President Obama celebrates St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Prime Minister

Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Brian Cowen brought some St. Patrick's Day cheer today, as he met with President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on his visit to Washington D.C. The trio were greeted with the sound of bagpipes from the United States Air Force Reserve Pipe Band as they walked down the House of Representative steps. The Irish Prime Minister later discussed his visit with press outside the Cannon House Building.

Secretary Gates: Combat troops out by August 2010, all troops out by 2011

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Following President Barack Obama’s address at Camp Lejeune, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates hosted a conference call where he discussed Obama’s strategy to end the war in Iraq.

In his opening comments Secretary Gates said: “The atmosphere here at Camp Lejeune for the speech was very warm, very enthusiastic and I would also say that the welcome has been pretty extraordinary.”

“On the substance I am obviously very supportive of the option the President has chosen and the decision he has made as is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Frankly, this is where both the Chairman and I thought this should come out and it was a very thorough and deliberative process where a lot of different options and a lot of different analysis were examined,” said Gates.

Asked about Obama’s statement that all troops would be out of Iraq by 2011, Secretary Gates said: “Under the terms of the status of forces agreement which is what we are operating under now all U.S. forces must be out by the end of 2011. It will require a new agreement, a new negotiation, almost certainly at Iraqi initiative to provide for some presence beyond the end of 2011. So in the absence of that agreement and the absence of that negotiation, for such an agreement, it is in keeping with the sofa to say definitively that we will be out by 2011.”

Asked what would happen if Iraqi forces asked for the U.S. military to remain in Iraq to assist with training and strengthening, Gates said: “It’s a hypothetical the Iraqis have not said anything about that at this point...My own view would be, that, we should be prepared to have some very modest size presence, for training and helping them with their new equipment and providing perhaps intelligence support, beyond that.”

In his address Obama said that all combat troops would be out of Iraq by August 31, 2010. Asked whether the remaining non-combat troops would have combat capability, Gates said: “Those that are left will have a combat capability...there will be target counter-terrorism organizations, there will be continued embeds with some of the Iraqi forces, training capacities...but the units will have gone and the mission will have changed, so the notion of being engaged in combat, in the way we have been up until now, will be completely different.”

China: "Hope to increase economic growth by 8%" in 2009

Minister Counsellor and Head of the Political Section for the Embassy of China, Weilin Kuang discussed "China's Development and its Role in the World," today at a Humanity Peace and Security meeting for the Korean Peninsula Issues in Washington D.C.

Weilin Kuang said in his opening remarks: "Over the last 30 years the economic progress China has made is truly remarkable…over 200 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty."

However, despite China's progress in the economic market, Kuang noted some challenges facing China: "Although we are the third largest economy in the world our GEP is behind the 100th largest economy in the world."

Talking about the current economic crisis, Kuang said: "China is faced with very serious economic difficulties and challenges."

Talking about China's relations with the world, Kuang said: “After 30 years of reform China's relations with the world has changed. China needs the world, and the world needs China."

Kuang stated that maintaining and building on external relations is vitally important to help China get through this economically demanding period.

Speaking of hope for China, Kuang said: “I am confident that a rising, confident and more prosperous China will make positive contributions to the world…China hopes to increase its economic growth by 8 per cent this year and I am very hopeful."

In regard to US-China relations, with the new Obama administration, he said: "We hope to see a continuation of these two dialogues…we have put our ideas to the US side, now its their turn, the ball is in their court…I am confident a formula can be formed to allow these two dialogues to continue…it is up to the United States to make a position."

"We have seen positive signs from President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton…I hope more can be done to move forward and expand talks…face-to-face talks could be very helpful to help express mutual understanding," he concluded.

Obama Administration’s ethics are the topic of debate

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

President and CEO of Democracy 21, Fred Wertheimer gave a talk today at the Washington Foreign Media Center to discuss "Ethics in the Obama Administration - Are Washington' Rules Changing?"

According to Democracy 21, they are a non-profit and nonpartisan organization which aims to provide the public with information on campaigns and campaign financing. Democracy 21 wants to ensure campaign financing laws are adhered to and modernized.

Talking specifically about Obama, Wertheimer commented on how the
President had been a a key figure while in the Senate by fighting for ethical reform.

Wertheimer said: “We have a new President who comes from a different culture in terms of his own career with a long track record on government integrity reform issues. In the state where he comes from there are two strands of politicians. There is one strand that creates the scandals, of which have led to four governors being indicted and many other problems. There is another reform strand, that goes back to Senator John Douglas...and now Senator Obama.”

President Obama has a long track record on these issues. It did not start on his first day of office,” Wertheimer added.

However, Wertheimer noted that recent set-backs in Obama’s new administration may have led critics to question the President’s performance on ethic related matters.

Speaking specifically about the Daschle nomination withdrawl, Wertheimer said: “Senator Daschle from my personal experience’s of dealing with him, was a terrific public servant for many years in the Congress and I had during the time I worked with him the highest regard for him. He kind of, was a product of the rules of Washington. This kind of Washington culture, he fell into like others have, and he got caught up in this clash, between what has been a normal Washington culture, which Washington accepts, and a set of circumstances created by Obama’s campaign which led to expectations of a change in this culture. He got caught in the middle of that.”

Wertheimer said: “It is an interesting question, whether Washington can change. What we are seeing here is a potential clash between a culture that has developed in recent decades, in Washington, which is a lobbyist special interest, money and politics culture.”

Campaign 21 is a supporter of the Executive Reform legislation that prohibits former serving members from becoming lobbyist after serving their term. The legislation also tackles, what Wertheimer described as the “reverse revolving door” scenario where lobbyist enter the Executive Branch.

Celebrating the legend of Lincoln

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

All around the country Americans are celebrating the birthday of one of the most historical American political figures, Abraham Lincoln.

The Capitol held its own Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration, today, with President Barack Obama making an appearance to pay his respects to a man he said “made America’s story possible.”

President Obama said: “What Lincoln never forgot, not even in the midst of civil war, was that despite all that divides us - north and south, black and white - we were, at the heart, one nation and one people, sharing a bond as Americans that could bend but would not break...I feel great gratitude to this singular figure who in so many ways made my own story possible, and in so many ways made America’s story possible.”

Other politicians who spoke at the ceremony were Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-Ill), Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky), Representative Jesse Jackson Jnr. (D-Ill) and Representative Donald Manzullo (R-Ill).

The large audience, that filled the Rotunda in the U.S. Captiol, also heard tributes to the former President from Harold Holzer Co-chair of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Richard Norton Smith, Former Executive Director of the Lincoln Presidential Library and Presidential historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin.

In the closing statement, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said: “Let us take our lead from Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln knew that the preservation of the union was a fight for the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. As he said ‘At stake was not just the future of our nation, but the future of people throughout the world’.”