Obama: Afghanistan Is “America’s War”
In his interview on CBS’ Face The Nation, President Obama was asked whether the Afghanistan War was now his war. “I think it’s America’s war,” said Obama. “What we want to do is to refocus attention on al Qaeda. We are going to root out their networks, their bases. We are gonna make sure that they cannot attack U.S. citizens, U.S. soil, U.S. interests, and our allies’ interests around the world.”
Petraeus: “I Wouldn’t Necessarily” Agree With Cheney That Obama Is Making Us Less Safe
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union with John King, Gen. David Petraeus was asked his opinion of Dick Cheney’s comments that President Obama’s decisions were increasing the risk of a terrorist attack. “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that, John. I think that, in fact, there is a good debate going on about the importance of values in all that we do,” said Petraeus, outlining his own opposition to torture.
Obama Returning To White House, Biden Headed To Costa Rica
President Obama is returning to the White House this afternoon, after spending Saturday at Camp David. Vice President Biden is continuing his international tour through Latin America, traveling today to Costa Rica, where he will meet tomorrow with President Oscar Arias and hold a multilateral meeting with Central American leaders.
Biden: U.S. No Longer “Dictating Universally” To Latin America
Vice President Biden told Latin American leaders yesterday that the United States will no longer be “dictating universally” to the region. “My visit here is just the beginning of a renewal of a partnership with the Americas,” said Biden. “In the past, even when we engaged positively we tended to engage ‘for’ the (western) hemisphere. We’re not engaging ‘for,’ this is ‘with.'”
Geithner: $135 Billion Left In TARP
Appearing on This Week, Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner said the government has roughly $135 billion in uncommitted TARP money, including a “conservative judgment” of how much money is likely to come back from banks that no longer need it. “But that’s a reasonably conservative estimate,” said Geithner. “And it gives us, and this is very important, substantial resources to move ahead with this broad based sweep of initiatives to help get the financial system back in the business of providing credit.”
Paulson Praises Geithner
The Wall St. Journal reports that former Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson has high praise for his successor, Tim Geithner, who like Paulson has faced criticism for his handling of the financial crisis. “I’ve been in the trenches with him,” said Paulson. “He can take a punch.”
Gates: No Plans To Shoot Down North Korean Missile
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Defense Sec. Robert Gates said the U.S. had no plans to shoot down a planned missile launch by North Korea. “I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it,” Gates said. “But I don’t think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point.”
Report: Cheney Badmouthed Obama During Transition
The New Yorker reports that then-Vice President Dick Cheney disparaged President-elect Obama to the Israeli government during the lame-duck period, telling them that Obama was “pro-Palestinian” and would not support their efforts. He also privately declared that Obama would “never make it in the major leagues.”
