President Obama vowed Monday to hold meetings with congressional leaders every day until they hammer out a deal to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while reducing federal debt in the years ahead.

“If not now, when?” Obama said repeatedly during a White House news conference.

Obama said that he would not sign any 30-, 60- or 90-day “temporary” debt ceiling agreement and that he would continue pushing for the biggest package possible.

“It”s not going to get any easier,” Obama said. “It’s going to get harder.”

As the president prepared for a 2 p.m. meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, he continued to put pressure on the GOP to compromise on the issue of government revenue. “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge,” he said.

House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans say the obstacle is Obama and his insistence on tax hikes that, they said, would kill jobs and would not pass the GOP-run House.

Some highlights from the news conference:

11:13 a.m. — Running late, Obama makes an opening statement on the debt talks and immediately makes news: “We’re gonna meet every single day until we get this resolved.”

Obama says the government won’t default but says the parties are far apart on many issues. He says he told Republicans that now is the time to take on the nation’s debt problem. “If not now, when?” Obama asks.

Obama says he will continue pursuing “the largest possible deal,” despite opposition from Republicans on taxes and Democrats on program cuts.

“We’re gonna resolve this in a serious way,” he says.

The parties will meet today at 2 p.m.

11:19 a.m. — First question is from Ben Feller of AP: What happens if Republicans continue to oppose taxes? Or pass a temporary extension on the debt ceiling?

Obama says that he will veto any temporary bill and that it’s time to “pull off the Band-Aid” on debt reduction — “eat our peas.”

Obama says he doesn’t want to raise taxes but only to end tax loopholes and other breaks that benefit the wealthy — and those wouldn’t take effect for at least a few years.

Referring to Republicans, Obama said, “I don’t see a path to do a deal if they won’t budge, period.”

11:25 a.m. — Chip Reid of CBS News asks Obama if he’s done a good enough job convincing the public that a potential “crisis” is at hand over the debt ceiling.

Obama says he doesn’t expect the public to follow “the ins and outs” of fiscal policy. But “some of the professional politicians know better,” and it is “irresponsible” for them to oppose an increase in the debt ceiling.

11:32 a.m. — Our own Richard Wolf of USA TODAY asks Obama to be more specific about his plans for a “balanced” package of budget cuts and taxes and for Social Security.

Obama says that if Social Security is included in a final package, it would be designed to strengthen the program — how he might do that, he doesn’t say.

As for balancing the plan, Obama says he is willing to move toward the Republicans on budget cuts — but only if they give on providing more government revenue by ending certain tax breaks. He says he wants to “raise revenues” to help reduce debt and preserve essential programs.

11:36 a.m. — Sam Stein of The Huffington Post asks: Is it a good idea to cut the budget when unemployment is at 9.2%? He follows up on Social Security.

Obama cites “political constraints” — namely, a Republican-run House of Representatives. He cites efforts to forge tax cuts to help put money in workers’ pockets. He notes that, even if the parties reach a debt deal, government is probably still going to have to help stimulate jobs. Doing something about the federal debt should encourage business owners to hire more, he says.

As for Social Security, Obama cites the political difficulty of changing entitlement programs.

11:43 a.m. — Lesley Clark of McClatchy asks if Obama is reaching out to the business community.

“I have spoken extensively to business leaders,” Obama says. He says they want the debt ceiling issue resolved but are leery about getting into the political fray. He wishes more would speak out.

“We are going to get this done by Aug. 2,” Obama says.

11:45 a.m. — George Condon of National Journal asks Obama if he thinks House Speaker John Boehner can deliver enough House Republican votes for any package.

“That’s a question for the speaker,” Obama says.”Not a question for me.”

He adds that Boehner is a “good man” who “wants to do right by the country” — which may or may not help the speaker with his Tea Party caucus.

11:47 a.m. — April Ryan of American Urban Radio asks Obama to define “shared sacrifice.”

