seen -- we’ll see that President Obama will be taking a direct personal role tomorrow in the bilateral talks and the dinner with the leaders.  But going forward, how much of a personal engagement will we see from the President?  Will he be ready step in himself to help bridge any differences?  Would he possibly be looking at another meeting, a trilateral meeting at the U.N. General Assembly at the end of the month?  And what about a trip to the region that he’s talked about in the past?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  The President has been engaged personally from the very beginning.  As you may recall, on January 21st of 2009, less than 24 hours after taking office, the first calls he made to foreign leaders were to leaders in this region.  And on the following day, he announced my appointment.

Please do not confuse personal engagement exclusively with public activities, because as you know, there’s a lot that a President does that isn’t in the public arena but that is a very -- represents very active participation. 

With respect to all of the items that you mentioned, I’m certain that what the President will do will make a judgment based upon the circumstances at the time, the reasonableness and the necessity of his participation, and will continue to be fully and actively a participant in the process, as necessary.  He has many, many important obligations, but he places a high priority on comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Q    Senator, good to see you.  Two questions.  The one-year deadline, does that reflect what the parties have communicated to you and others what they believe is possible, or is the one-year deadline meant to create a sense of urgency and place them in a calendar that sorts of tries to apply a bit of pressure?  That’s one question.

The second question is, of course these talks occur in a larger security context for Israel as it relates to Iran.  There are national security questions facing Israel and there will be diplomatic implications to whatever they do or do not decide.  Can you give us any sense of how this larger context, the question of Iran, and what may or may not happen, could in any way shape the outcome of these talks?

SENATOR MITCHELL:  The latter is obviously an issue of high importance, not just to Israel and the United States but to all of the countries in the region and indeed around the world, and has been the subject of intensive activity at the United Nations and elsewhere.  I think you would be better served if I deferred on that to those who are directly involved in the specific formulation and implementation of policy toward Iran.

But I can say, with respect to this conflict, it is an important issue.  I was struck that when I first went to the region last year, I took out and reviewed the report that I had authored in 2001 and President Bush as chairman of what came to be known as the Sharm el-Sheikh commission regarding the conflict.  And I read it through quickly, but I found no reference to Iran.  And yet on my first visit and subsequent visits, during which I met with the leaders of, I believe, 14 or 15 countries in the region, without exception Iran was included in the conversation.  And in most of them, it was the first or second item mentioned.  So clearly that is an important issue and one which has an impact on this process.

What was the first part?

Q    The one-year deadline.

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Yes.  During his visit to the United States in July, Prime Minister Netanyahu in a public statement, not at the time of the meeting in the White House, said that he believed this could be done within one year.  And we were pleased to hear him say that, and President Abbas has privately expressed to me his view that he does not want this to drag out, that he wants to get it done as soon as possible.  And I would let him speak for himself.  But he has provided us with an indication that he wants to move as soon as possible.

People ask whether the long history of negotiation has been beneficial or harmful.  It’s actually been both, in some respects.  Beneficial in the sense that this has been discussed so often that people have a good sense of what the principal issues are and how they might be resolved; harmful in the sense that it’s created attitudes among many in the region that it’s a never-ending process, that it’s gone on for a very long time and will go on forever.  So it’s very important to create a sense that this has a definite concluding point.  And we believe that it can be done and we will do everything possible, with perseverance and patience and determination, to see that it is done.

Q    You mentioned the long, rich history of U.S. mediation in the peace process.  There have been any number of frameworks under which these talks have taken place in the past -- the road map, the Tenet agreement, the “shelf agreement,” Annapolis.  Assuming that you’re not going into this sort of winging it, can you give us some sense of which parts of those frameworks you’ve adopted?  Give us a little review of the framework you’re using for these talks.

SENATOR MITCHELL:  What we’ve tried to do is to avoid a slavish adherence to the past while trying to learn what might have been improved in the past, what worked, what didn’t work.  And so we have avoided deliberately any specific label or identification that this is a continuation of process A or B or C. 

Rather, what we want to do is to learn what we can from those and take the best of them.  And they include, in my judgment, frequent direct contact between the leaders, between the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian Authority. 

Secondly, active and sustained United States participation so that we are not on some distant sideline cheering the parties on without active participation, but at the same time we recognize that this is a bilateral negotiation, and in the end the parties must make this decision by and for themselves.

Thirdly, maintaining broad international support, which is critical.  I have been to the region many, many times, and that’s all been widely reported.  What has been less widely reported is that on most of my trips, I stop in Europe and in other places on the way over and back.  I’ve made many visits to Brussels, to European capitals and to the United Nations.  We think it important that there be a broad basis of international support.  We take seriously the Quartet’s role, and that’s reflected in Prime Minister Blair’s presence at the diner tomorrow evening. 

And finally, it is to try very hard to create an atmosphere that is conducive to success and positive development of the process.  That’s not easy.  There is a free and vigorous press in the societies that are involved -- here as well, as there should be.  There’s a constant back-and-forth, and conflict and sensational statements, of course, generally get quick and widespread coverage.  But we think it’s very important that they establish some degree of confidence in the sincerity and the seriousness of purpose of each other so that they can begin to contemplate the very difficult decisions that each of them will have to make if we’re going to achieve success in the process.

Q    What’s your estimate, Senator, of the sincerity of purpose on each side?  Following up on Major’s question, many people in the region see the one-year deadline as simply a way of running out the clock.

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Well, we can’t avoid the fact that many people in the region disagree with one or more aspects of this.  Indeed, I think it’s fair to say that if you took every sentence that I’ve uttered today and spent 24 hours, you could find someone in the region who disagreed with some part of it or all of it.  That’s just the reality.  This is a conflict of longstanding, very deeply held views, very strong emotions, high level of mistrust, and therefore sharply divided.

So if -- anybody who wants never to be challenged or face confrontation ought not to get involved in this process because that’s just the reality.  And we have to do our best in a realistic way to try to create the conditions, imperfect in all circumstances, that will enable them to go forward.

What was the other part of it, Bill?

Q    The people in the region seeing the one-year timeline as a way of running out the clock.

SENATOR MITCHELL:  Yes, yes.  Well, we don’t -- we disagree with that.  We think it is realistic.  We think it can be done.  We recognize that there are many -- indeed, many very knowledgeable and experienced people who hold a different view.  And there are also many who aggressively advocate the view that this can’t be done and shouldn’t be done -- on both sides -- in public statements and public advocacy.

But in my judgment, what it really comes down to in the end is what is best for the people of Israel and what is best for the Palestinian people.

And I believe that a strong and persuasive and convincing argument can be made and must be made by us and others that a peaceful resolution, which ends this conflict, which ends all claim, which creates a viable, democratic, contiguous Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel is in their best interest.  And the alternative to that, of the possibility of continuing conflict into the indefinite future, is far more problematic. 

So thank you all very much.  Thank you, Mike.

MR. HAMMER:  Thank you, Senator.  We don’t want to abuse your time.  We know you’ve got important work to do and we hope to have you come back at some other point.  As a reminder again, this briefing is on the record, but it is embargoed until 9:00 p.m. tonight.  Thank you very much, everybody, for coming.

END
10:54 A.M. EDT

Section 1.  Parts II and IV of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, are amended as described in the Annex attached and made a part of this order.

Sec. 2.  These amendments shall take effect 30 days from the date of this order.

(a)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to make punishable any act done or omitted prior to the effective date of this order that was not punishable when done or omitted.

(b)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceedings, restraint, investigation, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the effective date of this order, and any such nonjudicial punishment, restraint, investigation, referral of charges, trial, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if these amendments had not been prescribed.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    August 31, 2010.

Over the weekend, thousands of OFA supporters and grassroots Democrats came together to reach out to voters in support of candidates who are fighting to move America forward.

Before our Moving America Forward Day of Action, Organizing for America set an ambitious goal of 200,000 doors knocked in 48 hours. Volunteers across the country stepped up—not only hitting that goal by knocking on 200,893 doors, but also making 168,330 phone calls to voters.

Check out some of the press coverage of the events and take a look at photo highlights from the weekend.

CNN - “Dems Launch Get Out the Vote Campaign”

Two major Democratic committees jointly launched their first nationwide get out the vote initiative of the fall campaign season on Saturday. The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee set a goal of knocking on 400,000 doors (200,000 for each committee) in 75 congressional districts as part of their "National Day of Action." "This level of voter contact this early is unprecedented," DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen said in a statement. "We will continue to meet with voters face to face and spread the message about moving the country forward."

Virginia’s NBC 29 News - “Mark Warner surprises Organizing for America”

Democrats brought in some national star power to help pound the pavement Saturday afternoon. Senator Mark Warner offered some words of advice to about 40 canvassers before they hit the streets of Charlottesville. Organizing for America teamed up with Tom Perriello's campaign to try and rally votes for the incumbent. Senator Warner told the party faithful that face-to-face time with voters is important for success in November.

Pennsylvania’s Scranton Times Tribune - “Casey rallies area Dems as party preps for midterm races”

When Democratic volunteers and activists gathered to campaign for the 2010 midterm elections Saturday, U.S. Sen.Bob Casey Jr. told them Democrats can prevail in the fall elections. "We're going to win this year, but I know we have a lot of work to do," he told the canvassers gathered in downtown Scranton, with cell phones for phone-bank calls and clipboards for door-to-door campaigning stacked on a table a few feet away. The gathering Saturday was part of a national campaign effort on behalf of Democrats over the weekend. Sixty events were planned in Pennsylvania. 

See more highlights and photos from this weekend’s Moving America Forward Day of Action.

Each year, thousands of women are diagnosed with, and go on to battle valiantly against, this disease.  Yet, ovarian cancer remains difficult to detect, and women are often not diagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage.  I encourage all women -- especially those with a family history of ovarian cancer or breast cancer, and those over age 55 -- to protect their health by understanding risk factors and discussing possible symptoms, including abdominal pain, with their health care provider.  Women and their loved ones may also visit Cancer.gov for more information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of ovarian and other cancers.

Across the Federal Government, we are working to promote awareness of ovarian cancer and advance its diagnosis and treatment.  The National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Defense all play vital roles in reducing the burden of this illness through critical investments in research.  Earlier this year, I was proud to sign into law the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA), which includes provisions to help women living with ovarian cancer.  The ACA eliminates annual and lifetime limits on benefits, creates a program for those who have been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, and prohibits insurance companies from canceling coverage after individuals get sick.  The ACA also requires that women enrolling in new insurance plans and those covered by Medicare or Medicaid receive free preventive care -- including women's health services and counseling related to certain genetic screenings that identify increased risks for ovarian cancer.  In addition, the ACA prohibits new health plans from dropping coverage if an individual chooses to participate in a potentially life-saving clinical trial, or from denying coverage for routine care simply because an individual is enrolled in such a trial.

During National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and throughout the year, I commend all the brave women fighting this disease, their families and friends, and the health care providers, researchers, and advocates working to reduce this disease's impact on our Nation.  Together, we can improve the lives of all those affected and create a healthier future for all our citizens.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  I call upon citizens, government agencies, organizations, health care providers, and research institutions to raise ovarian cancer awareness and continue helping Americans live longer, healthier lives.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

***

“At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve. As Commander-in-Chief, I am proud of their service. Like all Americans, I am awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.”

***

“Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country. This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office.  Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done. We have removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. We have closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.”

***

“Ending this war is not only in Iraq’s interest – it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people. We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people – a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.”

***

“Today, our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy.  We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs.  This will be difficult. But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President.”
 

Each day brings new opportunities for personal growth, renewal, and transformation to millions of Americans who have chosen to forge a path toward recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol.  While addiction can destroy self confidence, family ties, and friendships, recovery can restore the promise of a brighter tomorrow.  During National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we express support for those living healthy and productive lives in long term recovery, we applaud those working to help struggling Americans break the cycle of abuse, and we encourage those in need to seek help.

This year's theme, "Join the Voices for Recovery:  Now More Than Ever!," calls us to an urgent mission    to save lives from the hazards of addiction.  As we make quality and affordable health care more accessible to all Americans, we also resolve to build a healthier Nation by increasing access to treatment and recovery programs in our health care system.  To help achieve this goal, the Affordable Care Act supports services available to address addiction.  Together, we can reduce the harmful consequences of untreated addiction, such as violence, failure in school, job loss, child abuse, crimes, and death.  I encourage all Americans to visit RecoveryMonth.gov for more resources and information.

 The journey to recovery requires great fortitude and a supportive network.  As we celebrate National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we also express our appreciation for the family members, mutual aid groups, peer support programs, health professionals, and community leaders that provide compassion, care, and hope.  Across America, we must spread the word that substance abuse is preventable, that addiction is treatable, and that recovery is possible.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.  I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and to celebrate the lives freed from addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, or prescription medications.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

Although its mortality rate has steadily fallen in the last decade, prostate cancer is still the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States.  This year alone, nearly 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 32,000 men will die from this disease.  National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month gives us the opportunity to renew our commitment to fight this disease by finding better ways to prevent, detect, and treat it.

The exact causes of prostate cancer are not known, but awareness can help men make more informed choices about their health.  Researchers have identified several factors that may increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, including age, race, and family history.  According to the National Cancer Institute, avoiding smoking, losing weight, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising may all help prevent certain cancers.  We must ensure that more men are informed about all aspects of this disease, including early detection and possible treatment.  I encourage men to talk with their doctors about risk factors, prevention, and preventative screenings.  And I invite all Americans to visit Cancer.gov for more information and resources about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate and other cancers.

 Until we find a cure for this disease, my Administration will continue promoting awareness of this illness and supporting prostate cancer research and treatment, including research to help determine why prostate cancer affects some racial and ethnic groups more than others.  The National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Defense all play vital roles in reducing the burden of prostate cancer through critical investments in research.  The health care reforms included in the landmark Affordable Care Act also address specific needs of individuals fighting cancer, including removing annual and lifetime caps on insurance coverage, prohibiting insurance companies from dropping coverage after an individual gets sick, and guaranteeing insurance coverage for individuals participating in clinical trials, the cornerstone of cancer research.

 As we observe National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we stand by the fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons battling prostate cancer, as well as their families and the health care providers, researchers, and advocates who are working to combat this disease and save lives.  By joining together to raise awareness of prostate cancer and supporting research, we can continue to make progress against this devastating disease.

 NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.  I encourage all citizens, Government agencies, private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other groups to join in activities that will increase awareness and prevention of prostate cancer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

For centuries, the American spirit of exploration and discovery has led us to experience the majesty of our Nation's wilderness.  From raging rivers to serene prairies, from mountain peaks slicing the skyline to forests teeming with life, our Nation's landscapes have provided wonder, inspiration, and strength to all Americans.  Many sites continue to hold historical, cultural, and religious significance for Indian tribes, the original stewards of this continent.  We must continue to preserve and protect these scenic places and the life that inhabits them so they may be rediscovered and appreciated by generations to come.

 As we celebrate America's abundance of diverse lands, remarkable wildlife, and untamed beauty during National Wilderness Month, we also look back on our rich history of conservation.  It was over 100 years ago that President Theodore Roosevelt marveled at the stark grandeur of the Grand Canyon and declared, "the ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."  Since that time, administrations have worked across party lines to defend America's breathtaking natural sites.  President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act in 1964, and many Presidents have since added new places to this great network of protected lands so that millions of acres of forests, monuments, and parks will be preserved for our children and grandchildren.

 Following in the footsteps of my predecessors, I signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act last year to restore and protect more of our cherished wild spaces.  In April of this year, I established the America's Great Outdoors Initiative to develop a community-based 21st century conservation agenda that can also spur job creation in the tourism and recreation industries.  My Administration will continue to work closely with our State, local, and tribal partners to connect Americans with the great outdoors.

 This month, we renew our pledge to build upon the legacy of our forebears.  Together, we must ensure that future generations can experience the tranquility and grandeur of America's natural places.  As we resolve to meet this responsibility, let us also reflect on the ways in which our lives have been enriched by the gift of the American wilderness.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as National Wilderness Month.  I invite all Americans to visit and enjoy our wilderness areas, to learn about their vast history, and to aid in the protection of our precious national treasures.

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

With Congress preparing to return to session, President Obama spoke yesterday about what his Administration is doing to move our economy forward. The President also called on Republicans to stop blocking a bill that would cut taxes and increase loans for small businesses.

As the President explained, it took a decade to dig us into this hole, and it’s going to take a continued push to get us out of it. Folks are still struggling, and the Obama Administration is focused “On pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that’s been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work.”

The President asked Republicans in Congress to put aside their obstruction and work together to pass the jobs bill up for consideration.

“There’s currently a jobs bill before Congress that would do two big things for small business owners:  cut more taxes and make available more loans.  It would help them get the credit they need, and eliminate capital gains taxes on key investments so they have more incentive to invest right now.  And it would accelerate $55 billion of tax relief to encourage American businesses, small and large, to expand their investments over the next 14 months.

“Unfortunately, this bill has been languishing in the Senate for months, held up by a partisan minority that won’t even allow it to go to a vote.  That makes no sense.  This bill is fully paid for.  It will not add to the deficit.  And there is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics.”

Read the President’s full remarks.

It was in that same spirit that the President flew to Fort Bliss in Texas today, home to troops who have served at every stage of the Iraq War, including troops who are redeploying back home throughout the fall, and troops supporting our new support mission in Iraq.

President Barack Obama greets members of the military at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas

The President will address the nation from the Oval Office tonight at 8:00PM EDT, you can watch live here and submit questions for a live chat afterwards now. He told those listening that they would be the focus:

read more

Click here to see the video.

Over the past week, we’ve been inviting you to join us in saluting the troops for their service. The response has been overwhelming, and has made clear that while the end of the combat mission is an appropriate time to recognize the sacrifice the troops and their military make, the gratitude is always there, and never forgotten with the American people.

It was in that same spirit that the President flew to Fort Bliss in Texas today, home to troops who have served at every stage of the Iraq War, including troops who are redeploying back home throughout the fall, and troops supporting our new support mission in Iraq.

President Barack Obama greets members of the military at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas

The President will address the nation from the Oval Office tonight at 8:00PM EDT, you can watch live here and submit questions for a live chat afterwards now. He told those listening that they would be the focus:

read more

10:54 A.M. MDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Everybody have a seat.  Well, listen, I am extraordinarily honored to be with all of you today, and I want to thank General Pittard, I want to thank Command Sergeant Major Dave Davenport, who have shown such extraordinary leadership here. 

I wanted to come down to Fort Bliss mainly to say thank you and to say welcome home. 

I’m going to make a speech to the nation tonight.  It’s not going to be a victory lap.  It’s not going to be self-congratulatory.  There’s still a lot of work that we’ve got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us.  But the fact of the matter is that because of the extraordinary service that all of you have done, and so many people here at Fort Bliss have done, Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself, and America is more secure.

Now, I just met with some Gold Star families, and yesterday I was at Walter Reed.  And there are no moments when I feel more keenly and more deeply my responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief than during those moments.  I know we lost 51 fellow soldiers from here in Fort Bliss.  A lot more than that were injured, some of them very severely.  A million men and women in uniform have now served in Iraq.  And this has been one of our longest wars. 

But the fact of the matter is that there has not been a single mission that has been assigned to all of you in which you have not performed with gallantry, with courage, with excellence.  And that is something that the entire country understands.

There are times where, in our country, we’ve got political disagreements.  And appropriately we have big debates about war and peace.  But the one thing we don’t argue about is the fact that we’ve got the finest fighting force in the history of the world.  (Applause.)

And the reason we have it is because of the men and women in uniform, in every branch of service, who make so many sacrifices, and their families make those sacrifices alongside them. 

And so the main message I have tonight and the main message I have to you is congratulations on a job well done.  The country appreciates you.  I appreciate you.  And the most pride I take in my job is being your Commander-in-Chief. 

It also means that as we transition in Iraq, that the one thing I will insist upon for however long I remain President of the United States is that we serve you and your families as well as you served us. 

So we spent a lot of time over the last couple of years making sure that we’re increasing our support of veterans:  that we are making sure that our wounded warriors are cared for; that some of the signature injuries of our war, like post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, that we are devoting special services there; that we’ve got a post-9/11 GI bill that ensures that you and your family members are able to come back and fully contribute and participate in our economy; that our veterans are constantly getting the care and honor that they have earned. 

So that’s part of my message to the country.  And one of the great things about the last several years has been to see how unified the country is around support of our veterans and of our men and women who are currently serving. 

Now, I know that, as I said at the beginning, our task in Iraq is not yet completed.  Our combat phase is over, but we’ve worked too hard to neglect the continuing work that has to be done by our civilians and by those transitional forces, including some folks who are going to be deploying I understand today.  And I’m going to be talking to them later. 

The work that continues is absolutely critical: providing training and assistance to Iraqi security forces because there’s still violence in Iraq, and they’re still learning how to secure their country the way they need to.  And they’ve made enormous strides thanks to the training that they’ve already received.  But there’s still more work to do there.

We’re going to have to protect our civilians, our aid workers and our diplomats who are over there, who are still trying to expand and help what’s going to be a long road ahead for the Iraqi people in terms of rebuilding their country. 

We’re still going to be going after terrorists in those areas.  And so our counterterrorism operations are still going to be conducted jointly.  But the bottom line is, is that our combat phase is now over.  We are in transition.  And that could not have been accomplished had it not been for the men and women here at Fort Bliss and across the country.

The other thing that I’m going to talk about this evening is the fact that we obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan.  And a lot of families have been touched by the way in Iraq.  A lot of families are now being touched in Afghanistan.  We’ve seen casualties go up because we’re taking the fight to al Qaeda and the Taliban and their allies.

It is going to be a tough slog, but what I know is that after 9/11, this country was unified in saying we are not going to let something like that happen again.  And we are going to go after those who perpetrated that crime, and we are going to make sure that they do not have safe haven.

And now under the command of General Petraeus, we have the troops who are there in a position to start taking the fight to the terrorists.  And that’s going to mean some casualties and it’s going to mean some heartbreak.  But the one thing that I know from all of you is that when we put our minds to it, we get things done.  And we’re willing to make some sacrifices on behalf of our security here at home.

So to all of you, and to your families, I want to express my deepest gratitude, the gratitude of Michelle, the First Lady, and our entire family.  But also I just want to say thank you on behalf of the country, because without you we couldn’t enjoy the freedoms and the security that are so precious.  And all of you represent that long line of heroes that have served us so well generation after generation.

You know, when I was talking to the Gold Star families there, there were some widows dating back to World War II, and then there was a young woman who had just had a baby and had just lost her husband.  And that describes the arc of heroism and sacrifice that’s been made by the men and women in uniform for so many generations.  You’re part of that line, part of that tradition, part of that heroism.

So what I’d like to do is just to come around and shake all of your hands personally, to say thank you to all of you, to say thank you for a job well done, and to know that you are welcome home with open arms from every corner of this country.  People could not be prouder of you, and we are grateful.

Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.) 

END
11:03 A.M. MDT

MR. BURTON:  Thanks for joining us on this flight to Fort Bliss.  Just for starters, the President did speak with President Bush this morning.  We won’t be reading that call out, but they did speak on Air Force One.

And with that, Ben, if you want to talk a little bit about today’s speech, his.

MR. RHODES:  Sure.  Well, first of all, the President wanted to take this opportunity to thank our troops for their service.  So we’re visiting Fort Bliss, which is a base that has had troops who served at every stage of the Iraq war -- the initial invasion, through many of the challenges that ensued in the years that followed. 

Sorry, you want me to take some of these?  Okay.  So Fort Bliss is a base that has had troops who served at every stage of the Iraq war -- the initial invasion, the many challenges that followed.  There are troops who are rotating back home right now, and there are troops that will be a part of the support mission going forward in Iraq.  So President Obama is looking forward to thanking the troops for their service.

Later tonight, of course, he’ll be speaking to the nation from the Oval Office.  It’s an opportunity to do several things.  This of course is an important milestone for our country as we mark the end of the combat mission in Iraq, and the President wants to take this opportunity to again underscore his gratitude to all those Americans who have rendered such extraordinary service in Iraq, as well as to their families.  He’ll want to describe what’s taken place since he last spoke about the Iraq war in detail in February of 2009, which includes, of course, our drawdown of nearly 100,000 troops and a transition to Iraqi responsibility for security within Iraq.  He’ll also want to talk about the enduring partnership that we are building with Iraq and with the Iraqi people, particularly as we shift into a civilian lead for our presence in Iraq.

So he’ll be addressing Iraq in his speech tonight, of course, but he’ll also be addressing the broader context of this drawdown.  Of course, the President is drawing down in Iraq and ending our combat because he thinks it’s in Iraq’s best interest for the Iraqis to take responsibility for their future.  He also believes that we need to refocus resources both on the national security front and on the domestic front.  And that’s exactly what he’s done. 

Since taken office, we’ve refocused a great deal of resources on the fight against al Qaeda worldwide to include our efforts within Afghanistan.  And similarly, he feels it’s very important to refocus resources that we’ve been spending abroad over the last several years into investing in our economy and our long-term competitiveness here at home.

So he’ll be addressing that as a part of the context for the end of the combat mission in Iraq.

And with that -- I don’t know, Bill?

MR. BURTON:  We’d be happy to take some questions.

Q    Can you talk a little bit about the call to President Bush?

MR. RHODES:  It was a private conversation so we’re just -- we’re not going to have any readout.

MR. BURTON:  I said that right at the top.

Q    What time was it and how long was it?  Can you say anything --

MR. RHODES:  I’d just say it earlier on the trip and it was just for a few minutes.

Q    Is the President going to address the Iraqi leadership and the need for the government to coalesce around a transition, and if there’s a timetable involving that?

MR. RHODES:  Yes, Iraq of course had a democratic election in the spring.  We are not surprised by the fact that there’s been an extended process of government formation.  The election was very close.  Last time it took six months to form a government and this election had no single party that won a majority.

However, we are going -- we are urging Iraq’s leaders to move forward with a sense of urgency in forming a government.  We believe that that government should be inclusive and should represent the results of the democratic election that was held, and we believe that the Iraqis are making progress towards that goal.  And it’s something that Vice President Biden is also discussing in his meetings with Iraqi leaders on the ground yesterday and today as well.

Q    Any timetable?

MR. RHODES:  We’re not going to put a timetable on government formation.  Again, we expected this extended process.  It’s in line with what happened in the past and with the closeness of the election results.  What we are saying, though, is that Iraq should move forward with a sense of urgency around government formation, that it’s time to get down to some of these core issues.  And that’s what the Iraqi leaders have been doing in recent days, and that’s what Vice President Biden is discussing in Iraq.

Q    How can you argue that Iraq is really ready to stand up when there is no government and there’s a lot of concern that the security forces aren’t really ready to fully take on responsibility?  Even the army’s chief of staff said it could take another 10 years.

MR. RHODES:  Yes, I’d say a couple things about that.  first of all, it’s important to separate two questions here.  On the security side, over the course of this drawdown in which we’ve removed nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq, what General Odierno has done on the ground is gradually transition to Iraqis being in the lead for security.

So, for instance, last year, American troops pulled out of Iraq’s cities, and Iraq’s security forces have had full responsibility for the security of Iraq’s cities for some time now.  They provided full security for Iraq’s elections.  So really what’s taken place is they’ve been moving into the lead over the course of this drawdown. 

So there’s no dramatic shift from August 31st to September 1st in that respect because they’ve already been moving into the lead.

And what’ve been pleased with is that Iraqi security forces have held the gains of the last year or two years in terms of security within Iraq, that the trend lines remain low in terms of the incidences of violence.  And so we do have great confidence in the ability of the Iraqi security forces to maintain security.

Similarly, even in the process of government formation, they have retained their loyalty to the Iraqi constitution and to the Iraqi institutions of government under the transitional government that’s in place.  So we’re completely confident that Iraq’s security forces have capability to move into the lead as they have done.

As it relates to our continued support to them, the reason that we are maintaining a transitional force in Iraq in the coming months that currently numbers at 50,000 is because we’ll continue to advise and assist the Iraqis.  We’ll continue to provide them with support as they are in the lead in Iraq.  So they will continue to have a very strong support from the United States on the security side in the months to come.

On the political side, again, we believe that Iraq’s leaders should move forward with urgency to form a government.  There is, however, a caretaker government in place that is running Iraq’s ministries, running Iraq’s government.  And again, Iraq’s security forces have operated very effectively and competently under that caretaker administration, so we believe that they are fully prepared and will be in the lead.  And we’re confident in their ability to do so going forward.

Q    How big a risk is another spike in violence, especially with the government not yet being formed?

MR. RHODES:  I think -- you see a couple things in Iraq.  You see the overall trend lines in a good place in the sense that over the last several months, over the whole course of the year, indeed, the level of security incidences and all the different kind of metrics that we look at, whether it’s acts of violence, whether it’s casualties among Iraqi civilians and security forces, those trend lines remain in a good place. 

