CNN

All week there has been anticipation for President Barack Obama’s announcement on Wednesday. In December of 2009, Obama sent 33,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to help fight off the growing problems in the terrorist ridden state. Ever since, the voice of the American people has gone from demanding that American presence in Iraq decrease to American presence in Afghanistan decrease.

This week President Obama made his official announcement on when the “surge” troops would be coming homing and the overall count of American soldiers in Afghanistan would be coming down by 33,000.

Wednesday, Obama made it official that the withdrawal is going to take at most fifteen months. The deadline for the withdrawal of the over 30,000 American troops is set at September of 2012. Furthermore, Obama said that by January of 2012, ten thousand of those troops would be out of Afghanistan.

One thing that should not be surprising is that the withdrawal is going to be slow. For obvious reasons, it would be unwise to remove 33,000 soldiers from a not completely stable state all at once.

Obama said that sending the extra troops in 2009 was not an easy decision to make. However, Obama made it clear that a year and a half later the progress in Afghanistan is undeniable and that the troop surge has proven to be successful.

Obama went on to tout the recent success in the Middle East. He said, “al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11. Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and special forces we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11.”

The President of the United States then refocused attention on what is going to happen once the presence in Iraq is minimized even more and begins to be scaled back in Afghanistan.

As a result of having less troops and obligations in the Middle East, there will be more money and more time to “refocus attention and resources on efforts to resolve economic and other problems and to unify a politically divided nation. America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home,” said Obama.

With the troop withdrawal set to begin in July of this year and conclude in September of 2012, the total number of American soldiers in Afghanistan will sit at under 70,000 after that deadline.

When it was first announced that Donald Trump was considering a potential run at becoming the President of the United States of America, few thought much of the rumors. Even when Trump made the official announcement that he was considering running, many thought it was nothing more than a publicity stunt for the business tycoon.

However, with his multiple media appearances in recent weeks, Trump is not only gaining attention for his potential presidential bid, but he is gaining a great deal of support from Republicans throughout the nation. The only potential Republican candidate with more support among potential voters than Donald Trump is Mitt Romney.

Trump’s confidence is making an impact with voters. While he may not have the best past or the most media friendly personality, he is not afraid to speak his mind and let his opinions be heard.

Trump has openly criticized President Barack Obama and attacked him in the media. Republicans are excited to see Trump in the mainstream media so much since they are used to politically correct figures like Romney and Newt Gingrich who do not generate nearly as much buzz for the party.

If Trump does decide to make a run at being the Republican nominee for the Presidential race of 2012, he would have to beat out other potential candidates such as Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, and Jon Huntsman of Utah.

However, is Trump’s campaigning really what is needed?

Trump has immaturely criticized Obama. He has made claims that Obama did not even write his own autobiography. He has openly questioned the past of Obama.

While it is one thing to try to get voters to see why the other candidates are not the best for the job, Trump has gone for outrageous and unfounded claims that are nothing more than slander.

Trump has also called for radical actions to be taken on the international arena. Trump wants to take on China economically. He also wants to take over control of oil in both Libya and Iraq.

Trump might be a great candidate in terms of challenging opponents to address issues and bringing up new ideas that might be more extreme than other politicians like to think. However, in terms of knowing politics and how to run a country, Trump is out of his league. He might be good with his money and business ventures, but he has no experience in running a budget and government for a small town, much less the entire United States of America.

AP

President Barack Obama held his second State of the Union address on Tuesday. It was the 222^nd to ever be held.

Obama began the address by “congratulating the men and women of the 112^th Congress,” especially John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Arizona congresswomen, Gabby Giffords, was not present due to the tragic shooting that she became a victim of in Tucson. However, she was not forgotten by Obama or any of the other members of Congress on Tuesday.

The President said that despite the differences between Democrats and Republicans over the last two years, the shooting in Tucson reminded everyone “we are part of the American family.”

Obama said that the moments of unity we are currently experiencing need to be continued into the future for the United States to prosper.

President Obama said he has faith in the new Congress. He said, “We will move forward together, or not at all,” as with how Congress is now split, all new laws will require bipartisan support to pass.

Now is a crucial time for Congress to make sure that the economy continues to grow. Since the 2008 economic crash, “the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again,” said Obama.

However, Obama said that to truly measure the success of the economic resurrection, we must make sure that Americans are prospering on every level and are getting the jobs that will help them maintain the American standard of living.

Obama touted the work done by Republicans and Democrats in December to help Americans by extending tax cuts, tax breaks, and unemployment benefits, among other measures.

The President sympathized with how the job market went from a place where “if you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion,” to a place where businesses are shutting down, people are losing money, and others are losing their jobs all together.

Obama credited the advances in technology to the shrinking of the job market. Factory jobs no longer need as many workers and some jobs don’t require humans at all anymore.

