Cyprus-Forum.com

[Lit]

There WAS a rumour circulating recently which stated that the Yanks had control of Baghdad (I think I read something about it in one of the the newspapers ) and I wonder if anyone can confirm the fact.

Get with the times
_ _ _ _ _

President Signs Legislation Committing U.S. to Iraq Withdrawal

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRel ... RN20091028

Date Affirmed as December 31, 2011, Quarterly Reports to Congress Required

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama today
signed legislation that formally recognizes the U.S. obligation to
withdraw from Iraq and requires the Pentagon to provide quarterly reports on
the progress of that withdrawal.

This is the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that Congress has
passed legislation that affirms that the United States is committed to leaving
Iraq by a specific date, two national Quaker organizations, the American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Friends Committee on National
Legislation (FCNL) said today.

"We congratulate Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin and House Armed
Services Chairman Ike Skelton for including this important milestone in the
2010 military authorization bill," said Aura Kanegis, Director of Public
Policy for the American Friends Service Committee. "The U.S.-Iraq bilateral
agreement is so central to public discourse in Iraq, but too often forgotten
in the U.S." The United States and Iraq signed a bilateral agreement in
November 2008 that commits the United States to withdraw all military forces
from Iraq by December 31, 2011.

The legislation signed by President Obama today requires the Pentagon to
report to Congress every three months on progress to withdraw all U.S. troops,
withdraw or transfer to Iraqi authorities all military equipment, close down
or transfer to Iraqi authorities military bases, and release or transfer to
Iraqi authorities all Iraqi detainees before the December 31, 2011 deadline.

"The first congressional effort to signal support for complete withdrawal was
the ban on establishing permanent bases in Iraq," said Jim Fine, the
Legislative Secretary on Foreign Policy at the Friends Committee on National
Legislation. "Now the Pentagon will issue month by month reports on the
progress made to close down bases or transfer them to the Iraqi government,
which adds new teeth to this historic provision."

With this law, Congress has established unprecedented oversight of the
progress made towards complete withdrawal from Iraq.

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes
people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and
humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every
person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. For
more information visit http://www.afsc.org.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious
lobby in Washington, is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest.
FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every
state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good
government. For more information: http://www.fcnl.org.




SOURCE Friends Committee on National Legislation

Jim Fine, +1-267-733-2224, or Aura Kanegis, +1-202-277-9143, both of Friends
Committee on National Legislation

[Lit]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... t1106.html

Obama to Indians: 'You will not be forgotten'
Agencies ordered to improve relations with tribes

by Ledyard King - Nov. 6, 2009 12:00 AM
Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Telling American Indian leaders "I'm on your side," President Barack Obama issued an order Thursday instructing federal agencies to do a much better job of consulting with tribes on numerous policies affecting Indian country.

The order, signed in front of a cheering throng of tribal leaders, was the highlight of a one-day summit that Obama pledged to hold during his presidential campaign last year.

Obama called the summit the largest gathering of Native American tribal leaders in U.S. history.

The federal government is obligated under established treaties to provide basic services to tribes, but Indians say the government rarely consults them about how those services should be delivered. This order directs every Cabinet agency to draw up a detailed plan to improve tribal consultation.

"After all, there are challenges we can only solve by working together," Obama said.

Representatives of 386 federally recognized tribes paid their way to come to the Interior Department for the summit, which featured discussion panels with Cabinet secretaries, federal lawmakers and the heads of agencies that deal directly with Indian issues.

The mood was generally upbeat, and the summit program included Indian ceremony and tradition. The president playfully engaged the crowd during a question-and-answer session, a sign of the kinship Indians feel with Obama despite the deep resentment many have toward the federal government.

Thorny issues of tribal lands and trust responsibilities, which are the subjects of lawsuits brought by tribes against the government, were discussed, as was the need for more money for health care, education and law enforcement. But few expect the gathering to solve problems immediately.

Talking about the poor treatment Indians have received, the president said he could relate from his own personal experiences as the son of a teenage mother and a father who abandoned his family.

"I'm on your side. I understand what it means to be an outsider. I know what it means to feel ignored and forgotten, and what it means to struggle. So you will not be forgotten as long as I'm in this White House," he said.

Indians say they finally have an ally in the White House. Obama campaigned on their reservations, beefed up aid to their tribes, appointed several Indians to key administration positions and delivered on the summit.

"You've restored hope to the Indian communities," said Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians and a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, who introduced the president. "We want to thank you for restoring that, not only just by your words, but by your actions."

One of those actions is the order Obama signed Thursday.

Though it does not guarantee more money or favorable outcomes, the order promises a spirit of cooperation from Washington that Indian leaders said has been missing for years. President Bill Clinton issued a similar order about a decade ago, but Indian leaders said little was done to enforce it.

They are much more optimistic about Obama.

Said Theresa Two Bulls, president of the South Dakota Oglala Sioux Tribe, one of the most impoverished in the nation: "It's truly a beginning."

The Washington Post and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

[Lit]

Earning His Nobel Prize

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/ ... 3169.shtml

At last, a believable sighting of that peace president many of us thought we had elected. Give Barack Obama credit, big time, for the startling progress he has made in tempering the threat of nuclear annihilation.

The Obama administration's Nuclear Posture Review Report for the first time prohibits "first use" of nuclear weapons against nations complying with the nonproliferation treaty.

[Linichka]

Regrettably, he spoke to the dummy rather than the ventriloquist.

[Get Real!]

At last, a believable sighting of that peace president many of us thought we had elected. Give Barack Obama credit, big time, for the startling progress he has made in tempering the threat of nuclear annihilation.

You’re just a young and naïve fool who should be doing more reading than posting!

It’s called paying lip service. Every single US president from the last 50 odd years has signed a “nuke treaty” with their Russian counterpart.

Nuclear Posture Review (or Nuclear Public Relations?)

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201 ... _relations

[Paphitis]

At last, a believable sighting of that peace president many of us thought we had elected. Give Barack Obama credit, big time, for the startling progress he has made in tempering the threat of nuclear annihilation.

You’re just a young and naïve fool who should be doing more reading than posting!

It’s called paying lip service. Every single US president from the last 50 odd years has signed a “nuke treaty” with their Russian counterpart.

Nuclear Posture Review (or Nuclear Public Relations?)

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201 ... _relations

[Get Real!]

It looks like half a potato... did it jump out your stew pot?

[Oracle]

Earning His Nobel Prize

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/ ... 3169.shtml

At last, a believable sighting of that peace president many of us thought we had elected. Give Barack Obama credit, big time, for the startling progress he has made in tempering the threat of nuclear annihilation.

The Obama administration's Nuclear Posture Review Report for the first time prohibits "first use" of nuclear weapons against nations complying with the nonproliferation treaty.

I hope President Medvedev is similarly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year, then!

[Lit]

Russian Press Hails New Arms Treaty

http://www.rferl.org/content/Russian_Pr ... 07614.html

MOSCOW -- Russians woke up the morning after the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Prague by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama to local newspapers praising the treaty, viewing it as another step in the "reset" of relations with the United States.

[Free Spirit]

It looks like half a potato... did it jump out your stew pot?

Well as you're the forum dustbin (who'll take anything in) they should open your mouth and put it in