Barack Obama

Obama Sends 100 Troops To Central Africa To Help Fight LRA

Susan Crabtree | October 14, 2011, 2:25PM

President Obama is sending a total of 100 troops into central Africa to help a resistance movement fight the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group known for committing atrocities across the continent.

The first troops left Wednesday and in the next month additional forces are set to deploy, including a second combat-equipped team, as well as communications and logistics personnel, Obama informed Congressional leaders in a letter sent Friday afternoon. The mission's goal is to remove LRA leader Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield, according to the letter.

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Jay Carney

White House Denies Report That Pentagon Plans To Reduce Troops In Iraq To 3,000

Susan Crabtree | September 6, 2011, 4:56PM

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

The White House denied initial reports that the Obama administration is moving forward with a plan to radically reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to 3,000 by the end of the year.

Fox News on Tuesday reported that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had signed off on the troop-reduction plan despite an angry reaction from generals and senior commanders.

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Afghanistan

Obama Announces Plans To Send 10,000 troops Home By Dec. 31

Susan Crabtree | June 22, 2011, 8:19PM

President Obama announced plans to send home 10,000 troops from Afghanistan and another 23,000 by end the September 2012 in a primetime TV and radio address Wednesday night.

In the 10-minute speech, Obama said he was fulfilling a promise he made at a speech at West Point in 2009 when he ordered a surge of 30,000 troops -- that the troops would begin coming home starting in July 2011.

"Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment," he said.

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Afghanistan

Panetta Sidesteps Barrage Of Questions On Afghan Drawdown

Susan Crabtree | June 9, 2011, 12:06PM

Leon Panetta, tapped by President Obama to succeed Robert Gates as defense secretary, attempted to dodge the most critical question facing the military and the administration right now during his nomination hearing Thursday.

Panetta faced a barrage of questions about the upcoming drawdown of troops in Afghanistan after signaling that he backed the President's call for a "significant" reduction of U.S. troops beginning in July.

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'Obama's Wars'

As Obama Mulls Afghan Drawdown, War Weariness Grows On Capitol Hill

Susan Crabtree | June 8, 2011, 3:44PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

With President Obama's July deadline for withdrawing some troops in Afghanistan just weeks away, the future of the U.S. commitment to the nearly 10-year war has been a hot topic on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in recent weeks.

Concern over the nation's budget woes have taken center stage in Washington, and with few tangible signs of progress in Afghanistan, members of Congress are increasingly expressing deep skepticism about maintaining U.S. nation-building efforts there.

The most notable aspect of Wednesday's Senate Foreign Relations hearing on the nomination of Ryan Crocker to be ambassador to Afghanistan, was the absence of voices supporting an ongoing robust U.S. presence there.

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WWE

'The Barack Is Cookin' A Troops Tribute For The WWE

Christina Bellantoni | December 16, 2009, 9:59AM

President Obama will appear on a World Wrestling Entertainment special this weekend to pay tribute to troops serving abroad, the wrestling network announced.

Obama, no stranger to WWE, has recorded a holiday message for the Saturday 9 p.m. "Tribute to the Troops," which will detail wrestling stars who have performed for troops at bases in the Middle East.

Gen. David Petraeus also will be on the program, which airs on NBC.

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