Politics. On Point.

Fox News reporter, Lawrence Jones, talks to a Texas resident about conditions at the Texas border where migrants continue to pour in from South America and Haiti seeking asylum in the U.S. Texas resident Alison Anderson voices her concern over migrant trespassing, COVID-19 (and other health issues), border patrol agent job performance and more.  The treatment of Afghans vs the treatment of Haitians. It was less than a week ago that the world watched as the U.S. offered free plane rides to America for people of Afghanistan after the Taliban took over when U.S. troops departed the country after a twenty-year war stemming from terrorist attacks on several U.S. cities on September 11, 2001. In contrast, the U.S. has begun  flying Haitians back  to their native country.  READ: The Economic Benefits of Extending Permanent Legal Status to Unauthorized Immigrants In August U.S. president, Joe Biden, put out a very brief statement pledging that Haiti would have the support o...

Remaining U.S. troops set to leave Afghanistan The Biden White House has made it clear that it will be pulling remaining U.S. military troops out of Afghanistan, before its scheduled date of September 11, 2021. The administration doesn’t find it necessary to keep troops there any further. US troops in Afghanistan. Source: History Collection Read: US Afghan commander to step down . In a statement, the president cites that the military came “to do what it intended to do”, which was to go after Osama bin Laden after it was believed al Qaeda attacked the United States in 2001. The attack took down New York’s World Trade Center (killing thousands), and the U.S. Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C. during the George Bush administration. The U.S. military, under the direction of the Obama administration, waged a war to infiltrate the bin Laden regime "to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda." In 2011, America was inf...

Joining Forces , the military initiative designed to aid and bring awareness to the plight of military families around the country, will turn one year-old in July.   To get the celebration started a bit early, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the duo and driving forces behind Joining Forces, today recognized winners of their Joining Forces Community Challenge .  The 'Challenge' went out to communities across the country admonishing communities to help a military family where ever they could.  First Lady Michelle Obama and NBC News correspondent Tom Brokaw at today's Joining Forces Community Challenge event at the White House.  Photo/CD Brown Said Second Lady Jill Biden, "Since we launched Joining Forces a year ago, we have been so inspired by the many ways Americans all across the country are honoring, celebrating and supporting our military families.  Our partners in this effort are businesses, schools, churches, communities and...

Awards Purple Heart medals During his nearly three hour visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesday, Maryland today, President Obama met with 38 wounded service members – 21 Soldiers, 13 marines, 2 Sailors and 2 Airmen.  (Names not readily identified). OccupyDC protestor in front of Dept of Commerce building last week with message opposing the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Photo/CD Brown. Thirty-five of the service members were injured in Afghanistan and 3 were injured in Iraq.  While at the hospital, the President awarded 4 purple hearts .  Since the war began some ten years ago 46,542 service members have been wounded in connection with Afghan and Iraqi wars. Through last Thursday, the number of wounded by war zone in Afghanistan  is now 14,342.   In Iraq, 31,921 .  In the Middle East (Op. New Dawn), 279,  the Pentagon reports. It is safe to say, yet again, let's end this war....

Canceling his scheduled event at US Interstate Moving Services for today, President Obama instead flew to Dover Air Force Base to attend the return of the bodies of 30 U.S. servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday. President Obama arriving at Dover Air Force Base. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster The dead servicemen included 22 Navy SEALs. Most were members of SEAL Team 6, the counterterrorism unit that carried out the mission to find Osama BinLaden. None of those involved in the Bin Laden raid were among the dead Saturday, U.S. officials have said. The remains were returned to Dover in "unidentified" stautus until they are positively indentified by the Armed Forces Mortuary Affairs Office. The Chinook helicopter crashed in the remote Tangi valley of Eastern Afghanistan. U.S. officials have said it was probably caused by insurgents firing a rocket-propelled grenade. The president had not announced publicly that he would visit Dover. As mentio...