We also know, however, that there continue to be groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq most prominently that will carry out attacks and who will try to make those attacks gain as much attention as possible.  So we have no illusions that violence is over in Iraq.  There continue to be acts of violence, and there will continue to be in the weeks ahead.

What those acts of violence have not done, though, is fundamentally alter the security situation.  They have not sparked a sectarian war.  They have not led to a loss of confidence among the Iraqi people.

So even as this violence will continue, we’re confident that the trend lines are in the right direction, that there have been serious blows struck against al Qaeda in Iraq’s leadership, just in recent months.  Their top two leaders were taken off the battlefield.  Our estimates are that 32 of their 42 leadership have been removed.  So we believe we’re still in the process of steadily degrading al Qaeda in Iraq.  And frankly, a lot of those leadership captures and kills that have taken place in recent months were carried out by Iraqi-led operations.  So the Iraqi security forces are the ones who are carrying out those kinds of operations with our intelligence support and otherwise.

So we’re confident in the ability to maintain these security gains with the Iraqi security forces in the lead, even as we know that there will continue to be challenges.

Now, in this particular timeframe of Ramadan, there are often increases in attacks during Ramadan; that has been the case over the years in Iraq.  And we also know some may try to draw attention to themselves by exploiting a period of government formation and transition in Iraq.

But again, what they have not done -- what they have failed to do, and we believe they will fail to do, is fundamentally alter the security situation in Iraq and fundamentally spark a sectarian war which the Iraqis have rejected in recent years.

Q    How long is his speech?

Q    Can you talk a little bit about --

MR. RHODES:  I’d say it will be like 15 minutes, roughly the same as the last one.

Q    And how much time will be devoted to the economy?

MR. RHODES:  No, this is principally a speech about what’s taking place Iraq.  I mean, he’ll address it in the context I discussed, which is that part of the context of ending the war in Iraq is drawing down the resources we are spending in fighting wars overseas so that we can focus on our economy at home.  So he’ll touch on the economy, but again, this is a speech that’s about the end of the combat mission in Iraq.

Q    Ben, is he going to talk about what if Iraq requests a continued military presence beyond 2011?

MR. RHODES:  He will not discuss that specifically because the fact of the matter is, there are two things -- and it’s important to separate them.  There is the timeline that the President set in February of 2009 to remove our combat brigades and end our combat mission.  And that’s what’s led to the drawdown of nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq and the shift to a support mission starting tomorrow.

Second -- but the second point is, there is a security agreement that exists between the United States and the Iraqi government, an agreement that was reached under the previous administration, which calls for all of U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.  We would only -- again, the Iraqi government has not requested an amendment to that agreement, so that’s --

Q    They could ask for that any time between now and 2011.

MR. RHODES:  They could ask for it, absolutely, but that’s a hypothetical.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. RHODES:  Well, we’re not going to get into that.  We’d have to -- we have to receive their request before we’re able to discuss it.

Q    Hey, Ben -- sorry -- is the President going to be making any other calls to any other allies or world leaders today?

MR. RHODES:  Actually, since you mention it, General Jones is calling a number of his counterparts from coalition partners who have been with us throughout the Iraq war.  Obviously many of those coalition partners have ended their own commitments in Iraq.  However, given the fact that this is such a milestone in the history of the Iraq war, and given the sacrifices that so many nations made alongside us in Iraq, we will be making calls at the level of General Jones and other senior officials to counterparts in the UK and Europe, in Australia.  We can get you a full list.  So that’s where we’re handling those kinds of calls.  But we feel like it’s important.

Again, part of what today is, is just a milestone in what’s been a very difficult war over the last seven and a half years.  And it’s appropriate, we think, to use that milestone to recognize that it’s not just Americans and Iraqis who sacrificed in Iraq; that there are coalition partners with us who did so as well.

Q    Will the President talk or reference his own initial opposition to the -- and continuous opposition to the invasion of Iraq?  And will he draw parallels between what the administration is billing as a success of this mission as he tries to kind of make the argument that America can prevail in Afghanistan?  

MR. RHODES:  I’d just say a couple things.  I don’t want to get too far ahead of the President’s speech.  I think his position on the war is well known.  It’s well known, of course, that he opposed going to war in Iraq, so I think that he’ll certainly be talking about the fact that the war has been an issue of debate and disagreement at times over the years.  But today is a day that we can all agree on our appreciation for the service our troops have rendered, and our hopes for a better future for Iraq.

I think with regard to Afghanistan, there we face a tough fight, a different fight.  It’s similar in the sense that we have increased our forces for a period of time to provide space -- to provide additional training for Afghan security forces and space for Afghan leaders to build their capacity, and it’s similar in the sense that as in Iraq, Afghans will of course have to move into the lead over time as well.

But again, they’re also different conflicts with different histories to them -- and different countries, of course.  So I think he’ll be discussing it, but I’ll leave it at that.

Q    Will he restate the language on the start of the withdrawal next year?  There’s been a lot of debate about that.  A lot of people have had a sort of a -- generals, politicians, whatever, had a say about it.  Will he restate that language tonight?

MR. RHODES:  Again, I don’t want to get too far ahead of it.  I think it’s safe to say that he will -- he’ll be addressing what is our clear policy in Afghanistan that includes that transition.  And our policy hasn’t changed in that respect.

Q    Will he address the removal of Saddam?  And for that matter, does the President believe that Iraq is better off now that Saddam is no longer in power, given that, as Robert said yesterday, if he were in office, he wouldn’t have gone to war?

MR. RHODES:  I think two things.  First of all, certainly he’ll be addressing what has taken place in the history of the Iraq war, which of course involves removing Saddam Hussein from power. 

I think as it relates to the President’s views, he opposed the war in Iraq in 2002 because he felt that it was a distraction from al Qaeda and from some of our challenges at home.  As it relates to Iraq today, what he thinks has been forged in Iraq is an opportunity for the Iraqi people to have a better future.  Because of the extraordinary services of our troops who persevered through many years, as well as our civilians, together with very huge sacrifices from the Iraqi people, the Iraqis have an opportunity here that they can seize to build their own country, to forge a future that is inclusive of all of the Iraqi people.

So that’s something that is an opportunity the President, again, will urge the Iraqi people to seize, and he’ll underscore that the United States will be a partner to the Iraqi people in that effort.

MR. BURTON:  Got anything else?

Q    I got a question for you.  The New York Post reporting this morning Elizabeth Warren is apparently expected to be named.  Can you address that at all, or -- many of the bankers assume that she will be named.

MR. BURTON:  No update on the timing for that position.  But like Robert said yesterday, I wouldn’t anticipate something before the end of this week.

Q    You wouldn’t?

MR. BURTON:  Would not.

Q    Would not.  And also, is there any possibility of a recess appointment for that position?

MR. BURTON:  Like I said, I have no update on the appointment for that position.

Q    On this situation in the Netherlands, these arrests that have been made, has the President been getting briefed on this?  Do you guys have any update on the investigation?

MR. BURTON:  This is an instance where I think that everyone in government was impressed with the amount of information sharing that happened with some of our partners overseas and the speed with which we were able to run incidents to the ground, even transcontinentally.  We’re still gathering facts.  We’ll let you know when we have more information.  But, yes, the President has been briefed on this incident, just like he’s briefed on other intelligence incidents over the normal course of his day.

Q    It hasn’t been concluded whether or not they were actually trying to plot any type of attack?

MR. BURTON:  I haven’t heard of any conclusions further than what I said, which is just that we’re in the information-gathering stage at this point.

Q    Is it being investigated as a potential attack?

MR. BURTON:  That’s a question more for the authorities.  They’re looking into all the information that’s available.

Q    I have a question about the economy.  This is a big foreign policy week for the President.  Is there any concern in the White House that maybe there’s a perception that he’s neglecting the economy, first day back after vacation?  He gave some remarks about it, but it’s going to be in the background the next couple of days and we’ve seen some bad data.  Republicans are criticizing him as being out of touch, and I just want to know if you could respond to that.

MR. BURTON:  Well, a couple things.  For starters, from their track record it’s pretty clear the Republicans will criticize no matter what is happening and they’ll try to obstruct no matter what the President tries to do.  But the President is less worried about the perception of whether or not he’s doing anything and more concerned about the pace at which we need to get the economy moving. 

Obviously we’ve been able to make some progress.  We’ve seen private job growth, we’ve seen the economy continue to grow, but not at a rate that’s fast enough for the President.  That’s why he thinks that as soon as the Senate gets back, they need to move forward on the small business legislation that will cut capital gains taxes for small businesses, allowing them to hire; it will help free up credit; it will help the engine of our economy do what we need to do in this economy, which is to create jobs.

So the President thinks that there’s a lot more that needs to be done and he’s working very hard every single day to move the ball forward on the economy.

Q    Do you have anything on tomorrow, what the President hopes to accomplish in the initial talks, Mideast peace?

MR. BURTON:  You want to talk a little about that?

MR. RHODES:  Yes.  I mean, the President will be holding a series of bilateral meetings tomorrow with each of the leaders.  Those will be one-on-one meetings between him and President Mubarak, King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.  And then he’ll be hosting a dinner with all the leaders tomorrow at the White House.  That’s setting the stage for the direct negotiations that will begin at the State Department the following day. 

And I think what the President wants to do is be able to speak to each of these key individuals in these talks to discuss what can be achieved, to discuss the importance of moving forward and the importance of comprehensive peace in the Middle East to all of our interests, and to build trust among the different leaders through his interactions and through the dinner that they’ll share tomorrow night.

So I think it’s an opportunity to set the stage heading into the resumption of direct talks, and to express his personal support for this effort that will be led by Secretary Clinton the following day.

MR. BURTON:  All right?

Q    I think we’re good.

Q    Thank you, guys.

END
12:00 P.M. EDT

To mark this important day, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight the President will speak to our country from the Oval Office—the second Oval Office address of his Presidency. You can watch live at WhiteHouse.gov/live or on any major television network.

President Obama has also invited all Americans to join him in sending a message to our troops thanking them for their service to our country. You can send in your salute through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr—and check out all the messages at WhiteHouse.gov/Salute.

To mark this important day, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight the President will speak to our country from the Oval Office—the second Oval Office address of his Presidency. You can watch live at WhiteHouse.gov/live or on any major television network.

President Obama has also invited all Americans to join him in sending a message to our troops thanking them for their service to our country. You can send in your salute through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr—and check out all the messages at WhiteHouse.gov/Salute.

As the President wrote yesterday, “We are at a truly historic moment in our nation’s history.”

To mark this important day, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight the President will speak to our country from the Oval Office—the second Oval Office address of his Presidency. You can watch live at WH.gov/live or on any major television network.

And this afternoon, President Obama will be welcoming home troops in El Paso, Texas at 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time—you can listen here.

President Obama has also invited all Americans to join him in sending a message to our troops thanking them for their service to our country. You can send in your salute through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr—and check out all the messages at WhiteHouse.gov/Salute.

Now is your chance to hear the White House's response to your questions about the change of mission.  Submit your questions now and vote your favorite ones to the top.  Then tune in tonight at 8pm EDT to watch and participate at whitehouse.gov/live.

Now is your chance to hear the White House's response to your questions about the change of mission.  Submit your questions now and vote your favorite ones ot the top.  Then tune in tonight at 8pm EDT to watch and participate at whitehouse.gov/live.

Now is your chance to hear the White House's response to your questions about the change of mission.  Submit your questions now and vote your favorite ones ot the top.  Then tune in tonight at 8pm EDT to watch and participate at whitehouse.gov/live.

President Obama:

"We’re cutting through the red tape that has impeded rebuilding efforts for years.  We’re making government work better and smarter, in coordination with one of the most expansive non-profit efforts in American history.  We’re helping state and local leaders to address serious problems that had been neglected for decades -- problems that existed before the storm came, and have continued after the waters receded -- from the levee system to the justice system, from the health care system to the education system.

"And together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America -- not just for what we can’t do.  Ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina:  not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges."

Some Americans who retire before they are eligible for Medicare see their life savings disappear because of medical bills and exorbitant rates in the individual health insurance market.  And the cost of insurance can be out of reach for individuals looking to buy health coverage on their own.

Many employers would like to help their employees make this transition comfortably and provide access to health insurance past retirement. But in these tough economic times, it is difficult for employers to keep up with skyrocketing health care costs for employees and retirees.

The Affordable Care Act’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will make it a little easier for employers to provide high-quality health benefits to their retirees.

read more

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Many employers would like to help their employees make this transition comfortably and provide access to health insurance past retirement. But in these tough economic times, it is blocked::blocked::http://ehbs.kff.org/
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The Affordable Care Act’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will make it a little easier for employers to provide high-quality health benefits to their retirees.

read more

Watch the video:

Click here to see the video.

Throughout our Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years of Remembering & Rebuilding series, we heard stories of dedication and restoration from across the federal government.  Here are just a few examples of the Administration’s continued support for the individuals, families and communities who were affected:

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided more permanent housing to over 30,000 families stuck in disaster housing, made grants to help prevent homelessness, and helped stabilize Gulf Coast communities suffering from foreclosures and abandonment.  Read the full post:  On the Road from Recovery to Revitalization by Secretary Shaun Donovan.
• Over the last several years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken a number of steps to eliminate red tape and bureaucracy, expand the agency’s support for local projects, and aggressively prepare for future hurricanes and other natural disasters.  Read the full post: Cutting Red Tape and Helping Communities Rebuild by Administrator Craig Fugate.
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) has been working hard to overhaul its disaster assistance program and has succeeded in reducing the average processing time for loans, creating new ways for disaster victims to apply for loans, and increasing the capacity of loan processing centers and total disaster response staff.  Read the full post: SBA Disaster Assistance: Then and Now by Administrator Karen Mills.
• Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), discussed her experiences growing up in New Orleans and her efforts to safeguard the region’s natural resources.  Under her leadership, one of EPA’s priorities is the protection of our nation’s vulnerable wetlands and coastal communities.  Read the full post: Restoring the Gulf's Priceless Natural Resources by Administrator Lisa Jackson.
• Since Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been dedicated to rebuilding and strengthening the Gulf’s health care infrastructure, including support for the network of community health centers, providing funding for medical services and mental health programs, and encouraging primary care providers to work in underserved areas. Read the full post: Strengthening the Gulf's Health Care Infrastructure for Generations to Come by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
• The Department of Labor continues to invest in the region’s residents by funding training and education programs, and preparing workers for in-demand careers in high-growth industries.  Because of these efforts, individuals and families are working to rebuild their communities and their livelihoods. Read the full post: Lost and Found: Preparing Workers for New Careers by Secretary Hilda Solis.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided funding for new schools and universities, fire houses, police stations, and critical infrastructure, and continues to improve the country’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from major disasters of all kinds.  Read the full post: Improving America's Disaster Response by Secretary Janet Napolitano.
• Since Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Education has provided nearly $2 billion for Gulf Coast schools, helping schools re-open after the hurricanes, and supporting schools that enrolled displaced students.  Read the full post: Helping New Orleans Rebuild Its Schools by Secretary Arne Duncan.
• The Department of Transportation’s ongoing work has been crucial in rebuilding the region and includes repairing and expanding highways, creating new public transit options, and restoring the shipping capabilities of the Mississippi River and its port communities.  Read the full post: Five Years Later, Our Commitment Continues by Secretary Ray LaHood.
• Through the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office, work continues with local families to help them regain their sense of dignity and hope, including supporting hundreds of Louisiana families through single-family housing programs.  In the last two years alone, over 1,100 Louisiana families have been assisted through $165 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for financing their home.  Read the full post: Five Years After Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, USDA Continues to Assist Gulf Residents by Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager.

