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Pressure mounts on BP as Obama eyes ‘next steps’

Steven Aftergood — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:26:10 +0000

Source: Reuters * Obama to hold meeting about spill at White House * Louisiana coast still the hardest hit By Steve Gorman PORT FOURCHON, La., May 14 (Reuters) – Political pressure …

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Pressure mounts on BP as Obama eyes ‘next steps’

Obama wants $80 bln to modernize nuke arms complex

Steven Aftergood — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:03:14 +0000

Source: Reuters * US-Russia treaty needs opposition support to pass Senate * Funding boost may ease lawmakers’ concerns By Susan Cornwell and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama …

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Obama wants $80 bln to modernize nuke arms complex

Obama, Karzai Reaffirm Goals, U.S.-Afghan Partnership

Thu, 13 May 2010 16:00:40 +0000

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service May 12, 2010 – President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai today reaffirmed the shared U.S. and Afghan goals to defeat al-Qaida and to establish good governance and a growing economy in Afghanistan. The two men spoke to the White House press corps after a meeting in the Oval Office this morning. The meeting is part of a four-day visit by Karzai and his ministers to the United States. “Today, we are reaffirming our shared goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida and its extremist allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future,” Obama said. “We are reviewing the progress of our shared strategy and objectives: a military effort to reverse the Taliban’s momentum and to strengthen Afghanistan’s capacity to provide for their own security; a civilian effort to promote good governance and development; and regional cooperation, including with Pakistan, because our strategy has to succeed on both sides of the border.” One reason for the meeting is to assuage Afghan leaders’ fears that the United States will not stay with the nation for the long run. “As we pursue our shared strategy to defeat al-Qaida, I’m pleased that our two countries are working to broaden our strategic partnership over the long term,” Obama said. “Even as we begin to transition security responsibility to Afghans over the next year, we will sustain a robust commitment in Afghanistan going forward.” Karzai thanked Obama for dedicating personnel and financial resources to his country. “Yesterday, I had the honor of visiting Walter Reed Hospital, where I visited with the wounded who had returned from Afghanistan and from Iraq,” Karzai said. “It was a very difficult moment for me, Mr.

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Obama, Karzai Reaffirm Goals, U.S.-Afghan Partnership

Zombie Laser Plane Returns to Haunt Washington

Thu, 13 May 2010 13:14:09 +0000

As part of a revamp of missile defense priorities, the Obama administration last year shifted funds away from far-out schemes to blast enemy ballistic missiles as they lift off from the launch pad. And as part of the shift , Secretary of Defense Robert Gates canceled the second prototype of the Airborne Laser (ABL), a Boeing 747 outfitted with a chemical laser designed to zap missiles in the so-called “boost phase.” But some members of Congress love their flying lightsaber. In a markup yesterday of the Fiscal Year 2011 defense authorization bill, a House Armed Services Committee panel proposed adding more funds to revive the ABL program. “It was clear that the budget request was not sufficient to support further flight testing using the Airborne Laser Test Bed as well as mature innovative directed energy technologies,” said Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. Backers of ABL would like to see more tests like the one pictured here, in which the current test aircraft destroyed what the Missile Defense Agency described as a “threat representative” short-range missile back in February. And they’d also like to pour more money into the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, which involves stationing interceptors in Alaska and California. The markup supports the completion of a second interceptor field in Alaska. It’s too early to say if ABL will actually stage a comeback: The Senate has a say in this, and appropriators need to pony up the cash. But it’s starting to look as if ABL is a candidate for our growing list of zombie weapons programs . And there’s good reason to expect that the final version of the authorization bill will be padded with extras.

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Zombie Laser Plane Returns to Haunt Washington

How Justified Is GOP Claim That Obama Administration Is Manipulating Intelligence on Accused Times…

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:00:55 +0000

Over the last few days, some congressional Republicans—led by Sen. Kit Bond, ranking member of the Senate intelligence committee—have been voicing increasingly harsh criticisms of how the Obama administration is handling intelligence related to Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American arrested for unsuccessfully trying to attack New York’s Times Square on May 1 with a poorly built car bomb. Following a briefing that the Senate intelligence committee received on Tuesday from administration officials—the panel’s first formal briefing since the incident occurred—Senator Bond complained that the administration had kept him in the dark about the Shahzad investigation for too long. He also

Karzai Begins U.S. Meetings with Visit to Walter Reed

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 03:08:08 +0000

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service May 11, 2010 – In the midst of a series of diplomatic meetings here, Afghan President Hamid Karzai took time to visit with American servicemembers who were wounded helping his country. Karzai met with servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, accompanied him. At the State Department today, Karzai said he is proud of the progress Afghanistan has made, but noted that none of it would have been possible “without the sacrifices of your sons and daughters in Afghanistan, together with the Afghan people; and without your taxpayers’ money spent in Afghanistan, together with the Afghan people.” “I thank you,” he said, “and on behalf of the Afghan people, please do convey the gratitude of our people to the people of the United States of America.” Karzai is here to strengthen the strategic partnership between the United States and Afghanistan

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Karzai Begins U.S. Meetings with Visit to Walter Reed

U.S., Afghan Defense Leaders Agree to Long-Term Partnership

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 00:17:18 +0000

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service May 11, 2010 – Senior U.S. and Afghan officials today agreed to explore ways to broaden and deepen defense cooperation between the two countries and establish a long-term partnership for the future, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today hosted Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Afghan Intelligence Chief Amrullah Saleh during a 90-minute Pentagon meeting. The meeting is part of a series of discussions between U.S. and Afghan officials built around Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit here. “This is a very important week for our partnership, for our relationship,” Gates told the group at the top of the meeting. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy; Army Gen.

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U.S., Afghan Defense Leaders Agree to Long-Term Partnership

9 indicted on charges of accessing Obama records

Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Nine people were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of accessing President Barack Obama ’s student loan records while they were employed for a Department of Education contractor in Iowa .

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9 indicted on charges of accessing Obama records

US government opposes Canadian’s appeal on torture

Steven Aftergood — Wed, 12 May 2010 23:13:30 +0000

Source: Reuters WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the appeal of a Canadian man who wants to proceed with his lawsuit against top U.S. …

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US government opposes Canadian’s appeal on torture

Obama says wants to pass climate bill this year

Steven Aftergood — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:12:59 +0000

Source: Reuters (adds quotes from statement, background) WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed a new U.S. climate bill unveiled on Wednesday, saying he hoped to pass it this year as …

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Obama says wants to pass climate bill this year

F L A S H C L U B » obama

Pressure mounts on BP as Obama eyes ‘next steps’

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