Politics. On Point.

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...

The President and Mrs. Obama welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany to the White House yesterday with an official arrival ceremony to kick off her visit to Washington, the first ever for a female head of state. After lunches and meetings, the two leaders held a joint press conference in the East Room of the  White House where they remarked on the binding ties between the two nations. President Obama and Chancellor Merkel field questions from the media during a joint press conference. Photo/CD Brown. “We see our partnership in the courage of our service members who stand shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan, where Germans serve under Americans and Americans serve under Germans” He thanked Chancellor Merkel and the Germans for what he called their “strong commitment” to their service, adding, “We remember and honor them all." Both the President and Chancellor expressed their agreement on Qaddafi being removed from his post....