Obama salutes promised end of US combat in Iraq

ATLANTA: Nearing a milestone in the long and divisive Iraq war, President Barack Obama on Monday hailed this month”s planned withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops — “as promised and on schedule” — as a major success despite deep doubts about the Iraqis” ability to police and govern their country.

Portraying the end of America”s combat role in the 7-year war as a personal promise kept, Obama said Iraq will have 90,000 fewer U.S. troops by September than when he took office — a steady homeward flow he called “a season of homecomings.” But there could still be more fighting involving U.S. forces.

“The hard truth is we have not seen the end of American sacrifice in Iraq,” the president said in a speech to the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans. “But make no mistake, our commitment in Iraq is changing — from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats.”

A transitional force of 50,000 troops will remain, down from the peak of 160,000 in 2007. Their mission will be to train and advise Iraqi security forces, protect U.S. civilians, manage the chain of supplies and equipment out of Iraq and conduct counterterrorism operations.

Those soldiers and Marines will remain in harm”s way and will be likely to engage at times in some form of fighting. Iraqi commanders will be able to ask the U.S. for front-line help.

All American troops are to leave Iraq by the end of next year, as mandated under an agreement negotiated before Obama took office, between the Iraqis and President George W. Bush.

Obama”s speech Monday was the first of many, with appearances planned throughout the month by the president, Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials. The schedule reflects a White House eager, with pivotal congressional elections approaching, for achievements to tout, especially in areas with the emotional significance of the Iraq war.

Obama”s campaign pledge to oversee a speedy conclusion to the U.S. fighting was the promise that most defined his presidential campaign, and it brought him significant support.

Nuclear Summit opens today

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday will open an unprecedented summit of 47 nations focused on global action to secure nuclear materials and keep them out of the hands of terrorists.

The White House says the final communique#769; to be issued on Tuesday by the 47 nations attending the Nuclear Security Summit will formally recognize the serious threat posed by nuclear terrorism, endorse efforts to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials over a four year period and speak about what countries will do on the national and international level.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided not to participate in the summit after Jerusalem received information that Muslim states were planning to use the event to press for Israel to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran and North Korea had not been invited in the summit due to their controversial nuclear program whereas British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not attend the meeting because of election campaign

China On Tuesday Rejected U.S. Calls To Ease Currency Controls

BEIJING China : China on Tuesday rejected U.S. calls to ease currency controls and said criticism would not help efforts to end the global crisis.

A Commerce Ministry spokesman repeated Chinese complaints that Washington was acting unreasonably by expecting other countries to raise their value of their currencies in order to boost U.S. exports. The United States and other trading partners complain Beijing keeps the yuan undervalued and are pressing for it to rise.

“Politicizing the exchange rate issue is not helpful to coordination among all parties in the course of fighting the global financial crisis,” spokesman Yao Jian said at a news briefing.

A group of 130 U.S. lawmakers wrote to President Barack Obama on Monday demanding that he take action, adding to pressure ahead of an April report in which the U.S. Treasury has the option of declaring Beijing a currency manipulator. That would set the stage for a complaint to the World Trade Organization and possible sanctions.

On Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao denied the yuan was undervalued and said foreign pressure was unhelpful. He said Beijing plans to reform its exchange rate system but the currency will be kept at a “stable and balanced” level.

Yao rejected suggestions the yuan’s exchange rate was to blame for the Chinese trade surplus or the U.S. trade deficit with China. Critics say the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, giving China’s exporters an unfair price advantage.

“It is groundless to talk about this based on China’s trade surplus or the U.S. deficit or the fact that the U.S. economy has not recovered yet,” Yao said. He noted China runs trade deficits with Japan and South Korea but is not pressing them to narrow the gap by making their currencies more expensive.

“We hope the United States will overcome the financial crisis and become an advocate of free trade, not an obstructionist,” Yao said. “We hope it will think of its own interest, and it shouldn’t ask others to appreciate (their currencies) to expand its own exports.”

Beijing has held the yuan steady against the dollar for 18 months to help its exporters compete amid weak global demand. Analysts expect the government to allow the yuan to rise gradually in the second half of the year, but they say Chinese leaders might wait in order to avoid looking like they gave in to U.S. pressure.

Obama’s 2010 Budget Deficit Soars to Record $1.56 Trln

WASHINGTON: Obama’s 2010 Budget Deficit Soars to Record $1.56 Trln, US President Barack Obama on Monday projected the U.S. budget deficit would peak at a fresh record in 2010 before easing as he pushes for fiscal responsibility while battling double-digit unemployment.

Dubbed an old-style liberal tax-and-spender by his Republican opponents, Obama is under pressure to convince investors and big creditors like China that he has a credible plan to control the country’s deficit and debt over time.

“In the long term, we cannot have sustainable and durable economic growth without getting our fiscal house in order,” Obama said in a statement with the budget’s formal release.

His budget for the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2011, a blueprint that is subject to change by the U.S. Congress, forecast a deficit of $1.56 trillion in 2010, or 10.6 percent of the economy measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

The rise was partly due to the $787 billion stimulus package Obama pushed through Congress early last year to fight the recession.

Republicans seized on the grim fiscal forecast to criticize Obama’s handling of the economy.

Senator Judd Gregg, the leading Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, warned that the country was sinking into a “quagmire” of debt and said Obama’s stimulus plan had failed to create jobs.

“These circumstances call for a bold, game-changing budget that will turn things around, put in place a plan to restrain spending, reduce the debt and tackle the big entitlement programs that are growing out-of-control,” he said. “Instead, the president has sent us more of the same.”

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Obama’s 2010 Budget Deficit Soars to Record $1.56 Trln was first posted on February 2, 2010 at 1:11 pm.

Obama Blames ‘Systemic Failures’ In US Security

TrendPK.com KANEOHE: President Barack Obama on Monday blamed a combination of “human and systemic failures” for allowing the attack Botched Christmas Day aboard a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, in his first big test on homeland security.
Interrupting a vacation in Hawaii for the second straight day to reassure Americans that he will keep [...]