President Obama then complimented China and India on their economic successes and their ability to act quickly to educate their children on the necessary skills to succeed in the new world.

But Obama made it clear that Americans are still leading the pack. “America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place in the world,” said Obama.

Obama then reminded the men and women of Congress, as well as the millions watching at home, that they should not forget that once upon a time, the United States was a new nation founded on “the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny.”

He then told his audience that we must work to maintain our success. He quoted Robert Kennedy when he said, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”

Obama said that the keys to success were innovation, education, and production. In addition, Obama also focused on taking on the national deficit.

Obama emphasized the need to promote imagination and creativeness. Obama told Americans that we cannot become stagnant in our innovations. From the Wright brother and Thomas Edison to the Internet and Google, we must take a note from our past that innovation is necessary.

“Biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology,” as the areas that Obama is investing in.

Obama is challenging the United States to become a nation of clean energy. To do so Obama has suggested to Congress that the tax money that goes to oil companies goes to those working on clean energy instead. As Obama put it, “instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”

To make sure that Americans are ready for the new technologies and to take the jobs that will come with the innovations, Obama stressed progressions in education, especially in math, science, and graduation levels.

Obama challenged parents to make sure that the knowledge of why learning is important is instilled in every child. Obama has also challenged schools to raise the standards for students and teachers with programs such as the Race to the Top.

Obama is also working on providing more grants for college students as the rates of a college education grow. The work Obama is putting in will benefit students from Harvard Law to the local community college.

Obama then alluded to his disappointment with the DREAM Act not passing. He then asked Congress to work with him to settle the issues of illegal immigration so that intelligent young adults with good moral character don’t get deported when they could instead contribute to the American economy and society.

Obama then directed focus on improving the speed of American technology and the quality of American infrastructure. Part of the additions will be high-speed rail to increase the speed that Americans can travel.

In addition, faster Internet signals and phone signals will also be made a priority to connect Americans.

Obama is also calling on Congress to change the way businesses are taxed in order to help out the small businesses of America.

Obama then address the health care law. He said the door is open to discuss any ideas for improvements with him at any time as his top concern is providing the best possible plan for the American people.

Finally, Obama addressed the issue of the national deficit. To tackle the issue, the President offered up ideas from freezing annual domestic spending for the next half-decade as well as freezing federal and military salaries.

Obama concluded his address by asking the men and women of Congress to work together for the good of the American people. Obama also spoke of the issues in the Middle East in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Tunisia.

Obama touted the American Dream. He reiterated the need to dream in order to succeed in the future.

To cap off his speech, Obama said, “Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.”

After two years of a divided Congress, it is now clear that Republicans and Democrats have no choice but to work together. And President Obama knows that. With foreign affairs, the economy, energy, jobs, education, and health care all needing attention from Congress, it is now time for the men and women of the House and the Senate to come together and resolve the issues that have been holding back Americans for far too long. And President Obama is leading the way.

AP/Alex Brandon

San Francisco (Obama.net)- The federal budget in the United States covers a wide spectrum of departments. From Education to Health Care, the United States government provides the country and its citizens with numerous services. And the biggest department covered in the budget is the military.

While the military is one of the most important departments in the United States and is vital to the safety of the American people, the cost of it cannot be ignored.

For years, people have complained that the military budget is simply too high and now Congress and the Obama Administration are working to address those concerns.

In response, Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary, has come up with a plan that would see both the Army and the Marines cut their number of troops.

The total plan would cut the military budget by $78 billion. However, the plan would not go into effect for another four years. The hope is for American soldiers to be completely withdrawn from Iraq and at least be deep in the withdrawal process from Afghanistan.

It was less than five years ago that the number of troops in the Middle East was increased in order to fight both wars. However, now it is becoming clear that the high amount of troops is no longer as necessary and that the cost is becoming much greater than the need.

The hope behind the plan is for the withdrawal from Iraq and the beginning of the withdrawal from Afghanistan to occur by the troop decrease so that there is no shortage of troops in the Middle East in 2015. If the conflict in Afghanistan does not settle down by then, the need for the troops will not decrease as it is currently expected to.

The decreasing of the number of troops will only save the government $6 billion. The rest of the savings will come from a salary freeze for soldiers, who are not serving overseas, the elimination of a battle vehicle used by the Marines, and a revisiting of the F-35 fighter project, in addition to other program changes that would save even more money.

With the necessary costs for the military increasing every year, especially since the year 2000, and the need to come up with new technologies and new weaponry as fast as possible, the reduction of troops and cutting of unnecessary aspects of the military is highly important in order to make sure that the budget does not continue to spiral out of control.

