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.

Gordon Brown: “With faith in the future, We can build tomorrow today”

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

The Rt. Hon Gordon Brown, M.P., Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, received several standing ovations and cheers today as he delivered his first address to the 111th Congress.

Gordon Brown is the fifth United Kingdom Prime Minister to jointly address both the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. Capitol.

The Prime Minister stated that the rest of the world “needs” and “wants to work” with America during this time of economic instability. “America knows from its history that its reach goes far beyond its geography,” Brown said.

Brown received cheers when talking about a need, for the whole world to work together on tackling the economic crisis.

Brown said: “We should seize this moment - because never before have I seen a world so willing to come together. Never before has this been more needed. And never before have the benefits of unity been so far reaching.”

Adding to this sense of the need for unity and working together, Brown said: “Let me say that you now have the most pro-American European leadership in living memory. A leadership that wants to cooperate more closely together, in order to cooperate more closely with you. There is no old Europe, no new Europe, there is only your friend Europe.”

Addressing the war on terror, Brown stated: “Let me promise you our continued support to ensure there is no hiding place for terrorists, no safe haven for terrorism. You should be proud that in the hard years since 2001 you have shown that while terrorists may destroy buildings and even, tragically, lives, they have not, and will not ever, destroy the American spirit.”

Brown paid tribute to the lost lives of American soldiers who have died protecting their country. Brown said: “Whenever a young American soldier, or marine, sailor or airman is killed in conflict anywhere in the world, we, the people of Britain, grieve with you.”

Brown also paid tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy who received an honorary knighthood for Her Majesty the Queen on March, 3, this year for his work in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Prime Minister Brown concluded by discussing the need to help those in the poorest nations of Africa facing torture. He also commented on the fight involving climate change.

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.

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’.”