Despite these great efforts, there is still more work to be done.  The Administration is committed to continuing our support for the Gulf Coast and the community of dedicated residents that are working together to restore the city.  As the President said this weekend:

“And together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America -- not just for what we can’t do.  Ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina:  not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges.”

Chris Lu is Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

United States Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias stopped bye to speak to the volunteers about how important the work they were doing was to both candidates like himself on the ballot in November, but the President as well.

Here are some pictures from the Chicago Heights Moving America Forward event:

Thank you to all the volunteers that came out and participated in our day of action today both in Chicago Heights and all across Illinois.

• Join Organizing for America Illinois: CLICK HERE
• Find an OFA Illinois Event Near You: CLICK HERE


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	8/30/10: White House Press Briefing White House Press Briefings are conducted most weekdays from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing.	From: whitehouse Views: 136 11 ratings
	Time: 58:06	More in News & Politics

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MR. GIBBS:  Good afternoon.  Let’s start with one very quick scheduling update.  On Monday, September 6, 2010 -- Labor Day -- President Obama will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will attend the Milwaukee Laborfest, organized by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, and make remarks there on the economy.  So, more details on the exact time of departure a little bit later on. 

Yes, ma’am.

Q    Obviously two big elements of foreign policy in play this week.  Does the President think that ending the combat mission in Iraq in any way affects the prospect of Middle East peace?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I would say, first and foremost, that throughout the President’s time in the White House -- and as you know and remember, that one of the very first things the President did upon walking into the Oval Office was to initiate calls around -- into the region about a lasting, long-term Middle East peace process.  So we have always believed that it was in the interest of those in the region to seek that long-term, lasting peace, separate and apart from any other regional issue. And I think the White House still continues to believe that's very much the case.

I will say -- and you’ll hear this a little bit from the President tomorrow -- as we are ending our combat role in Iraq there are additional national security priorities and additional domestic priorities that we can and will be focusing on as a result of that.

Q    Is there any connection, though, between your ending a divisive conflict in Iraq -- does that lay any groundwork for going into these Middle East peace talks?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, again, I think part of that is -- part of it has always been in the best interest of those involved to seek a lasting peace.  That's been our belief since the beginning of this process.  I think if anything, the two represent long-term commitments that this President and this White House have made and sought through to the end.

On Iraq, we are completing a drawdown of almost 100,000 troops that even when the President -- not to mention when the President talked about during the campaign, but even when the President walked through a plan at Camp Lejeune, many did not think was possible. 

And in terms of direct talks, obviously it’s the beginning of a process and an important one at that.

Q    And then just with his visits with troops today and tomorrow, obviously he’s grateful for their service, but how does he speak to them about their mission in Iraq when it’s a mission that he disagreed with from the beginning?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think you’ve heard the President say this a number of times and you’re likely to hear this again tomorrow evening, regardless of whether you agreed with that decision to go or not -- and as he said there are patriots that were for going into Iraq and patriots that were opposed to going into Iraq -- the President always believed that his mission was finishing what we had to do to get our men and women out of Iraq -- not to re-litigate what happened in 2002 or 2003, but to focus on, first, 2009, and ultimately now, in changing the direction of our mission.

So, look, regardless of whether you were opposed to or for going in back in 2003, that does not change his role as Commander-in-Chief in talking to -- and in I think lifting up the amazing contributions of those in our military that continue to serve our country so well -- obviously at Walter Reed talking to those who have as a result of that sacrifice been harmed.  And I think you’ll see in both tomorrow’s events at Fort Bliss and then ultimately during the speech, lifting up all of those who serve, many of whom served two, three, or four missions in a very dangerous area.

Yes, sir.

Q    The President clearly believes that meeting a timeline for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq is an achievement, and that’s obviously why he’s planning a speech in Texas tomorrow.  But how is he going to avoid this being looked at as a “mission accomplished” moment?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, first and foremost, you won’t hear those words coming from us.  Obviously tomorrow marks a change in our mission.  It marks a milestone that we have achieved in removing our combat troops.  That is not to say that violence is going to end tomorrow.  We understand that those that would foment violence will still continue to try to do so.

I do think it is important to remember, as you said, this is a commitment that the President made and a commitment that he intends and will keep.  What it means also is that this redoubles the efforts of the Iraqis.  They will write the next chapter in Iraqi history, and they will be principally responsible for it.  We will be their ally, but the responsibility of charting the future of Iraq, first and foremost, belongs to the Iraqis.

Q    The President is also going to be hosting the relaunch of Middle East peace talks later this week.  But just almost as soon as things get going, the process is going to be threatened by the September 26th expiration of the moratorium on the Israeli settlement construction.  What is the White House doing to avert a crisis on that point?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, we are -- as you mentioned, the President -- and I should have mentioned at the top of this -- tomorrow, I think around 10:00 a.m. for your planning purposes, it’s our hope to have Special Envoy George Mitchell here to give an update on where we see the talks and what we see moving forward, as well as what we assume and believe the President’s schedule will be for Wednesday, prior to the Secretary of State hosting the bulk of those talks on Thursday.

So I think we are focused on, in terms of the Middle East, September the 1st and September the 2nd.  I think it is very premature to get ahead to September -- later in September, or September 26th, before we focus on what’s going to happen this week, and that is the parties in the room discussing the issues that can lead to a long-term peace.  We have always said that the best way to work out these issues is sitting at that table and negotiating them through, and that's what the focus will be on.

Yes, sir.

Q    Is the reason the President is not pushing for a bolder move on the economy because he doesn’t believe there is one, or because he doesn’t think he could get it through Congress?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, Jake, I think you will hear the President -- you heard him today after meeting with his economic team, and you will hear him over the course of the next several weeks outlining a series of ideas, some of which are stuck in Congress and some of which we continue to work through the economic team, that will be targeted measures to continue to spur our recovery and to create an environment in which the private sector is hiring.

Q    But these are smaller-bore type proposals.  These aren’t $787 billion stimulus packages.

MR. GIBBS:  No, they’re not.  But let’s understand -- when you mention small bore -- some of you probably saw this article today -- “Small businesses sit in holding pattern.”  “Small businesses have put hiring, supply buying, and real estate expansion on hold as they wait out the vote on a small business aid bill that is stalled in the Senate earlier this summer.”  Right? 

As the President said in the Rose Garden, 60 percent of our job losses have come from small business.  Small businesses are waiting for the Senate to act on a bill that would cut their taxes and provide them greater loans and investment opportunities with which to expand. 

The Republican Party talks a lot about their support for and their helping of small business, and I think the question that the President put toward them today is, if that’s what you support, why are you standing in the way of something that small businesses acknowledge would help with their hiring, with their purchasing, and with their expansion?

Q    Okay, but the question I asked was, do you think -- does the President think that there should be a bolder move taken beyond a $30 billion small business lending initiative --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, I think --

Q    -- and there aren’t the votes for it, or he just didn’t think there is such a thing?

MR. GIBBS:  I think, Jake, I think the President mentioned several ideas today that he believes are important to continue that recovery that we will pursue.  I think these will be areas and initiatives that are targeted towards spurring recovery and creating an environment for hiring, not some --

Q    But does that mean he believes that that is the right approach, or he believes that it’s the only politically possible approach?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I don't think there’s any -- I think there’s no doubt that there are -- there’s only so much that can be done.

Q    Not having to do with politics?

MR. GIBBS:  Not having to do with politics.

Q    In retrospect, was the stimulus too small?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, we always -- I think it makes sense to step back just for a second.  If you look at -- and I don't think anybody had -- and I think we’d be the first to admit that nobody had, in January of 2009, a sufficient grasp at the sheer depth of what we were facing.  I think that's, quite frankly, true for virtually every economist that made predictions.  You had -- the chart that I generally show, adding the job losses for the last three recessions up doesn’t get you to the job loss that we’ve seen in this recession alone.

It took us a long time to get to this point.  We got here not simply because of one thing but because of many things.  We’ve seen the housing market collapse.  We saw what happened to credit markets.  We saw what happened to the stability of our financial system.  All of that accumulated after many years into one big pothole that -- the size of which any stimulus was unlikely to fill. 

I think that for all of the political back-and-forth on the Recovery Act, there should no longer be any doubt -- despite some Capitol Hill nonbelievers -- that what the Recovery Act did was prevent us from sliding even into a deeper recession, with greater economic contraction, with greater job loss, than we have experienced because of it.

Yes, sir.

Q    What is there to say tomorrow night beyond the obvious, which is, “I kept my promise”?  What else -- where are you going to go with it?  And how are you going to apply it to Afghanistan, where -- are you going to hold that up as an example for Afghanistan?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, first and foremost, Bill, I think the President will focus on several things:  obviously, outlining for the American people what’s involved in our drawdown, the missions that have been changed, the number of troops that have been moved out, and where that leaves us in Iraq. 

Obviously -- somebody asked the “mission accomplished” question.  Obviously, there’s still work to be done without doubt on the political side in terms of government formation -- and you know Vice President Biden is there now to continue to help spur that.

I think, secondly, the President will honor those that have served there, as I mentioned before.  He will meet with some of them, obviously, today at Walter Reed and tomorrow at Fort Bliss. And I think the President will put this into a bigger context of what this drawdown means for our national security efforts, both in Afghanistan and in Southeast Asia and throughout the world, as we take the fight directly to al Qaeda, as well as the priorities that we have and must be -- and we must address here at home.

Q    Is he going to hold up the Iraqi experience as a template for Afghanistan?

MR. GIBBS:  I don't know that that's directly in the remarks that I’ve seen, but let me double-check and see what -- the latest draft.

Q    Given the political situation both in Iraq and Afghanistan, he might not want to take too much credit.

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, look, I’m not entirely sure that they’re equally analogous situations, not the least of which because of the emphasis that was ultimately put on Iraq we do know took away from the emphasis that needed to be put on Afghanistan.  The President said that throughout the campaign, even as he kept his commitment to get us out of Iraq as soon as we could.

Dan.

Q    The President again today talked about how on the economy there’s no magic bullet.  Is there any frustration at all that he has not been able to convey a more optimistic message to the American people to put them at ease?

MR. GIBBS:  How so?

Q    Well, in some of the polls that we’ve had and we’ve also seen from others, Americans still don't feel good about where the economy is going.  So is there frustration that no matter what the President says -- he comes out and he talks about putting more pressure on Capitol Hill for his jobs bill for small businesses -- that people still don't feel good about where the economy is going?  Is he frustrated by it?

MR. GIBBS:  No, Dan, because I -- well, look, I think those in America are frustrated.  I think those in the West Wing are frustrated.  I think people across the country are frustrated, largely, as I mentioned earlier -- and I think this in a way takes into account what the President said in terms of -- there was not one thing to do.  This was not like -- there was not one flip -- switched a flip and then the economy would somehow get better overnight.  I think as you heard the President discuss, we did not get into this problem and did not get into this crisis in a short period of time; it took a number of years.  And it’s going to take a while to get out of that crisis.  We have said that from the very beginning.

Look, would we want to see the economy expanding more rapidly and hiring taking place at a greater rate than we're seeing now?  Absolutely.  That does not mean that the President won't continue to focus on how we get to that point. 

Q    Can I follow?  Another stimulus out of the question?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I think you’ll hear over the course of the next many days and weeks the President outline what he and the team think are important in terms of targeted initiatives to help spur the recovery and create an environment where the private sector is not simply investing, but also hiring as well.

Q    On Middle East peace talks, has either -- have the Israelis or the Palestinians given any assurances behind the scenes that would lead the administration to believe that this time around it might be different?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I don't want to get into negotiations before they begin.  I think we are -- I think each side has had to take some important steps to get us to this point, which leads the administration to believe that the sides are indeed serious about a comprehensive peace.  That is not to say that this is going to be in any way easy. This has been tried over the past more than three decades a number of times, and I think it’s going to take some time to get through the issues that have stood in the way of that for those three decades. 

Again, we will send out a notice on having Ambassador Mitchell here to walk through some of this stuff tomorrow.

Major.

Q    The President said yesterday to Brian Williams, “The economy is still growing.”  Now, when economists look at the GDP numbers they see 4.9 percent, then 3.7 percent, then 1.6 percent. It’s still growing as compared to zero, in other words?

MR. GIBBS:  No, no, it’s still growing as compared to negative 5.6 percent, which was I think the number at or around the quarter that the President was elected or came into office.  I mean, I think it’s important to understand --

Q    But in relationship to the three quarters when his policies were not only passed by Congress but in full force or moving into full force, we’ve seen this trajectory downward. 

MR. GIBBS:  No, no, no, no, no.  Let’s understand --

Q    -- in those GDP numbers.

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, but let’s understand, we didn’t just wake up at 4.9 percent, Major.

Q    I understand that.

MR. GIBBS:  No, no, I understand.

Q    I understand what’s going on since then --

MR. GIBBS:  Just for context, let’s understand that we got  -- we were at -- again, I don’t have the figures for quarter four of 2008, I don’t have them for quarter one of 2009, but we were experiencing an --

Q    They were lower, I'm sure.