AFP/Getty/CNN

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Two of the three hikers who were arrested in Iran one year ago for allegedly illegally entering Iranian territory are now going to stand trial in the Middle Eastern state for their alleged crimes. The trial is set to being on November 6^th. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattall will stand before the Revolution Court in Iran and will be defended by Massoud Shafee.

The two men along with Sarah Shourd were initially arrested in July of 2009. The trio was hiking in the Kurdistan area of Iraq when they accidentally entered Iranian territory at an area where the border was not marked. Iranian officials accused the three of being American spies and immediately took them into custody.

In an effort to show compassion to the rest of the international community, Iranian officials made the decision to allow Shourd to go home in September, but kept the two men in the Evin Prison in Tehran.

The New York Times reported that the recent new batch of WikiLeaks documents say that the three were actually arrested while they were still in Iraqi territory. Furthermore, the claim says that Iranian officials went into Iraq to make the arrests. (View video at bottom.)

Further reports have surfaced adding to the claim that the three were arrested in Iraq. Magazines have reported interviews with witnesses of the arrests and the papers released by WikiLeaks name Iraqi towns, such as Baghdad and Kirkuk, not Iranian cities.

Massoud Shafee has told reporters that despite the Iranian law that court cases are to be public, there are exceptions and that he feels that due to the controversy of this case, it will most likely be private.

The mother of Shane Bauer, Cindy Bauer, said, “We hope things move forward. Of course we know Shane and Josh are innocent and hope they are released before the trial.” She has not had an opportunity to talk to Shane since May.

Switzerland has appealed the trial and demanded the release of Bauer and Fattall.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said earlier this week that American officials see no reasons as to why the two men should be tried in Iran and that the hope is “that the Iranian authorities will exercise the humanitarian option of releasing these two young men.”

After over 15 months of holding the two men captive, Iran is moving too far for the taste of Americans and the demand for the release of the two men and their safe return back to the United States is stronger than ever.

analysis by Newsy.com

San Francisco (Obama.net)-

Obama made it clear that the future of Iraq is now “in the hands of its people.” The United States government and military have done as much as they can in terms of setting up the nation of Iraq to take command of its own operations. Obama said, “we have met our responsibility, now it is time to turn the page.”

Combat ended in Iraq Tuesday afternoon officially. With 50,000 troops left in Iraq as of now, the number is set to reach zero at the conclusion of 2011, over eight years after the war began under President George W. Bush.

Obama expressed his pride in the willingness of the troops to risk their lives in Iraq over the past seven years and how the people of the United States supported the war in times of struggle at home economically.

Obama is confident that Iraq will now prosper, saying, “We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people. A belief that out of the ashes of war a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization.”

Obama then moved his speech to an issue closer to home for most Americans, the economy.

Obama made it clear that his top priority right now is to rebuild the economy and help “the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work.”

Obama touted the importance of job creation and clean, new energy industries. Obama further reiterated the need to end the need of foreign fuels and imports, and the need to increase American exports.

Obama said of his economic goals, “this will be difficult. But in the days to come it must be our central mission as a people and my central responsibility as President.”

According to reports, the majority of the American public are basing their votes in the Midterm Elections on economic platforms.

Obama then urged the need to fight al Qaeda in Afghanistan and to help restore the Afghanistan government just like the United States did in Iraq.

Due to Obama’s increase in troops in Afghanistan, hundreds of al Qaeda members have been caught and killed throughout the entire world.

Obama’s hope is that in July of 2011, Afghanistan will be where Iraq is now and the near decade long war will be nearing its end as combat is set to end at the end of that month.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- After seven years of the Iraq War, President Barack Obama has said that combat in Iraq is now over. The stress goes on the word “combat.” President Obama has pulled out all of the combat brigades from Iraq just as he said he would when he was running for office.

Obama said that by the end of August 2010, there would be no more combination American troops in the state of Iraq and that the total number of troops would be under 50,000. And sure enough, that is exactly what the case is. Obama has removed nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq in the last twenty months as the Iraqi police and military have been getting stronger, in addition to their government becoming more and more stable.

Tuesday night, President Obama is scheduled to give about a fifteen-minute speech to the people of the United States.

White House officials have made one thing perfectly clear; President Obama is not announcing a victory in Iraq, simply a “change of mission.”

Obama is expected to talk about how the combat has ended for the American military in Iraq and how the remaining goals include a higher emphasis on strengthening Iraq’s government to the point where they will need no American assistance at all and on helping the Iraqi military and police.

Robert Gibbs, the Press Secretary of the White House said, “we will be their ally, but the responsibility of charting the future of Iraq first and foremost belongs to the Iraqis.”

With 4,400 American soldiers lost in the war, much less than any other war in United States history, it is tough to call the war a success so far. Granted the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein was overthrown, but the purpose of entering Iraq in the first place was never made public by former President George W. Bush.

