Presidents talk about the issues to be discussed at the G20 meeting.
President Obama and President Sarkozy of France Speak on Bilateral Meeting
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Obama: Europe dominates G20 agenda
President Barack Obama is greeted by French President Nicholas Sarkozy for the start of the G20 Summit in Cannes, France, Nov. 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
U.S. President Barack Obama says finding a solution to the euro zone crisis will dominate talks at the G20 in France.
President Obama Speaks on Investing in Our Infrastructure
The President urges Congress to pass the infrastructure piece of the American Jobs Act and continued to take executive action to strengthen the economy and put folks back to work.
President Obama Designates Fort Monroe a National Monument
President Obama signs a declaration to declare Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, as a national monument.
Well, one of the great pleasures of this job, but also one of my responsibilities, is making sure that we are preserving our nation’s treasures so that they can be enjoyed by our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren. And over the years, over 100 sites have been set aside as national monuments — everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon.
So today, I am continuing that proud tradition by adding another monument to the list: Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, has played a remarkable role in the history of our nation. It was the site of the first slave ships to land in the New World. But then in the Civil War, almost 250 years later, Fort Monroe also became a refuge for slaves that were escaping from the South, and helped to create the environment in which Abraham Lincoln was able to sign that document up there — the Emancipation Proclamation.
Weekly Address: We Can’t Wait to Create Jobs
President Obama says that we can’t wait for Congress to take action to grow the economy and create jobs — and highlights actions he took to help families refinance their mortgages, put veterans to work, and lower the cost of student loans.
Trick-or-Treat with the President and First Lady
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome area students and the children of military families to the White House for trick-or-treating on Halloween.
President Obama Takes a Question on Euro Debt Deal
President Obama answers a question about the European debt agreement during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minster Petr Necas of the Czech Republic.
President Obama Speaks On College Affordability
President Obama announces a proposal that will lower monthly student loan payments for 1.6 million students next year.
President Obama Has Ended the War in Iraq
Ed. Note: Shortly after President Obama’s remarks on ending the war in Iraq, we held a session of White House Office Hours on Twitter. Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, signed on @WHLive to answer your #WHChat questions on ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and bringing our troops home. Take a look at your questions and Ben’s answers.
In 2008, in the height of the presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama made a promise to give our military a new mission: ending the war in Iraq.
As the election unfolded, he reiterated this pledge again and again — but cautioned that we would be “as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”
Last year, the President made progress toward achieving that goal. He brought an end to the combat mission in Iraq, and through the course of the past 14 months, more than 100,000 troops have returned to their families.
Now, that promise will be wholly fulfilled. Today, President Obama announced that the rest of our troops will be home by the holidays:
Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq—tens of thousands of them—will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home. The last American soldiers will cross the border out of Iraq—with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops. That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end.
But this moment represents more than an accomplishment for the President. It marks a monumental change of focus for our military and a fundamental shift in the way that the our nation will engage in the world:
The United States is moving forward, from a position of strength. The long war in Iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. The transition in Afghanistan is moving forward, and our troops are finally coming home. As they do, fewer deployments and more time training will help keep our military the very best in the world. And as we welcome home our newest veterans, we’ll never stop working to give them and their families the care, the benefits, and the opportunities that they have earned.
Weekly Address: Bringing Home Our Troops
President Obama discusses how the death of Moammar Qadhafi in Libya and the announcement that troops from Iraq will return home by the end of the year are strong reminders that the United States has renewed its leadership in the world.