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, that's a --

Q    I’m just saying, what accounts for what we’ve seen the last three quarters, the most recent data that’s on the minds of the American public and quite clearly on the minds of the economic team?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think we have seen -- one of the things that we discussed -- it was discussed in the economic daily briefing today were some of the signs for why that is happening.  I don't think there’s any doubt that you have seen -- first and foremost, you’ve seen, as has happened throughout the world, there were concerns earlier in the summer and late in the spring about where Europe was.  Certainly Greece and other countries had -- have had a negative impact on world growth since that time.  I think that is certainly -- that has no doubt played a role.

Q    When the President said last night we anticipated that the recovery was slowing, when did that realization take hold?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again, I think if you look back to -- I think you’ve heard the President discuss over the course of the past many months exactly what I just referred to as --

Q    -- talks about the economy, he sounded much more optimistic than that -- than anticipating that the recovery would slow.

MR. GIBBS:  Again, Major, I think it’s important -- I'd have to go back and see the first time the President started mentioning what had happened in Europe and Greece as part of his public remarks, but I think there’s no doubt that -- and I don't think anybody would argue with you that certainly from our perspective in here that that didn’t signal that the economy was on a different trajectory. 

I don't think there’s any doubt, if you look at where we were earlier in the spring and where we were, again, later in the spring and then earlier in the summer, there’s no doubt that the trajectory of the recovery was not headed at the same vector as it was earlier in the spring.

Q    Does the President believe it’s likely to continue to go down unless there’s some other ideas that he’s going to put on the table?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I think that the President and the team discussed the notion of what needs to happen to ensure that we get out of the -- and lessen the chances for something like that happening.

Q    How does extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class fit into that as a matter of timing?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look --

Q    Some economists have said the sooner you declare that, the sooner the Congress does that, the better.  Do you agree?

MR. GIBBS:  The President has discussed -- we're having some technical audio difficulties here at Casa Blanca today.  Look, I think the President has mentioned for many, many, many months his commitment to extending beyond their expiration on December 31st, the tax cuts that impact those making less than $250,000 a year as an important signal for our economy.

Q    Well, when I talk to economists like Mark Zandi, they’ll say the sooner the President says that the better, and that it would have more effect in the national economy than, for example, having the Senate move on this package of small business tax cuts.  Does the President believe that that would have a bigger effect?

MR. GIBBS:  If he did what?  If he acknowledged --

Q    -- extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class sooner rather than later.  Would that have a bigger economic impact, a bigger bang to the buck, than this lending package in the Senate?

MR. GIBBS:  I will say this, Major.  I don't -- while there is not one magic bullet, I also don't think there are -- I don't think the President -- the President certainly doesn’t view extending -- cutting taxes for small business and increasing their ability to borrow and expand competing with middle class tax cuts.  I think the President believes -- and I think you heard him say in the remarks today -- quite honestly, we can and should do both; that an important signal to the economy would be for the Senate to pass the small business bill and put it on the President’s desk and let him sign it, as well as it would be important to extend those middle-class tax cuts.  I don't think those are necessarily --

Q    Should that vote happen before the midterm, before Congress recesses for the elections?

MR. GIBBS:  I think that the President hopes -- well, certainly hopes that the small business bill passes as soon as possible, and believes that it is important to send a signal to extend middle-class tax cuts as soon as we can.

Yes, ma’am.

Q    Given your concern about small businesses and the President’s statement potentially to take whatever action, however small, to help the economy, if that's what we should do, if you extended the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest, the over $250,000, that would swoop in a bunch of small businesses. 

MR. GIBBS:  Two to three percent.

Q    Right, which represent two-thirds of the profits that  small businesses make, as I understand it.

MR. GIBBS:  Right.  I think you just answered --

Q    But the chunk of --

MR. GIBBS:  No, again, two to three --

Q    -- the economic activity that small businesses --

MR. GIBBS:  Two to three percent of small businesses are impacted by tax cuts, or by -- would be impacted by tax cuts that stop at those making $250,000 or less.  I think it’s important to understand what the tradeoff -- what are the tradeoffs?  The tradeoffs are, depending on how long you extend the upper-end tax cuts, they get very expensive -- $30 billion for next year, $700 billion for 10 years.

And then, Savannah, I think the question you ultimately have to ask yourself, if you’re either an economist or an advocate of extending those tax cuts -- because first and foremost, they do, if you’re a Republican in Congress, they do sort of come anathema to what you’ve been talking about, and that is cutting spending. When you’re adding $30 billion to $700 billion on to the deficit, that doesn’t -- this isn’t exactly in line with cost-cutting and budget crunching.

Q    Does extending any of the tax cuts --

MR. GIBBS:  And secondly, you have to ask yourself, is the thing that you can do to provide the greatest stimulative effect to our economy extending tax cuts for those that make above $250,000 a year?  The CBO looked at, I think, a series of 10 to 12 different ideas for tax cuts and found that the least stimulative thing would be to extend the tax cuts for those that make $250,000 a year -- because, again, if you’re making more than $250,000 -- if you’re a millionaire in this economy, I don't think you’ve hit on vastly hard times.

Q    I was just talking about the small businesses.  But has the President asked his economic team to come up with new ideas to help the economy, not what we heard today?

MR. GIBBS:  The President has, throughout the last many months and today, went over different ideas and different proposals, some of which are new, yes.

Q    Are you planning to -- I've heard you hint at this, that they’re going to roll out some next week --

MR. GIBBS:  I think you will -- again, I think you’ll hear the President discuss a series of these ideas over the course of the next many weeks.

Q    And then the last thing, kind of the thing that Jake was asking -- does the President feel that, in terms of dealing with the economy in the way he thinks best, his hands are tied not because of economics but because of politics?  Does he think a big second stimulus is advisable but he just recognizes that he can’t get it done?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I think the President has asked the team to look at a full series of ideas, all of which he has asked them to ensure have some greater stimulative effect on the economy.  Obviously part of the debate that you and I were just talking about was if you’re going to have this debate on the Bush tax cuts, if there are 10 different ideas for using that $30 billion that would go to those making more than $250,000 a year, wouldn’t you want to put that $30 billion in a category that was more stimulative than anything else?  I think the answer to that obviously is -- at least from our perspective is yes.  It’s not necessarily clear that that’s the same perspective of some on Capitol Hill.

Look, I think there are a whole series, Savannah, of considerations.  I think the President wants to hear from his economic team and from others on what the best course of action is.

Q    I was just going to say, speaking of Bush real quick, does -- he called former President Bush before the Lejeune speech.  Do you think he’ll call him tomorrow or plans to see him in Texas?

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t believe there are plans to see him, but my sense is that it will be one of the calls that he makes tomorrow.

Q    Just a quick follow, Robert.  Does the President want these new ideas you’ve put forward passed or considered by Congress before they recess?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I think the President will outline a series of ideas that he thinks can stimulate the economy.

Q    Will the Congress hear from him right about when they get back?  Is that the kind of timeline we’re looking at?

MR. GIBBS:  Around there, yes.

Q    Piecemeal or all at once?

MR. GIBBS:  As soon as they get the ideas --

Q    It’s already before Congress and because of the urgency he’s going to ask them to pass it, isn’t he?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, this is not an academic exercise.

Q    May I follow on the Bush --

MR. GIBBS:  Laura.

Q    Thank you.  Last week a court threw out the administration’s stem cell policy.  The Justice Department has already said it will be appealing that decision.  But would the White House like to see Congress act this year to overturn that decision?

MR. GIBBS:  Let me get some guidance on the legislative.  I think that in terms of an appeal I think you’re likely to hear something from Justice today on that appeal.  And let me find some guidance more on the legislative side.

Q    And is the White House at all concerned that this week with this focus on the Oval Office address on Iraq and then Middle East peace talks later in the week, that this will essentially send a message to people whose concern is obviously the economy that the White House is not focused on the economy as much as they would like?

MR. GIBBS:  No.  I mean, again, I think today is a pretty good example of why that narrative might not work --

Q    -- nothing by a political operative.  I’m just talking about regular Americans, what they’re going -- the big news they’re going to see out of the White House this week is about what’s happening in other countries.

MR. GIBBS:  Yes, again, I mean, I think people throughout this country have a sense that the President is and has to do more than one thing at a time.  That’s, by nature, the job of being President of the United States.  But, look, just as the President had a meeting today about the economy, that’s not to say that he also didn’t have a meeting about intelligence.  When he meets on Iraq, that doesn’t mean he’s not hearing from and working through the ideas on the economy.  I mean, they’re just  -- it’s more than one topic a day.

Q    So you’re not concerned?

MR. GIBBS:  No.

Q    Robert, following up on something you said earlier about the Iraq speech, how is this new strategy going to affect taking it to al Qaeda?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think obviously you’ve seen -- and I’m going to let the President talk about this tomorrow -- I think you have seen a commitment to taking our fight directly to the leadership throughout the world, all over the world, in different places, be it in and around Africa, be it in Southeast Asia.  I think the President made a commitment to increase the tempo of that fight and that’s exactly what he’s done.

Q    One other question on something else, the rally that was here over the weekend, just following up on something about that, the theme of it.  Does the President think there’s anything about the nation’s honor that needs to be restored?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, Peter, I think I’d point you to what the President said yesterday in the interview that he did, where we live in a rich and beautiful country that -- and I don’t mean rich in terms of wealthy -- rich in terms of diversity of opinion and a Constitution that affords anyone an opportunity to speak out and say and have a rally on what they deem fitting to have a rally on -- that’s the beauty of United States of America.

Q    But is there anything about the country’s honor that he feels needs to be restored, as the proponents of this rally say?

MR. GIBBS:  I would say this.  I think the President has throughout his campaign and throughout his time in the White House -- to restore responsibility, to restore values that lay an economic foundation for long-term growth, and I doubt that if you polled -- my guess is if you polled everybody, people would say there’s something they’d like to restore about this country -- we would like to restore the American Dream, restore a vibrant middle class, one that’s growing and one that’s able to pass the notion of this American Dream onto their kids.

Roger.

Q    Thank you.  In searching for new things to do on the economy, has he talked to Fed Chairman Bernanke at all in the last few days or couple of weeks at all?

MR. GIBBS:  I do not know the answer to that.  I do not believe that’s the case, but I can double-check.

Q    Okay.  And when he said this morning, talked about additional measures, I take it that he’s talking beyond middle-class tax cuts, beyond the tax cut package for small business, beyond the infrastructure for clean energy --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, and I think what -- the President wants the economic team to look at a whole host of ideas.

Q    Beyond all those that he mentioned?

MR. GIBBS:  Beyond -- some beyond that he mentioned in helping to spur our recovery and to create and environment for private sector hiring.

Q    And we would hear about this, whatever he comes up with, before the election?  You said that he wanted to --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I think you’ll hear him talk about this over the course of the next many days and week.

Q    Would he perhaps do a speech to the joint session?

MR. GIBBS:  I don't think -- I have not heard that talked about.

Q    Is he going -- he’s going to call on President Bush.  Is he going to mention President Bush in the speech tomorrow night?  Would he give him any credit?

MR. GIBBS:  Anne, I have not seen the final draft of what the speech --

Q    Does he believe that President Bush deserves any credit for the surge, laying the groundwork for troop withdrawal?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, Anne, I'd point you to the many comments that the President has made throughout a number of years about the role that increasing the number of our troops has played, just as a Sunni Awakening has played, just as a better political environment has played.  I think that the President will get a chance to talk about a lot of that.

Q    When it comes to next year, does he see any flexibility in the Status of Forces Agreement about leaving troops beyond next year, or is that ironclad?

MR. GIBBS:  I’m going to let -- I’m not going to focus on next year quite yet.

Q    Is that something -- will he mention that tomorrow night?  He mentioned it in the radio address over the weekend. 

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I have not looked at -- I have not seen the latest draft of where we are in the speech.

Q    How about the last draft you saw?  Does he talk about 2011?  (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS:  I'll save that for tomorrow.

Q    Just following on Anne’s question, more simply, does the President believe the surge worked?

MR. GIBBS:  Again, Sheryl, I'd point you to the same comments that I would point Anne to -- that the President always believed that you would change part of the security situation by vastly increasing the number of troops.  But again I think it was important -- and the President was criticized for this throughout the campaign -- and that is saying that we were not going to accomplish all of what needed to be done in Iraq simply militarily, that there had to be a political accommodation.

We understand, again, that if you look at what happened with the Sunni Awakening, there were a whole host of factors that led us to a point in which the President can make good on his commitment to take almost 100,000 combat troops out of Iraq, to fundamentally change our mission in Iraq, to put the Iraqis in the lead for not just their security but their politics and their future.  And I think that's what’s ultimately tremendously important.

Q    And can I just elaborate briefly on what he intends to say to President Bush tomorrow, why he’s intending to --

MR. GIBBS:  I’m not going to preview the call --

Q    But what is his -- he’s got a reason for calling him.

Q    To what extent is the President going to talk about his belief not that Iraq was -- may have been the wrong war, but Afghanistan is the right war and needs to be --

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I think that as you heard the President discuss during the campaign, the emphasis and the commitment that was made in Iraq without a doubt took our emphasis and our commitment off of Afghanistan.  In many ways we are having to make up for years of that; years of not having the type of and necessary number of combat forces in a country that poses an actual threat to our own security.  That's where 9/11 was planned.  I think the President certainly will mention that.  This is not an Afghanistan speech, but he will mention that.

Q    Why the Oval Office?  What does that setting do for the President in terms of talking about Iraq?  And why not do it at Fort Bliss?  And what at this point does it say about his broader vision of -- well, does he go broader than just Iraq or Afghanistan on America’s position in the world?

MR. GIBBS:  I think, first and foremost -- let me take the second part -- I think the President will discuss what this means -- what does this now mean for our -- what does this drawdown now mean for our national security and for our interests, and where do we go from here.

The Oval Office because I think, without any doubt, this has been, over the course of the past seven and a half, eight years  -- this has been one of the biggest, if not the single biggest issue that has dominated the past eight years.  It is important to hold up -- and I got the questions about the surge, which I -- it is important to hold up the efforts of those who -- again, whether you were for the invasion or whether you opposed the invasion, you had our men and women in uniform who undertook the commands of their Commander-in-Chief and should be held up and celebrated for what they’ve done in allowing combat troops now to come home.

Q    And why not give President Bush credit for ordering the surge?

MR. GIBBS:  I think -- again, Ann, I’d be happy to circulate the President’s comments that go back to 2007 and go back to 2008 on this.  I think they're instructive and we’ll do that after the briefing. 

Q    Robert, Republicans are planning -- House Republicans, instead of measuring the drapes, they're kind of measuring the subpoenas, and they're planning sort of a wave of committee investigations if they win back the majority in the House -- everything ranging from the bailouts to the New Black Panther Party.  What do you think of that as a strategy on their part?

