President Obama Delivers the 2013 State of the Union Address

Posted by DipNote Bloggers / February 13, 2013

President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gives his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2013. [AP Photo]

More: White House Blog -- President Obama's 2013 State of the Union

President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February 12, 2013. In his remarks, President Obama addressed a number of foreign policy issues.

President Obama said, "Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda.

"Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. This spring, our forces will move into… more »

Posted under: Policy

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The U.S.-Europe Relationship

Posted by Philip H. Gordon / January 16, 2013

The NATO leaders gather for a group picture upon their arrival for dinner at Soldier Field in Chicago, May 20, 2012. Front row from left are Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, President Barack Obama, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Second row from left are Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Siguroardottir, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. Back row from left are Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, Latvian President Andris Berzins, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Romanian President Traian Basescu, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, and Slovakian President Ivan Gasparovic. [AP Photo]

Looking back at the busy and productive year we've had, I would say that the United States and Europe have never been more closely aligned, both in overall goals as well as tactics to achieve those goals. From the beginning of the Obama Administration we've made a deliberate and conscious effort to strengthen our ties with Europe and to work with our most important allies around the world on global issues. During 2012 the pace of our work continued with a multitude of high-level visits, ministerial meetings, summits, and international conferences. Not only did I travel widely for meetings with my counterparts, but 2012 also marked Secretary Clinton's 38th visit to Europe. This intense diplomatic engagement is driven by our profound belief that successful alliances require investment and that such investment pays real… more »

Posted under: Europe & Eurasia

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