Bringing the Boys Home Two major announcements by the White House included the president's plan to deploy 10,000 troops from Afghanistan, beginning this summer. In keeping with his commitment to draw down U.S forces this July, President Obama addressed the nation last evening to explain: "Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals", the president said. "As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be com...

If you recall the 1980s Arsenio Hall Show, you're probably familiar with his popular show segment titled, 'Things That Make You Go Hmmm', Arsenio's attempt at bringing to light things in society that just don't seem right, or make any sense. We had that moment during today's White House briefing where further discussion - with different answers - had us all saying Hall's catch phrase.  Add in a 'But, I thought you said yesterday that....', and fill in the blanks. What we were told yesterday from John Brennan , Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the capture and killing of one Osama Bin Laden as he spoke during a White House press briefing went something like this:  MR. BRENNAN: Bin Laden died; the two al Qaeda facilitators -- the brothers, who were -- the courier and his brother in the compound; bin Laden’s son Hamza; and the woman, presumed to be his wife, who was shielding bin Laden. Q...

" Justice Has Been Done " President Obama initiated the killing (or attack) of Osama bin Laden, giving direct orders to Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, "to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda." Speaking late last evening just outside the White House East Room (interrupting Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice ending) the president vehemently articulated that, "We will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed." Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy U.S. operatives raided an al Qaeda compound located in Abbottabad, Pakistan where bin Laden was said to have been living in a large home on a secured compound in an affluent suburb of Islamabad. President Obama called the event "historic" and reiterated his predecessor's comment that the war against al Queda that started over a decade a...

ABC News (and now the White House) is reporting that President Obama, in a surprise visit, has just landed in Afghanistan to visit with U.S. troops. First Pool Report - Excerpted. (11:33 am EST) President Obama arrived in Afghanistan at 8:35 pm. Air Force One was wheels down at Bagram Air Base. POTUS stepped off the plane at 8:48 pm. He was greeted by Gen. David Petreaus and Amb. Eikenberry. POTUS is expected to be on the ground for 3 hours. The schedule has changed and continues to. POTUS was initially expected to helo to Kabul to meet with Karzai. Cancelled. Then they were to do secure videoconference from Bagram. That is also cancelled. From Robert Gibbs: Due to weather and technical problems, the secure videoteleconference is now a phone call. The President, most noteably, wanted to visit with the troops during the holidays, citing, "It's a particularly tough time of year." Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Ssecurity Advisor for Strategic Communications, no...

Recently Leaked Documents Beg The Question: War. What Is It Good For? WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary, an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers, and mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related details. The document collection is available on a dedicated web page . When White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs was questioned about whether charges could be brought against the person who leaked the documents, Gibbs replied, "There is an ongoing investigation that is looking into the leaking of the classified information. As I’ve said here before, my transmitting one of those documents to you would constitute a violation of federal law, and certainly, as I said earlier, handling t...

President Obama Praises General Who Scouffed At His Administration As we reported last evening U.S. military bad boy, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan resigned over his remarks made about the Obama administration and civilian officials. In an address today in the Rose Garden President Obama stated, "Mr. McChrystal's conduct does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that’s necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan." As such, President Obama accepted McChrystal's resignation earlier today, replacing the loose-lipped military top-brass with General David H. Petraeus .   The decision to accept the resignation was not an easy one for the president and he commended Petraeus on making a great personal sacrifice to himself and to his family...

Last week Afghan President Hamid Karzai , visited Washington and the White House for a series of  wide-ranging discussions with President Obama aimed at deepening cooperation on the shared and mutual priorities of the United States and Afghanistan. These discussions included topics on governance, security, economic and social development, and regional issues. While the two were said to have been reaffirming their growing cooperation and their commitment to the solid, broad, and enduring strategic partnership between the governments and peoples of the United States and Afghanistan, those in media were having their say as well. One such PIM (person in media), MotherJones had this to say about Karzai's visit: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai made it out of Washington last week alive—that is, without having to answer in public the allegations that his government is profoundly corrupt and fundamentally inept. Nor did he have to explain the bizarre remarks he made earlier this spr...