MR. GIBBS:  Have at it.  I mean, I don't understand, Glenn  -- I’m happy to answer a series of questions about what’s going on.  It’s hard for me to look that far into the future and discuss --

Q    What do you think that says about their -- what they’ll do if they win back the majority?

MR. GIBBS:  I’m going to say I think, first and foremost, this is unrelated to -- I think the American people want to see two parties that can work together in moving our country forward, whether it’s on Iraq, Afghanistan or, most importantly, our economy.  I think that's where the President is going to be focused on for the next many months, and I think that's what the President would expect everyone to be focused on over this --

Q    Robert, just two questions --

Q    One quick other thing.

MR. GIBBS:  Sure.

Q    A lot of folks have been talking about the first-time homebuyers tax credit sort of propping up the housing market.  Is that one of these new measures that he might be considering?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, obviously, there was -- that was something that was done originally.  I don't -- while I have not see, obviously, a final list, that is -- I think bringing that back is not on -- is not as high on the list as many other things are.

Q    Robert, AP reported that Stanford University professor Clarence Jones, who served as Dr. King’s attorney, said on Saturday that he believes that Dr. King would not be offended by the Glenn Beck rally, but “pleased and honored”.  And my question, first of two, does the White House believe that Professor Jones was wrong?

MR. GIBBS:  Lester I think you just asked me if I could interpret the remarks of an adviser to a civil rights leader that passed away in 1968 -- that would have made it three years prior to my birth. 

Q    But you’ve got a long memory?  

MR. GIBBS:  But I had very few conversations with Dr. King which would impart to me the wisdom in which I could offer to comment on how seriously --

Q    You’d just like to evade this question. 

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I will -- I may be the first person ever to say this in this room.  I have absolutely no standing with which to offer a comment on a Stanford University professor who formerly advised Martin Luther King that I presume last talked sometime in early April of 1968.

Q    All right.  What is the White House reaction to U.S. News & World Report’s Mortimer Zuckerman’s description of the Obama administration as “the most fiscally irresponsible government in U.S. history”?  I am curious --

MR. GIBBS:  You have a boundless curiosity one could say, Lester.  Look, I think with any reading of what has happened over the past eight years, I think you can see what decisions were made that got us into the fiscal mess that we’re in.  They weren’t the decisions of the Obama administration.  You can’t -- Iraq is fitting -- you can’t invade Iraq, you can’t go into Afghanistan for seven and a half or eight years with an endless, open-ended commitment and not have a way of paying for it, you can’t add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and not pay for it, you can’t have a 10-year tax cut that cost $2 trillion and not pay for it, and expect that somehow the fiscal situation in the country is going to get better. 

When the previous administration came in, there was a $200 billion or so surplus, and when they left, there was an American Express bill for $1.3 trillion.

Margaret.

Q    Thank you very much.

Q    Thanks.  So I have two questions.  I was going to ask you about Iraq, but I just want to follow on --

MR. GIBBS:  Oh, so did Lester take your Stanford question?  (Laughter.)

Q    Yes.  I started out with three questions.  (Laughter.)  So is that a point that the President intends to --

MR. GIBBS:  Which point?  I’m sorry.

Q    Your last point that it’s basically -- I think your point was that it’s President Bush and the Republican Congress’ fault that we’re on the economic trajectory that we’re on in terms of spending, right?

MR. GIBBS:  It’s not -- I mean, I think -- again, that is my opinion based on a series of facts of which I just outlined.  We did not go from, in January of 2009, a $200 billion surplus to a $1.3 trillion deficit.  That happened over the previous eight years. 

Q    Do you expect that that is going to be something that we’ll hear the President expound on in the weeks to come?

MR. GIBBS:  I think you’ll hear the President begin to -- or continue to discuss that, partly because, quite honestly, if you watch television, you would think that -- and I would say it’s somewhat illuminating to watch John Boehner in the last Roosevelt Room meeting with the President -- they started talking about the fiscal impact of the Bush tax cuts, and Boehner said, “Well, Mr. President, you and I weren’t here for that.”  And then Congressman Hoyer said, “No, John, you were here.  You -- not only were you here, but you voted for that.” 

So again, I think there’s a lot of fiscal amnesia that has happened over the past 18 months about the actions of and the votes of those in the previous eight years.

Q    One question, please?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I’ll come back for it.

Q    So on Iraq, did the President consider delivering tomorrow night’s speech from Iraq itself?  And did he decide not to because he had to be in D.C. for direct talks, or because it’s too dangerous to go there?

MR. GIBBS:  No, I mean -- no, I do not believe there was ever a serious discussion about delivering what the President will deliver tomorrow in Iraq.  Obviously, the Vice President is there because of the continue work that has to be done to make progress on the political side.  Obviously, an election that was certified in June and a government that has yet to fully be formed continues to require the work of this administration, and particularly the Vice President.

Q    There are still a lot of questions about the surge and whether or not to give President Bush credit for it and stuff.  But I’m wondering, in sort of the final analysis, understanding his desire to make sure to honor the troops that have fought, does President Obama still think that the country and the world would be better off if the U.S. had never invaded Iraq in 2003?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I will say this.  If the President had been President during that time, we wouldn’t have gone.  Obviously that’s the way the President felt.  That was -- he said that in a speech in 2002 and repeated that throughout this year. And I think -- well, I’ll leave it at that.

Yes, ma’am.

Q    On the peace talks, can you tell us a little bit more about the format?  Will the President meet with each leader individually?  And will they meet for the first time over dinner before they meet together?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, as -- and I don’t have the schedule in front, and we’ll go through some of this tomorrow, but as I understand it, over the course of the day, Wednesday, the President will host a series of bilateral meetings with Netanyahu, Abbas, Abdullah, and Mubarak.  There will be a leaders dinner that evening, I believe in the Residence.  And then the Secretary of State the next day will host the formal talks themselves.  But the President will have an opportunity to see each of the individual -- each of those leaders individually, as well as at dinner.

Q    Can we expect a statement from the President on Wednesday?

MR. GIBBS:  I believe in the -- again, I’m going through some of this by memory -- I think sometime late in the afternoon you will likely hear from the President on where we are.

Tommy.

Q    Thanks, Robert.  I have three quick questions.  First, does the President have any reaction to renewed calls for Alan Simpson to be removed from the deficit commission, based on an email that he sent to the president of the DOW, comparing America to a --

MR. GIBBS:  Senator Simpson sent an email that he’s now apologized for.  We regret that he sent that email.  We don't condone those comments.  But Senator Simpson has and will continue to serve on the commission.

Q    Second question:  Yesterday the President said on Beck’s rally, he said, “It’s not surprising that somebody like a Glenn Beck is able to stir up a certain portion of the country.  That's been true throughout our history.”  What portion of the country is he talking about, and what are the historical touchstones he’s referring to?

MR. GIBBS:  I did not speak with him about what the meaning behind that statement was.

Q    And finally, during the Bush administration, opponents of the war were constantly asking for a definition -- what is victory going to look like.  And so, is that what this is?  Is this what victory looks like?

MR. GIBBS:  Look, I think we are used to -- in thinking about victory in a war, I think we are used to the pictures of some type of ceremony on a battleship at sea.  I don't think you’re likely -- based on the wars that we’re involved in, I don't think you’re likely to see those scenarios. 

What you’ll see tomorrow is the changing of a mission from one of combat to one of support.  You have seen more than a -- or nearly 100,000 troops leave, millions of pieces of equipment, hundreds of bases that had been transferred to the sole control of the Iraqis.  And they will be at the forefront of both security and political decisions, and we will be their supportive ally.  But I do not believe that -- this is not something where you’re going to see the type of formal ceremony that we’ve seen in the past. 

David.

Q    Back to -- can you circle back --

MR. GIBBS:  Let me do David, and then --

Q    I just want to know if you could circle back on Beck?

MR. GIBBS:  I'll see what the President’s schedule is.

David.

Q    Related to Iraq, when the President was campaigning in ’07, he said that the war in Iraq had not made us safer.  He pointed to it as one of a series of terrible decisions in foreign policy, and that's one reason why we’re not safer now.  But yet last week when he gave the video of saluting the troops, he thanked them in part for having made America safer, the troops who had served in Iraq.  So I was wondering if you could sort of square those remarks.  In ’07 he didn’t think the war was making us safer, but he seems to indicate now that he does believe that their efforts have made America safer.

MR. GIBBS:  I'd have to go back and look at the exact statement that's in the video.  I will say this, David.  I think that what the President alluded to in 2007 and I think what the President would tell you now is we made -- a decision was made in 2003 to dedicate a limited amount of resources to focusing on Iraq rather than identifying or focusing on the problems that we had in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  I think you’ve heard the President say since 2002 that’s not a decision that he would have made.  You heard the President be critical of our lack of focus and resources in Afghanistan, and I think that’s in many ways why we are where we are in Afghanistan today.

I’ll go there and I’ll come back.

Q    When you talk about the economic advisors and the President looking at ideas for creating new jobs, targeted measures, is he considering the tax reform option?  Because the Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, often say that if you lower corporate tax rates, if you lower capital gains, you can create an environment for --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I would say, first and foremost, I mean, well, one, broad-based, broad-scale tax reform is probably not going to happen overnight.  But if you’re -- if you have a desire to cut, say, taxes on capital gains as it relates to small business, there’s a bill pending the Senate to do exactly that.  If you want to improve the environment as it relates to taxes and small businesses, then you’d walk down to the floor of the Senate and vote yes on the small business lending initiative.  You’d have to ask the Republicans and the groups -- groups like the Chamber and NFIB and others where they are and what they’re encouraging senators to do on that.

Q    But didn’t Senate leaders right before recess agree to -- I think that one of the issues was limiting amendments --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, again --

Q    -- Republicans and Democrats --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, limiting amendments is one thing.  What we need is, because what always -- well, what happens now in the Senate is 60 is the new 50, right?  So you got to get 60.  There aren’t 60 Democrats.  And if Republicans believe in cutting taxes for small business, if Republicans believe that small businesses are the engine that drive the economy and create jobs, then the best way to demonstrate that support is to support cutting their taxes and giving them the ability to borrow more money and expand.

Q    If all the Republicans want are more amendments, is the President willing to call on the Democratic leadership to allow more amendments on the bill and get it moving?

MR. GIBBS:  I think that wanting more amendments is what you say when you’re just trying to drag things to a halt, as many in the Senate Republicans have tried to do throughout the year.

Q    Robert, does the White House agree with General Odierno’s remarks over the weekend that the U.S. was naïve going into Iraq, didn’t understand it, and that that might in fact have made things worse?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, I think there is no doubt that -- I think if you look back to the debate in 2002 and in early 2003, I think there’s no doubt that there were a series of miscalculations that were made as we got into Iraq.  There was a fairly robust debate on the number of resources that would be needed to undertake what was being undertaken.  I think an economic advisor or two lost their jobs by insinuating that somehow this might cost -- this whole excursion might cost more $50 billion.  They’d probably give that guy the Nobel Prize for economics today.  We were blowing through that kind of money by the end of May in any year, given the tremendous commitment that we had to support. 

I don't think there’s any doubt that both the way we went in and with the type the resources that we went in with, we made some pretty huge strategic and tactical errors.

Ken.

Q    Robert, two questions, unrelated.  First one, anything new today on Elizabeth Warren?

MR. GIBBS:  No, and I don’t expect any announcements at either consumer -- with either consumer or CEA this week.

Q    Okay.  Second question:  We have some ecumenical leaders meetings with Justice Department officials late this afternoon in part in response to the stabbing of the cab driver over the weekend who acknowledged he was Muslim and that’s when the attack occurred.  Also, there have been other incidents around the country, as I’m sure you’re well aware.  Two questions:  Is there anything that the Justice Department or the Obama administration can do about circumstances like this, in reality?  And perhaps more importantly, what is the White House reaction to an incident like what we saw over the weekend?

MR. GIBBS:  You know, Ken, let me get some better information from the Department of Justice and get you a more informed answer to both those questions.

Q    But you have no statement on the violence in general that you can’t --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, obviously anybody -- I think anybody in this country that is targeted for, as you’ve heard the President say, targeted for violence because of who they are, what they look like, how they talk, what their sexual orientation is, is not in keeping at all with the value system we have as Americans.  That kind of violence is deplorable, and as a society we must do everything that’s humanly possible to prevent it.

Thank you, guys.

Q    Robert, does the President have formal remarks tomorrow at Fort Bliss?

MR. GIBBS:  Yes.  Yes, yes, he does speak.

END
3:20 P.M. EDT




]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:39:48 CDT Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:27:00 CDT MR. BLINKEN:  Good evening.  Thanks for coming out.  As Jay said, we just arrived with the Vice President about 45 minutes ago.  I think as many of you know, this is the Vice President’s sixth trip to Iraq since January 2009.  You may remember he took a trip to Iraq as Vice President-elect before the inaugural in January.  And counting that one, this is now the sixth trip.  So he is a frequent flyer and frequent visitor here.

The main purpose of the trip is for the Vice President to take part in ceremony marking the change in mission and change in command here in Iraq, an important moment, a momentous moment that he thought was important to mark here in person.  But he’ll also take advantage of being here to meet with Iraq’s senior leaders.  They’ll be seeing, among others, Prime Minister Maliki, Dr. Allawi, President Talabani, President Barzani, Vice President Hashimi, Vice President al-Mahdi, and His Eminence, al-Hakim among others.

And with them, he is going to take the opportunity to preview the President’s speech to the nation on Tuesday night to give them a look at what the President is going to say and to reinforce two points that will be in the President’s speech.  First, that the President and this administration are making good on our commitment to end the war in Iraq responsibly and to help build a stable, self-reliant, and sovereign Iraq, but just as important, this administration’s commitment to an ongoing relationship with Iraq. 

We’re not disengaging from Iraq.  The nature of our engagement is changing with this change in mission from a military lead to a civilian lead.  And even as we draw down our troops, we are ramping up our engagement across the board -- diplomatic, political, economic, cultural, and so forth.

In short, we are determined to build a long-term partnership with the government of Iraq and with the Iraqi people.  But to build a partnership, you need a partner.  And so the Vice President, I am sure, will also in his meetings talk about the government’s formation process when he sees Iraq’s leaders. 

In many ways, the length of time it has taken to get a government in place in Iraq was not unexpected.  I think most of us predicted it even possibly on the record before the election.  After all, the last time around it took six months.  This time, the Iraqis had an incredibly close election with two seats dividing the two leading parties and no one getting anywhere near the majority needed to form a government alone. 

