UPDATE #2 Watch: Obama's Second Oval Office Address
In his second Oval Office address to the nation during his Presidency, President Obama will give details on the end of combat operations in Iraq and discuss the ongoing problems with the speed of recovery in the economy.
This is a volatile time for the governing Democrats and tonight brings to fruition a campaign promise made by then candidate Obama, to end the war in Iraq by August 2010. This was a very important issue during the Presidential election and should be a significant boost to Obama's trustworthiness, but I think the economy and jobless numbers are destined to overshadow the already announced end to combat operations in Iraq.
Questions still remain of course. No one really expects an end to violence in the middle eastern country as some calls from various Iraqi groups for American forces to stay seem to indicate. However, there are still 50,000 American troops stationed in Iraq until August 2011 (supposedly) to act as trainers and peace keepers while the Iraqis take over security operations. Additionally, the Iraqis still haven't been able to form a government after the March election in which secular opposition leader and former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party won the majority of the vote, but current Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has refused to accept the results, leaving Iraqi parliamentarians in limbo, trying to negotiate an end to the political impasse.
Despite the uncertainties in Iraq, there are other factors at play guiding the U.S. administration through this process. Namely, the economy, and the fact that businesses just aren't hiring on the domestic front. This means that the American voter is almost certainly more concerned with their bottom line than with this historic event, even while President Obama focuses his foreign policy around the stability of the middle east and AfPak. One unfortunate aspect of the economic problem is that there isn't much President Obama can do other than urge Congress to spend more money on worthy projects, which might be near impossible with a unified GOP front in the Senate making it very difficult to pass anything significant before the next congress takes shape, or at least once the midterms are over. Although a small jobs bill currently stalled in the Senate may be able to pass if the Democrats can find support among the few Republican moderates left.
In any event, the President will be speaking tonight at 8PM Eastern and we will bring it to you live when it happens.
UPDATE: It's about an hour and forty-five minutes from the President's Oval Office address, but there has been some developments throughout the day. Vice President Biden isn't in Iraq just to mark the end of combat operations, he's there to help negotiate an end to the impasse Iraqi politicians have been facing since the March election.
Much of the time on the various 24 hour news networks today has been filled with debates about the reasons for the Iraq war, but for myself that argument is over and the world is left with the results for good or bad. And while the the surge certainly helped stabilize growing sectarian violence, it still remains to be seen whether or not the country can remain stable past a full pullout of American troops expected sometime next year, or more accurately and probably more likely, based on conditions on the ground much like the current military and U.S. administration position on Afghanistan.
Of the many questions still up in the air, one question from the region that has already been discussed is the rise in influence of Iran in Iraq. What the outcome of greater Iranian influence in the region isn't clear as of yet, but I think it goes without saying that the current hard line Iranian government having more influence isn't in the best interests of anybody quite frankly.
Regardless of the outstanding problems facing the foreign policy makers in the Obama administration, the President will take the time to thank the sacrifice of American troops and deliver on a promise to end a very unpopular war, even though things are always more complicated that what fits into a convenient sound byte.
UPDATE #2: The President officially announced the end to Operation Iraqi Freedom and the transition of security to Iraqi forces. After thanking American forces for their sacrifices, he urged Iraqi politicians to settle their differences and finalize the elections held in March, now that they are responsible for their own future.
As expected, the President pivoted to the what most Americans are concerned with, namely the economy. He referred to the enormous costs in lives and resources spent to stabilize Iraq and asked Americans to support a refocusing on American domestic interests and a safe completion to the struggle in Afghanistan and Pakistan to stabilize that region. The President said that these wars have cost the United Sates over $1 trillion dollars while neglecting the ever shrinking American middle class, in a reference to the growing gap between rich and poor.
The fact is that the address was intended for several audiences and all in all a good speech, definitely worth a view if you're interested in the administration's policies, which have been fairly consistent from speech to speech.
Watch the address below:
This is a volatile time for the governing Democrats and tonight brings to fruition a campaign promise made by then candidate Obama, to end the war in Iraq by August 2010. This was a very important issue during the Presidential election and should be a significant boost to Obama's trustworthiness, but I think the economy and jobless numbers are destined to overshadow the already announced end to combat operations in Iraq.
Questions still remain of course. No one really expects an end to violence in the middle eastern country as some calls from various Iraqi groups for American forces to stay seem to indicate. However, there are still 50,000 American troops stationed in Iraq until August 2011 (supposedly) to act as trainers and peace keepers while the Iraqis take over security operations. Additionally, the Iraqis still haven't been able to form a government after the March election in which secular opposition leader and former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party won the majority of the vote, but current Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has refused to accept the results, leaving Iraqi parliamentarians in limbo, trying to negotiate an end to the political impasse.
Despite the uncertainties in Iraq, there are other factors at play guiding the U.S. administration through this process. Namely, the economy, and the fact that businesses just aren't hiring on the domestic front. This means that the American voter is almost certainly more concerned with their bottom line than with this historic event, even while President Obama focuses his foreign policy around the stability of the middle east and AfPak. One unfortunate aspect of the economic problem is that there isn't much President Obama can do other than urge Congress to spend more money on worthy projects, which might be near impossible with a unified GOP front in the Senate making it very difficult to pass anything significant before the next congress takes shape, or at least once the midterms are over. Although a small jobs bill currently stalled in the Senate may be able to pass if the Democrats can find support among the few Republican moderates left.
In any event, the President will be speaking tonight at 8PM Eastern and we will bring it to you live when it happens.
UPDATE: It's about an hour and forty-five minutes from the President's Oval Office address, but there has been some developments throughout the day. Vice President Biden isn't in Iraq just to mark the end of combat operations, he's there to help negotiate an end to the impasse Iraqi politicians have been facing since the March election.
Much of the time on the various 24 hour news networks today has been filled with debates about the reasons for the Iraq war, but for myself that argument is over and the world is left with the results for good or bad. And while the the surge certainly helped stabilize growing sectarian violence, it still remains to be seen whether or not the country can remain stable past a full pullout of American troops expected sometime next year, or more accurately and probably more likely, based on conditions on the ground much like the current military and U.S. administration position on Afghanistan.
Of the many questions still up in the air, one question from the region that has already been discussed is the rise in influence of Iran in Iraq. What the outcome of greater Iranian influence in the region isn't clear as of yet, but I think it goes without saying that the current hard line Iranian government having more influence isn't in the best interests of anybody quite frankly.
Regardless of the outstanding problems facing the foreign policy makers in the Obama administration, the President will take the time to thank the sacrifice of American troops and deliver on a promise to end a very unpopular war, even though things are always more complicated that what fits into a convenient sound byte.
UPDATE #2: The President officially announced the end to Operation Iraqi Freedom and the transition of security to Iraqi forces. After thanking American forces for their sacrifices, he urged Iraqi politicians to settle their differences and finalize the elections held in March, now that they are responsible for their own future.
As expected, the President pivoted to the what most Americans are concerned with, namely the economy. He referred to the enormous costs in lives and resources spent to stabilize Iraq and asked Americans to support a refocusing on American domestic interests and a safe completion to the struggle in Afghanistan and Pakistan to stabilize that region. The President said that these wars have cost the United Sates over $1 trillion dollars while neglecting the ever shrinking American middle class, in a reference to the growing gap between rich and poor.
The fact is that the address was intended for several audiences and all in all a good speech, definitely worth a view if you're interested in the administration's policies, which have been fairly consistent from speech to speech.
Watch the address below:
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