WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (KUNA) — On his second full day in office, US President Barack Obama was scheduled to join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department on Thursday afternoon for an address to department employees.
The address would emphasize the importance of diplomacy in the new administration.
The event would follow a meeting at the State Department among Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser James Jones and Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon. The session is to focus on the administration’s “pledge to enhance diplomatic efforts to advance America’s interests,” according to the White House press office.
In another whirlwind of activity similar to that displayed on his first full day in office on Wednesday, Obama attended a briefing with his key economic advisers at the White House on Thursday morning, and then met with his senior staff.
The President then held a White House meeting with retired US military officers to discuss proposed executive orders on detention and interrogation policy — a focus of efforts by Obama to close the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Wednesday night, the White House press office released a statement from the President on
his meeting Wednesday afternoon with top US military brass and others in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This afternoon, I met with our Ambassador to Iraq, the commander in Iraq and the overall theater commander in the region in order to get a full update on the situation in Iraq,” the statement from Obama said. “Key members of my cabinet and senior national security officials also participated in this meeting.” During the discussion, the President said he asked the military leadership “to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq.” Obama pledged during his presidential campaign to responsibly withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.
In the coming days and weeks, the President said he would visit the Pentagon “to consult with the Joint Chiefs on these issues and we will undertake a full review of the situation in Afghanistan in order to develop a comprehensive policy for the entire region”.