Unlike last time, however, we have not seen a dangerous vacuum develop in which those bent on destruction would change the dynamic in Iraq.  To date, that has not happened.  And instead, we’ve had a caretaker government that for the most part has been able to take care of the basic business, whether it’s security services, or the disbursement of the budget, which is a critical element as well. 

Obviously, there have been issues and problems, but by and large what many fear in the absence of a government formation -- a really dangerous vacuum developing -- has not happened.  That said, this is not a durable solution for Iraq.  There was an election.  The Iraqi people would like to see the results of that election made real by the formation of government. 

We sense some frustration among Iraqis that this process is now taking a considerable amount of time.  And significantly, without getting to the elected government, it’s going to be very hard for Iraq to do two things.  One, it’s going to be hard for Iraq to tackle the big, outstanding issues that remain, whether it’s dealing with the question of disputed internal boundaries or the status of Kirkuk, whether it’s dealing with the production and distribution of energy resources, whether it’s dealing with constitutional reform and so on.  All of these big, outstanding issues require the elected government.

Similarly, when it comes to building up our own partnership with Iraq, it’s very hard to move forward in the absence of this elected government.  And so I think there’s some sense, growing sense of urgency that government formation move forward.  And that’s -- certainly, the Vice President is going to urge the leaders to bring this process to a conclusion.

Two other quick points and then we’ll take questions.  Let me just make it very clear there is no United States plan.  There is no United States candidate in terms of the next Iraqi government.  The Iraqis don’t want anyone, any outsider dictating outcomes or trying to influence the direction of their country or their government. 

What we do have is a conviction shared by the Iraqi people for a government that reflects the results of the election and is inclusive of the leading coalitions, including Iraqiyya State of Law and the Kurdish Alliance. 

And so that’s where we are.  That’s a very broad outline of the trip.  Let me stop there and take any questions.

Q    You talked about wanting an inclusive government and not picking a candidate.  But the Sadr Movement has the biggest single bloc in Parliament now.  So how would the administration feel about a government that was truly inclusive and actually had them in a leading role?

MR. BLINKEN:  What we want to do and what we believe the Iraqis want based on our many interactions with them is to strengthen this partnership that is set out in the Strategic Framework Agreement.  And given that, it would seem to be in the interest of the Iraqis -- and certainly in our interest -- to have in the government partners who want to build a partnership with us. 

And so I think we -- again, this is up to the Iraqi people.  It’s not our decision, but we would hope that the government that results will include in its leadership positions parties and coalitions that are interested in building a long-term partnership with the United States.  And that’s what we’re looking at and so you can make up your own minds whether one party, one coalition or another is interested in that or not.  But it’s hard to build a partnership if you don’t have a willing partner.

Ultimately, that’s up to -- again, up to the Iraqis, up to their government.  If that’s not something they want, that’s their decision.  But every indication we have from the people we talk to across the board is that that is something the Iraqis want.  That is something they want to build.  That is something that’s contained in the Strategic Framework Agreement.

Q    Can you talk a little bit about what sort of leverage the United States has to convince the Iraqi officials to form a government?

MR. BLINKEN:  I don’t think it’s our leverage.  I think it’s the leverage of the Iraqi people who are looking for their leaders to bring this process to a close.  And it’s been five months now.  That’s less time than last time.  But there’s in a sense a higher expectation after an election that went forward remarkably well that was deemed credible by the international community.  Some aspects of the election were challenged.  The challenge went forward.  The election was certified.  This is a very good process.

And I think as a result of that, in a sense -- as a result of the success of the election, there’s a heightened expectation that the political leaders will in a sense match the courage and sacrifice of the Iraqi people who have been through an awful lot.  So that’s one.  I think they’re feeling more and more pressure from their constituents to get on with this.

Second, as I mentioned a moment ago, there are a lot of issues on the plate for the next Iraqi government, issues that the Iraqi people care about deeply, whether again it’s the question of disputed internal boundaries in Kirkuk, whether it’s how to deal with energy resources, whether it’s some constitutional changes they may be looking at, whether it’s the integration of security forces and also moving forward in terms of dealing with their neighbors, dealing with the United Nations.  All of these things really require the elected government to be in place.

The caretaker government is able to do the critical basics -- that is basic security, basic services, and disbursement of the budget.  But in terms of making big, strategic decisions, every caretaker government is going to feel constrained in doing that.  So for Iraq to move forward and to deal with the issues that are out there, it needs this government.  So those are the reasons.  It’s not a question of our influence or our pressure.  It’s what the Iraqi people want and what Iraq needs them for.

Q    Could you drill down on that a little bit more?  You said that in order for there to be a partnership with the Iraqis, you need to have somebody to be a partner with.  So what is it the United States can’t do now in terms of getting aid or assistance or advice or whatever that it will be able to do once there’s a government that’s been seated?

MR. BLINKEN:  Well, there are a few things.  There are a number of things that the Iraqis are looking for assistance with that’s more difficult to do in this context than it would be with the full-time government in place, for example, moving forward with helping Iraq get out from Chapter 7 of the United Nations and moving forward its relationship with Kuwait.  These are things that will be much -- it will be easier to do more effectively once the full-time government is in place.  And we can be helpful.  We pledged to be helpful.

Similarly, in continuing to build up relationships with all of their neighbors, I think some of the neighbors are waiting to see the government form before moving forward more forcibly with engagement with Iraq.  Again, we can be helpful, since we have relationships with virtually all of the neighbors.  And that too will benefit from having the government in place.

There are a number of things we’re looking to do in terms of building up the trade and economic relationship, building up the cultural and educational relationship.  All of these things benefit from the greater certainty you get from having the elected government in place and not a caretaker government. 

So it’s not that things are on hold, but it’s that they are moving more slowly than they would if we had the full-time government in place.  So those are the kinds of things that we’re looking at.

Q    You spoke about some pretty complicated, complex issues dealing with internal borders, about sharing resources.  And a lot of people are saying it’s very difficult to make any headway on these issues in the next say year or 16 months.  Already, we’re hearing talk from a lot of Iraqi officials that the U.S. must remain deeply engaged, deeply involved in Iraqi affairs.  There was even talk -- there was a comment by the Iraqi Army Chief of Staff about the readiness of Iraqi forces.  I mean, there’s even talk now that the U.S. may ultimately have to delay or postpone a full withdrawal.  Is that a possibility?

MR. BLINKEN:  We committed to the Iraqis to be out of Iraq’s cities last summer on a deadline, and we were.  We committed to change the mission, end our combat mission and be down to 50,000 troops by August 31st, and we are.  And we have an agreement with the government of Iraq to remove our forces, all of our forces from Iraq, at the end of 2011, and we will.  We are bound by that agreement and we will make good on it.

Let me just make a quick comment about a couple of things you mentioned in the question.  I think all of you know, but it’s just important to underscore, that we’re not flipping a switch this week.  The process of ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq has been just that, a process that’s played out over a year.  This has been a lengthy transition to Iraqi responsibility. 

As I mentioned, we were out of the cities more than a year ago, and so Iraqis have had lead responsibilities in the cities for a long period of time.  And what we’ve seen -- and I would refer you to General Odierno and U.S. Forces Iraq -- but we have seen a growing capacity on the part of the Iraqi security forces to handle security.  And the evidence of that has been in the way the elections themselves were handled, the efforts to kill or capture extremist leaders, which have been quite successful in recent months. 

Of course, none of this means that extremist groups of one kind or another do not continue to pose a threat to Iraq.  Clearly, they do.  And we’ve seen evidence of that in just the past week.  And these attacks continue to kill innocents. 

But what they haven’t done thus far is achieve what we believe are their fundamental objectives.  One, to re-light some kind of sectarian fuse -- that has not happened -- two, to fundamentally undermine the credibility of the Iraqi government.  That too has not happened.

All of that said, again, the sooner the Iraqis get a permanent government in place, the elected government in place, I think the easier it will be to continue to move forward with the Iraqi security forces.

Let me add one other quick thing.  We will continue until the end of 2011 to have as many as 50,000 troops here.  As, again, I think all of you know, the combat mission ends, but the presence of combat troops does not.  And so we have -- we will continue to have a significant number of troops here whose primary mission will be to advise and assist the Iraqis, to continue to help train them to do partner counterterrorism operations and also to protect their own personnel who are here.

And so we think that over the next year and a half, our ability to continue to help the Iraqis increase the capacity of their security forces will be very significant.  And then, as part of our long-term relationship with Iraq, we will be setting up within the embassy an office of security cooperation, as we have in embassies around the world, that will be the real link between our military and theirs in terms of continuing to provide advice and help the Iraqis -- for example, become familiar with any equipment they may buy from us in the future.

So, again, let me just emphasize this has been a process and will continue to be a process.

Q    I have two questions.  First question is don’t you think as the end of combat operation comes at a time that is very critical for Iraq -- I mean, they don’t have a new government and it’s already on alert for more attacks from al Qaeda.  So do you think that the -- like the end of combat operations now might be actually inviting more attacks by insurgents?  This is the first question.  The second question is what is the time and what is the deadline when you see that this is a critical time for Iraq to have a new government?  I mean, it’s been already almost six months so far.  So is this a critical time or is there a certain deadline?

MR. BLINKEN:  In terms of the first part of your question, the end of mission -- of the combat mission was planned out over a long period of time.  And as I said a moment ago, it’s not a flipping of the light switch.  It’s been a process that started well over a year ago with removing U.S. forces from the cities, giving Iraqis responsibility for the cities and increasingly transitioning over the last year to lead Iraqi responsibility. 

So it’s not as if we’ve had an arbitrary deadline that we suddenly had to meet.  This has been a very planned process, a planned transition, keyed to the amount of time we thought was required to develop -- help the Iraqis develop sufficient security capacity to take lead responsibility.  It was not keyed to the election per say. 

Second -- again, as I mentioned, even though the combat mission is over and that’s very significant, U.S. combat forces will remain in Iraq to advise and assist the Iraqis, and there will be 50,000 of them.  So that’s a significant number of troops who can help handle contingencies if any arise.

And then, the other point that I think is critical, which we talked about a moment ago, is it’s not as if Iraq does not have a government.  There is a caretaker government in place.  Again, it’s not satisfactory for dealing with Iraq’s long-term problems.  It’s not satisfactory in terms of the desire of the Iraqi people to have a government in place that reflects the courage they took in going to the ballot box.  But it has also enabled the Iraqis to make sure that a dangerous vacuum doesn’t develop in Iraq.  So for all of those reasons, I think while this is a critical time, there’s this linkage between the change in mission that some would make and government formation we don’t see.

As to your second question, we don’t have a deadline for the Iraqis.  It’s not our place to suggest a deadline, to impose a deadline, to ask for a deadline.  It’s not the business of any foreign country to do that.  What we are doing and can do is to suggest to the Iraqi leaders that both in terms of the desires of the Iraqi people to see a government form and the ability to get on with the important business of moving Iraq forward, forming a government is critical and getting that done as quickly as they can is critical.  But there is no timeline, deadline.  That has to be up to them.

We have seen significant forward movement in recent weeks in terms of the discussions among the leading Iraqi parties and coalitions, very, very detailed discussions over power sharing.  That’s encouraging.  But they’re not there yet, and it’s up to them to get there.

Q    You said you have no preferred plan -- there’s no U.S. plan, there’s no U.S. candidate.  But there is a preferred U.S. formula if you like that everybody knows about, and it’s been out there for some time.  And you kind of hinted at it when you said we want to see a government that reflects the outcome of the election.  Could you elaborate a little bit more on why it is that you consider that formula the best one for Iraq at this moment and why you think it reflects the election results?

MR. BLINKEN:  Well, the election results were clear in one sense and not clear in another.  They weren’t clear in the sense that there was no outright winner.  Several parties did very, very well.  And, again, as you know, the top two coalitions were separated by just two seats -- one had 91, the other had 89.  You need 163 to form a majority in Parliament.

And so given that, it seems a couple of points are obvious.  One, is that the next government in Iraq, by definition, has to be some kind of coalition government, because no single party or existing coalition can get to a majority on its own.

Second, this was a democratic election, and we believe, again, that the election was credible.  It was challenged.  The challenges went forward.  The election was certified.  Given all of that, it would seem important to have an outcome, in terms of government formation, that reflects the basic results and those basic results had among other things, the Iraqiyya coalition, the State of Law coalition being the two leading coalitions, the Kurdish Alliance performing very strongly, various Shiite parties also performing strongly. 

And so based on that, we believe that to reflect the results of the election, which are the best gauge of the will of the Iraqi people, having a broad-based coalition in place is the way to do that.  And less important than what we think, that seems to be not only what the Iraqi people are thinking, but what Iraq’s leaders are thinking, because the discussions that we’ve seen going forward involve these very groups.

But, again, it’s not for us to say how this should come out.  We are simply expressing what we believe is the preference of the Iraqi people as reflected in the election results.

Q    You have specifically promoted that it should be State of Law, Allawi Alliance dominating this government, with a preference for al-Maliki remaining as Prime Minister.

MR. BLINKEN:  We have expressed no preference for who should be Prime Minister.  We have said that we believe that as the two leading coalitions in the election, Iraqiyya and State of Law should be we think at the foundation of the next government along with the Kurdish Alliance.  But how -- the details of how that government would be composed and in particular who holds what seat is not for us to say.  It’s not something we have said.  Let me repeat, we have no preferred candidate.  We do believe, again, that the two leading coalitions should be at the heart and foundation of the government.    

Q    Do you rule out that Allawi could be Prime Minister?

MR. BLINKEN:  We haven’t ruled in or ruled out anything.  Again, that’s up to the Iraqis.  All we’ve said is that the election should reflect -- the government should reflect the results of the election, it should be inclusive.  And we hope that whoever is in a position -- in positions of leadership in the Iraqi government are people who would like to build on the Strategic Framework Agreement and build a partnership with the United States.  If that’s what -- if the Iraqis choose not to do that, again, that’s their choice.  But we believe that reflects a pretty broad-based will of people and leaders here.  And so we hope that any government we’re dealing with reflects that desire and reflects that interest. 

It’s hard to build a partnership if you don’t have partners who want to do it.  So that’s -- those are only working assumptions.

Q    Is there any -- has there been any talk or consideration on what happens in the six months if they hadn’t been able to sort out --

MR. BLINKEN:  No.

Q    What steps might the U.S. be able to take?

