Obama Welcomes Cameron
President Barack Obama welcomed newly minted UK Prime Minister David Cameron for his first visit to the White House.
After their meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference at 2PM this afternoon. President Obama spoke first heaping great praise on the United Kingdom, being particularly sensitive to the sacrifices being made by military families from both countries. Other than a brief moment of levity surrounding the beers the men exchanged after a world cup bet ended in a tie, the President focused on what he called the deep ties between the nations.
In fact, both men spoke about the enormous amount of cooperation they share in the war on terrorism as is evidenced from the large commitment each country has in Afghanistan. President Obama continued to push for the continued effort the UK and the States have already put into the region to ensure a stabilized region better secured from terrorist activities.
They had equal praise for each others stance on new sanctions for Iran to slow the rogue nation's progress towards a nuclear weapon, as well as a call for direct peace talks between Palestine and Israel for a two state solution. And finally, they discussed the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and BP's responsibility to the people and environment affected there, as well as the role of BP and the British government had in the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Prime Minister Cameron said that he opposed the release of the Lockerbie bomber but that it was the decision of the Scottish Parliament and that he has see no evidence of pressure by BP to have the terrorist released. For his part, President Obama said that he trusted the Prime Minister's government to answer any questions surrounding the bombers release.
While the focus during their addresses was on Afghanistan and the middle east, the press asked more questions about the Lokerbie bomber and BP's role in his release. Both men took the questions seriously, but it looked like they wanted to move on from the topic to tackle the many more immediate problems facing both nations.
In any event, you can watch both of their addresses and the subsequent question period below:
After their meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference at 2PM this afternoon. President Obama spoke first heaping great praise on the United Kingdom, being particularly sensitive to the sacrifices being made by military families from both countries. Other than a brief moment of levity surrounding the beers the men exchanged after a world cup bet ended in a tie, the President focused on what he called the deep ties between the nations.
In fact, both men spoke about the enormous amount of cooperation they share in the war on terrorism as is evidenced from the large commitment each country has in Afghanistan. President Obama continued to push for the continued effort the UK and the States have already put into the region to ensure a stabilized region better secured from terrorist activities.
They had equal praise for each others stance on new sanctions for Iran to slow the rogue nation's progress towards a nuclear weapon, as well as a call for direct peace talks between Palestine and Israel for a two state solution. And finally, they discussed the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and BP's responsibility to the people and environment affected there, as well as the role of BP and the British government had in the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Prime Minister Cameron said that he opposed the release of the Lockerbie bomber but that it was the decision of the Scottish Parliament and that he has see no evidence of pressure by BP to have the terrorist released. For his part, President Obama said that he trusted the Prime Minister's government to answer any questions surrounding the bombers release.
While the focus during their addresses was on Afghanistan and the middle east, the press asked more questions about the Lokerbie bomber and BP's role in his release. Both men took the questions seriously, but it looked like they wanted to move on from the topic to tackle the many more immediate problems facing both nations.
In any event, you can watch both of their addresses and the subsequent question period below:
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