Pelosi: “New, Subject, New Subject, New Subject"

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a press conference this morning, but appeared to have no desire to talk about the AIG bonuses at length with reporters.

Pelosi opened the conference by talking about the Iraq war. She said: “On this day in 2003, the President called for the initiation of hostilities into Iraq. Here we are six years later, six years later in Iraq. The good news is that our new President has called for an end to the war and a timetable to bring our troops out of Iraq.”

The Speaker then went on to talk about the President’s budget. She called it “an outline of transformation” and an “outline for the future” and a “budget that is the statement of our values, as a Federal budget should be.”

Third on Pelosi’s list of talking points was the news of the AIG bonuses. She said: “We see the outrage of the American people in terms of bonuses paid by AIG and perhaps others who have received TARP funds and on the floor of the House today we will present legislation to address the concerns of the American people. To bring some justice to the situation and to get the taxpayers money back.” Pelosi added that as a result of the scandal “legislation may be written in the Judiciary Committee that relates to the contracts.”

Opening up to the questions, the issue of top priority for journalists was the AIG scandal. Pelosi made clear that the issues of bonuses with AIG could be linked back to the previous administration and refuted an accusation from one reporter who claimed she was being blamed for the AIG bonuses scandal. Pelosi said: “You are the first person to tell me I am being blamed for this.” Pelosi added: “I think you go right back to September 16th, when the announcement was made by the Chairman of the Fed, that they would be making this big infusion of cash into AIG...the question is why were there even bonuses in the first place.” Pelsoi further commented that “we are sweeping up after them,” when taking about the Bush Administration's handling of TARP contracts with CEO’s.

Talking about a loophole in the legislation that stemmed from Conference Committee, Pelosi stated that this ‘was language discussed on the Senate side, that was never in any Conference that we agreed with or disagreed with.” Pelosi did not want to comment further on the loophole, deferring journalists to speak to the Senate about this matter.

Pelosi observed that “The public interest knows no date, the authority to look into these bonuses or in our case today to tax them exists if the public interests is not served and nobody can hide behind a contract, or a date, or a conversation, that may or may not have taken place.”

Speaker Pelosi then refused to answer any further questions on the AIG matter. Stating, “New subject, new subject, new subject or else....” She took one question on the budget and then cut the press conference short. As she left, members of the press were shouting for further questions on foreign policy, federal reserve, immigration and issues on the floor, but she would not respond to answer any further questions.

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.

Markey : “This Country has sent so much red, white and blue CO2 into the atmosphere”

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Henry Waxman (D-CA), Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) met with British Secretary of State Ed Milliband MP and Danish Minister for Environment, Connie Hedegaard today to discuss how to tackle environmental issues globally.

The meeting was the start of the new administrations environmental talks leading up to the “Climate Conference in Copenhagen” in December 2009.

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. New targets will be set at the Copenhagen Conference.

Talking about America’s role, in the need for saving the environment, Chairman Waxman said: “The United States has to catch up and become a leader.”

Congressman Markey commented on the need to tackle the levels of CO2 emissions created from the United States. He said: “this country has sent so much red, white and blue, CO2 into the atmosphere....we need to fix this.”

Finding the dialogues throughout the day productive, Danish Minister Hedegaard stated: “We cannot tackle the global challenges like climate change without the United States...we have set ourselves an ambitious timeline and we must live up to it...a lot is at stake and it is important for the whole world to come together.”

Adding to these comments British Secretary of State Ed Milliband said: “Obama has shown in the economic stimulus and in his vision around the country that environmental issues are important...that despite the challenges we face, we can get an agreement globally.”

Chairman Waxman concluded with the statement that he hoped to pass legislation in December that will tackle energy independence, climate change and global warming.

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.”

Former United Kingdom Secretary of Defense Talks About Transatlantic Security Post-Bush

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Former UK Secretary of Defense, Rt. Hon Des Browne, Minister of Parliament (MP), spoke today about "Transatlantic Security Post-Bush," at The Center for American Progress.

In his statement to the audience, Des Browne MP covered a number of issues affecting the transatlantic community.

With regard to his thoughts on how The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should move forward, Des Browne MP said: "I think there is an agreement across the alliance that it need to transform and by that I mean that it needs to equip itself to operate in environments in which we need to deploy our forces and support them for an extended period of time, in order to provide the security that we need to avoid conflict."

Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan he stated: "I think as far as Afghanistan is concerned what we need to do is recognize that Russia, China, Pakistan, India and Iran to name some, have an interest in the stabilization in Afghanistan, they are already involved and we just need to engage them."

On the subject of how President Obama has been received in the United Kingdom and Europe Browne said: "The big advantage Obama has is that he is already immensely popular in Europe and that includes the United Kingdom...What he needs to do, like all leaders, is he needs to deliver on the promise that he generates and the expectations...Our responsibility is to ensure that the inevitable disappointments and there will be some don't undermine the promise of his election. So we need to support him. That is the point I am making today and that was the point his Vice-President was making in security terms to the countries of Europe."

When questioned about the Iraq war Browne ended by saying: "As far as Iraq is concerned, I think there is now a consensus that we have reached the stage where Iraq's own ability to provide security and governance for their country is such that we can begin drawing down our troops...there seems to be a consensus emerging round about a date about 2011 and I don't think there is any dispute about that any longer."

Browne also expressed a desire for the rest of Europe to seriously consider following the UK example and take prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

"The closure of Guantanamo Bay generates the immediate consequence, of what does one do with the 200 plus occupants of that part of the island of Cuba?" he concluded.