MR. BLINKEN:  I’m not going to get into hypotheticals about the future.  Again, I think we’ve seen negotiations being -- moving into from neutral, to first to second to third gear.  There’s a lot of movement.  There are a lot of conversations.  There are a lot of negotiations that are ongoing.  And given that, it’s our assessment that the Iraqis will get there.  And, again, that’s what reflects the will of the Iraqi people. 

The wonderful thing about having a democratic election and institutions is that you increasingly have to be responsive to the desires of your constituents.  And the constituents would like to see a government.

Thank you.

END

]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:59:58 CDT With the unwavering support of President Obama, VA is transforming to meet its 21st Century responsibilities.  Advocacy, on behalf of every generation of Veterans, is central to this transformation.
 
Agent Orange was a blend of herbicides used by the U.S. military, during the Vietnam conflict, to deny concealment to enemy forces.  More than 19 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed to remove foliage and undergrowth.  The most common, Agent Orange, was sprayed in all four military zones of South Vietnam.

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]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:43:00 CDT TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

August 30, 2010

Dear Madam Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that expands the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, and takes additional steps with respect to that national emergency.

In 2008, the United States terminated the exercise of certain authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to North Korea, and also declared a national emergency pursuant to IEEPA to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula.  Executive Order 13466 continued certain restrictions on North Korea and North Korean nationals that had been in place under TWEA.

I have determined that the Government of North Korea's continued provocative actions, such as its unprovoked attack on and sinking of the Republic of Korea Navy ship Cheonan in March 2010, which resulted in the deaths of 46 sailors; its announced test of a nuclear device and missile launches in 2009; its violations of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1718 of October 14, 2006, and UNSCR 1874 of June 12, 2009, including the procurement of luxury goods; and the illicit and deceptive economic activities through which it obtains financial and other support, including money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods and currency, bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics trafficking, destabilize the Korean peninsula and imperil U.S. Armed Forces, allies, and trading partners in the region, and warrant the imposition of additional sanctions.

The United Nations Security Council, in Resolutions 1718 and 1874, requires Member States to take certain measures to prevent, among other activities, the transfer of most arms and related materiel to or from North Korea and the transfer of luxury goods to North Korea.  The United States has implemented those two UNSCRs, and the order strengthens that implementation.

The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, nor at those who provide legitimate humanitarian relief to those people, but rather is aimed at specific activities of the Government of North Korea and others undertaken in defiance of UNSCRs 1718 and 1874.  The order targets the international network that supports the Government of North Korea through arms sales and illicit economic activities, including money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods and currency, bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics trafficking.

The order leaves in place all existing sanctions imposed under Executive Order 13466, and blocks the property and interests in property of persons listed in the Annex to the order.  The order also provides criteria for designations of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

• to have, directly or indirectly, imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea any arms or related materiel;

• to have, directly or indirectly, provided training, advice, or other services or assistance, or engaged in financial transactions, related to the manufacture, maintenance, or use of any arms or related materiel to be imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea, or following their importation, exportation, or reexportation to, into, or from North Korea;

• to have, directly or indirectly, imported, exported, or reexported luxury goods to or into North Korea;

• to have, directly or indirectly, engaged in money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling, narcotics trafficking, or other illicit economic activity that involves or supports the Government of North Korea or any senior official thereof;

• to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in sections l(a)(ii)(A)-(D) of the order or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the order;

• to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the order; or

• to have attempted to engage in any of the activities described in sections l(a)(ii)(A)-(F) of the order.

I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the United Nations Participation Act, as may be necessary

to carry out the purposes of the order.  I have also delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the authority to determine that circumstances no longer warrant the blocking of the property and interests in property of a person listed in the Annex to the order, and to take necessary action to give effect to that determination.

The order was effective at 12:01 p.m., eastern daylight time on August 30, 2010.  All executive agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

BARACK OBAMA

]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:43:00 CDT EXECUTIVE ORDER

BLOCKING PROPERTY OF CERTAIN PERSONS WITH RESPECT TO NORTH KOREA

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code; in view of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1718 of October 14, 2006, and UNSCR 1874 of June 12, 2009; and to take additional steps with respect to the situation in North Korea,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, hereby expand the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, finding that the continued actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, manifested most recently by its unprovoked attack that resulted in the sinking of the Republic of Korea Navy ship Cheonan and the deaths of 46 sailors in March 2010; its announced test of a nuclear device and its missile launches in 2009; its actions in violation of UNSCRs 1718 and 1874, including the procurement of luxury goods; and its illicit and deceptive activities in international markets through which it obtains financial and other support, including money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods and currency, bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics trafficking, destabilize the Korean peninsula and imperil U.S. Armed Forces, allies, and trading partners in the region, and thereby constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

I hereby order:

Section 1.  (a)  All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:

(i)   the persons listed in the Annex to this order; and

(ii)  any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(A)  to have, directly or indirectly, imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea any arms or related materiel;

(B)  to have, directly or indirectly, provided training, advice, or other services or assistance, or engaged in financial transactions, related to the manufacture, maintenance, or use of any arms or related materiel to be imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea, or following their importation, exportation, or reexportation to, into, or from North Korea;

(C)  to have, directly or indirectly, imported, exported, or reexported luxury goods to or into North Korea;

(D)  to have, directly or indirectly, engaged in money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling, narcotics trafficking, or other illicit economic activity that involves or supports the Government of North Korea or any senior official thereof;

(E)  to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsections (a)(ii)(A)-(D) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(F)  to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(G)  to have attempted to engage in any of the activities described in subsections (a)(ii)(A)-(F) of this section.

(b)  I hereby determine that, to the extent section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) may apply, the making of donations of the types of articles specified in such section by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 and expanded in scope in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsection (a) of this section.

(c)  The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to:

(i)   the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and

(ii)  the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

(d)  The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order.

Sec. 2.  (a)  Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b)  Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 3.  The provisions of Executive Order 13466 remain in effect, and this order does not affect any action taken pursuant to that order.

Sec. 4.  For the purposes of this order:

(a)  the term "person" means an individual or entity;

(b)  the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(c)  the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States;

(d)  the term "North Korea" includes the territory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of North Korea;

(e)  the term "Government of North Korea" means the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, its agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities; and

(f)  the term "luxury goods" includes those items listed in 15 C.F.R. 746.4(b)(l) and Supplement No. 1 to part 746 and similar items.

Sec. 5.  For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual.  I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 and expanded in scope in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.

Sec. 6.  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the UNPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order.  The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.  All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.

Sec. 7.  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to determine that circumstances no longer warrant the blocking of the property and interests in property of a person listed in the Annex to this order, and to take necessary action to give effect to that determination.

Sec. 8.  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, agents, or any other person.

Sec. 9.  This order is effective at 12:01 p.m., eastern daylight time on August 30, 2010.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 30, 2010.

]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:40:03 CDT

With just 64 days until the midterm elections, OFA volunteers are stepping up their organizing game and getting out every weekend to build momentum for November. This past weekend we set a unusually ambitious goal: 200,000 doors knocked in 48 hours as part of our Moving America Forward Day of Action. As we finish our final tally of this weekend’s numbers, we wanted to share some highlights of the events that took place from coast to coast.

From Alaska to Florida, volunteers asked those they met to support allies of President Obama at the polls this year, and commit to vote on November 2nd.

In Manhattan on Saturday, volunteers took the morning train to Long Island where they joined local supporters and Rep. Tim Bishop in going door-to-door for the Congressman.

In Austin, Texas, more than a hundred people gathered at the Travis County Democratic Party offices and went block by block letting neighbors know about the governor’s, board of education, and state House races.

In Fairfax, Virginia, 70 volunteers spent their Saturday knocking on doors and making phone calls to support Rep. Gerry Connolly, who has stood with President Obama in fighting for change in Washington.

Here are volunteers, in their own words, on what it was like to take part in events this weekend:

 Janice in New York City, NY:

“We had a marvelous day. Beautiful sunny weather, great, enthusiastic volunteers and encouraging conversations with voters. We know we made a difference, and we'll be back to talk to these people again and again through Election Day.”


Bonita in Chicago, IL:

"I am excited about starting to volunteer again and and am ready to go above and beyond in these next couple of months. The upcoming election has me excited, it feels kind of like 2008 again. But this time our support will come in the form of protecting Democrats currently in office, and helping new ones get elected. These are the folks that will fight for both President Obama and the Democratic Party as a whole."


Lisa in Austin, TX:

“This is some of the best block walking since I was in Denver for the 2008 campaign. It’s a chance to reach more people—by going out walking, I got to meet some lovely people, and I listened to what they had to say. We accomplished a lot--by covering as wide a territory as we did and sending as many people out as we did we’re hoping to have a ripple effect.”

Tom in Rochester, NY:

“When people see me or you knocking on the door, in the rain or the sun, they get it. They see it matters. It matters to me, it matters to them. If they’ve forgotten how much it matters, maybe they’ll remember it. That’s what I love about it and it’s the best part of the day. That’s what I’ll carry with me during the work week until I hit the doors again next weekend.”


Thank you to everyone who took part in these great events—with every door knocked and every call made, you helped push us that much closer to winning this November.

If you joined an event this weekend, use the comments below to share your own highlights or email stories and photos to Blog@BarackObama.com.




]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:59:11 CDT Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:47:40 CDT

	President Obama Speaks on the Economy The President talks about his Administration's focus on moving the economy forward and urges Congress to pass legislation that will benefit small businesses in remarks to the press after meeting with his economic team at the White House. August 30, 2010.	From: whitehouse Views: 0 0 ratings
	Time: 05:28	More in News & Politics

]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:44:17 CDT As I travel around the country, I meet many small business owners who are poised to take that next step to grow their business and create jobs. In fact, this morning’s USA Today looks at one of those business owners - Amarjit Kaur who runs a convenience store and gas station in Wood Village, OR.  Amarjit has been approved for an SBA loan so she can buy the property she now leases. But today her application sits in a queue waiting for passage of the Small Business Jobs Act currently before the Senate.

Here’s what’s happening:  Up until a few months ago, SBA was able to waive the fees for SBA loan borrowers.  This allowed small business owners to put more money back into their business. In fact, these fee reductions will save Amarjit about $35,000.  At the same time, we  were able to increase the government guarantee on SBA loans, to encourage more banks and credit unions to go ahead and make SBA loans to good, creditworthy small businesses.

This worked.  SBA lenders approved about 70,000 SBA Recovery loans in the hands of small businesses since the Recovery Act passed, nearly $30 billion in total. And, we brought more than 1,300 lenders back to making SBA loans at a time when other banks were cutting back their small business lending.

Unfortunately, the funding for these popular enhancements ran out at the end of May – just when small business owners like Amarjit’s needed it.  With support in Congress for extending these successful loan enhancements, we started the Recovery Loan Queue, a stand-by list just like at the airport.

Today, that list is at nearly 1,000 small businesses long, including Amarjit’s, totaling almost $500 million in loans.  With the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act, SBA will be able to fund these loans. Additionally, among other programs, the Act will create the Small Business Lending Fund to provide additional capital to small, community banks so they can boost their lending to small businesses locally.

As Amarjit’s story points out, now is not the time to pull back. In communities all across the country there are business owners just like her who are in a position to do exactly what our economy needs them to do – grow and create jobs. With the Small Business Jobs Act, we can be the very partner these business owners need by giving them the tools to continue to drive our economic recovery.

Karen Mills is the Administrator of the Small Business Administration




]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:17:00 CDT Rose Garden

1:17 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I just finished a meeting with my economic team about the current state of our economy and some of the additional steps that we should take to move forward.

It’s been nearly two years since that terrible September when our economy teetered on the brink of collapse.  And at the time, no one knew just how deep the recession would go, or the havoc that it would wreak on families and businesses across this country.  What we did know was that it took nearly a decade -- how we doing on sound, guys?  Is it still going in the press -- okay.  What we did know was that it was going to take nearly a decade in order -- can you guys still hear us?  Okay.  Let me try this one more time.

What we did know was that it took nearly a decade to dig the hole that we’re in -– and that it would take longer than any of us would like to climb our way out.  And while we have taken a series of measures and come a long way since then, the fact is, that too many businesses are still struggling; too many Americans are still looking for work; and too many communities are far from being whole again.

And that’s why my administration remains focused every single day on pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that’s been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work.

So, as Congress prepares to return to session, my economic team is hard at work in identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term, and increasing our economy’s competitiveness in the long term -- steps like extending the tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year; redoubling our investment in clean energy and R&D; rebuilding more of our infrastructure for the future; further tax cuts to encourage businesses to put their capital to work creating jobs here in the United States.  And I’ll be addressing these proposals in further detail in the days and weeks to come.

In the meantime, there’s one thing we know we should do -– something that should be Congress’ first order of business when it gets back -- and that is making it easier for our small businesses to grow and hire.

We know that in the final few months of last year, small businesses accounted for more than 60 percent of the job losses in America.  That’s why we’ve passed eight different tax cuts for small businesses and worked to expand credit for them. 

But we have to do more.  And there’s currently a jobs bill before Congress that would do two big things for small business owners:  cut more taxes and make available more loans.  It would help them get the credit they need, and eliminate capital gains taxes on key investments so they have more incentive to invest right now.  And it would accelerate $55 billion of tax relief to encourage American businesses, small and large, to expand their investments over the next 14 months.

Unfortunately, this bill has been languishing in the Senate for months, held up by a partisan minority that won’t even allow it to go to a vote.  That makes no sense.  This bill is fully paid for.  It will not add to the deficit.  And there is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics. 

The small business owners and the communities that rely on them, they don’t have time for political games.  They shouldn’t have to wait any longer.  In fact, just this morning, a story showed that small businesses have put hiring and expanding on hold while waiting for the Senate to act on this bill.  Simply put, holding this bill hostage is directly detrimental to our economic growth.

So I ask Senate Republicans to drop the blockade.  I know we’re entering election season, but the people who sent us here expect us to work together to get things done and improve this economy.

Now, no single step is the silver bullet that will reverse the damage done by the bubble-and-bust cycles that caused our economy into this slide.  It’s going to take a full-scale effort, a full-scale attack that not only helps in the short term, but builds a firmer foundation that makes our nation stronger for the long haul.  But this step will benefit small business owners and our economy right away.  That’s why it’s got to get done.

There’s no doubt we still face serious challenges.  But if we rise above the politics of the moment to summon an equal seriousness of purpose, I’m absolutely confident that we will meet them.  I’ve got confidence in the American economy.  And most importantly, I’ve got confidence in the American people.  We’ve just got to start working together to get this done. 

Thank you very much.

END
1:21 P.M. EDT

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