But with his second ever Oval Office national address, Obama will tout the positives that lay ahead for the people of Iraq and the American soldiers in the state.

The new mission will be revealed to the American people Tuesday night. As well, a reiteration that all troops are expected to be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011 is also expected to be heard tonight.

REUTERS/JIM YOUNG

San Francisco (Obama.net)- In 2008, as he was running for the coveted seat of President of the United States of America, Barack Obama made one thing very clear to the American people: the War in Iraq would come to an end before he would leave office. And on Saturday, with his weekly address to the American people, Obama reminded them of the official end to combat in Iraq that was marked by this past Tuesday.

Obama said that Tuesday signaled the fact that “the war is ending” in fact and that now Baghdad has the power and strength to control its own destiny and run its own state.

The soldiers remaining in Iraq will now only be assisting and training the Iraqi military and police forces until the end of 2011 when all United States military personnel are expected to exit Iraq once and for all.

Obama told his listeners, “In the months ahead, our troops will continue to support and train Iraqi forces, partner with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions and protect our civilian and military efforts.”

Obama is scheduled to make an official speech regarding the Iraq War on Tuesday. Obama will speak from his Oval Office on the day that he planed to be the deadline day for the last day of combat in Iraq for American soldiers. The goal was to have only 50,000 soldiers left in Iraq and as of the last count, there are in fact less than 50,000 American troops in the state now.

Obama made it clear that Iraq will be left with the power to “chart its own course.” Over the course of the following year, the American troops will further prepare Iraq to be self-sufficient.

The remaining support of the 50,000 troops is highly needed as violence still continues to be a factor in Iraq, leaving the state in danger.

Obama has worked hard to reduce the number of American soldiers in Iraq by a grand total of 90,000 already with more to come.

In addition to his address of the end of the Iraq War, Obama also addressed both the new aid for military members returning home and the better care they will receive. Obama made it clear that it is the “moral obligation” of the United States government to supports its troops when they return home after putting their lives on the line for the rest of the American population.

San Francisco (Obama.net)-

The final United States combat brigade in Iraq exited the Middle Eastern state. In what was Thursday morning in Iraq, the last of the 4^th Stryker Brigade’s 2^nd Infantry Division went from Iraq, into Kuwait. The exit process saw a couple of hundred troops stay in Iraq to finish some work that had yet to be completed, but will be leaving Iraq later in the day.

Now, there are approximately 56,000 American troops in Iraq. Another six thousand are expected to be withdrawn in the coming days to bring the total down to Obama’s plan of 50,000.

Operation New Dawn is set to begin on September 1^st. On that day, after over seven years of the Iraq War, the American military will take a back seat and simply assist the Iraqi military and police forces.

In his trip to Ohio earlier in the day, President Obama said, “We’re keeping the promise that we’ve made when I began my campaign for the presidency,” and that by the send of August, “our combat mission will be over in Iraq.”

Over 90,000 soldiers have withdrawn from Iraq in the last year and a half. And according to Obama’s plan, every last soldier will be out of the state by the end of 2011.

The process of becoming self-sufficient is only just getting started for Iraq. The country’s officials are just now gaining control of their own state and are beginning to assert themselves as the law.

With the support of President Barack Obama and the rest of the United States government, the country of Iraq is well on its way to being self-sufficient. Obama made it clear that the topic of Iraq is not going to stop being important to him and the United States government as he does his best to help the progression of the state.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

San Francisco (Obama.net)- For nearly half of a decade, the call to end the War in Iraq has been echoed by not only the citizens of the United States of America, but also the politicians in the state. One of the issues circling the concluding of the Iraq War was not whether or not it was in the best interest of the United States, but just exactly how would the government go about ending the war.

Simply pulling out all of the troops would leave the nation of Iraq in chaos without a governing force.

And President Barack Obama was well aware of that fact. That’s why when elected into office, he made it clear that combat would end in Iraq, but it would be a slow process and that some troops would have to remain to assist the Iraqi military and police.

Obama set the date for a large withdrawal of troops for August 31^st, 2010. And a complete withdrawal of American soldiers is set for the end of 2011. Wednesday, Obama held a secret meeting in the White House to go over the plans.

The meeting was attended by Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton the Secretary of States, Robert Gates the Defense Secretary, and others including the Director of the CIA, Leon Panetta.

Obama recently stated the plans are going accordingly and the troops in Iraq will be downsized to 50,000 at the conclusion of the month. After that, the remaining soldiers will be focusing on training and backing up Iraqi forces.

After the meeting, it was announced that the plans will be going on as planned and that nothing that was went over in the meeting will derail the current schedule.

Last week President Obama made it clear, “as a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the War in Iraq to a responsible end, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

While danger still exists in Iraq, Obama is confident that Iraqi forces can now take the charge in their state with the members of the United States military simply assisting them.