Obama says he’s looking out for families struggling in a tough economy — they should not bear a disproportionate burden of reducing the federal debt.

We’re out at 11:54 a.m.

See photos of: Barack Obama

Obama: Leaders will ‘meet every single day’ on debt issue

Geithner’s future — it’s hard to say

Obama, lawmakers — this time with neckties

Pea Council backs Obama’s remark

Geithner’s future — it’s hard to say

Obama, Republicans back behind closed doors

President Obama and Republican congressional leaders are back behind closed doors today after a series of public statements defending their positions on debt reduction and assailing the views of the others.

Before calling the meeting to order at 2 p.m., Obama predicted that Democrats and Republicans would come to an agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while reducing the federal debt moving forward — and if they don’t, the Republicans would be largely at fault.

“I do not see a path to a deal if they don’t budge, period,” Obama said at his White House news conference this morning. “I mean, if the basic proposition is it’s my way or the highway, then we’re probably not going to get something done because we’ve got divided government.”

Before leaving Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said negotiators could find common ground — but not if Obama and the Democrats insist on job destroying tax hikes.

“The American people cannot accept — and the House will not pass — a bill that raises taxes on job creators,” Boehner said.

Democratic congressional leaders attended today’s White House negotiating session, the second in two days — and the second in a daily series until an agreement is reached, the president said at his news conference.

Obama said he is not proposing tax hikes, but rather eliminating loopholes and breaks for wealthy Americans who don’t need the help.

“I have bent over backwards to work with the Republicans to try to come up with a formulation that doesn’t require them to vote sometime in the next month to increase taxes,” Obama said.

The president said he wants a debt reduction deal that is “balanced” between budget cuts and new government revenue and that places burdens on the wealthy as well as the middle class.

An agreement also requires “some work on our side,” Obama said, saying most Democrats “would prefer not to have to do anything” on the entitlement spending involved with Social Security and Medicare.

Boehner said Republicans are willing to support increasing the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts, and “adding tax increases to the equation doesn’t balance anything.”

The speaker questioned Democrats’ seriousness about “fundamental entitlement reform.”

“It takes two to tango,” Boehner said. ” And they’re not there yet.”

To be continued — for the foreseeable future.

See photos of: Barack Obama

Tea Party groups want to turn the upcoming debt limit vote into a repeat of the health care town-hall-style forums of the summer of 2009, packing district offices and community meetings in targeted congressional districts.

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  By Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

  Members of the Tea Party and other activists gathered at the “Remember In November” Rally last year. Tea Party activists are now targeting Democrats in a push against a debt-limit increase.

By Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

Members of the Tea Party and other activists gathered at the “Remember In November” Rally last year. Tea Party activists are now targeting Democrats in a push against a debt-limit increase.

Tea Party activists will be going after 21 Democrats — mostly moderate-to-conservative members in swing districts, organizers say. They also said they would go after Republicans but did not name them.

The effort begins noon Thursday, as Tea Party supporters plan to show up at local congressional offices urging members to vote against any debt-limit increase unless it holds the line on taxes and includes a balanced-budget amendment.

“We’re trying to make sure guys on the fence know that they’d rather talk to us now than see us at a town-hall meeting in August,” said Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party umbrella organization coordinating the effort.

• VIDEO: Obama on debt talks: ‘Pull off the Band-Aid’

The “August Action” strategy is a repeat of the Tea Party’s use of congressional town-hall-style forums on the Affordable Care Act health care proposal in 2009. Then, newly emerging Tea Party groups protested, heckled and quizzed their members of Congress on the health care bill, turning the usually sleepy meetings into rancorous made-for-TV moments.

FreedomWorks sent kits to local activists Monday with talking points and other suggestions: “Make sure that a Tea Partier is the first person to the microphone at town-hall meetings,” the memo said. “Cheer good answers and boo bad answers to show where we stand on the issues.”

Most members of Congress on the list, such as Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., already voted against a bill in May that would have increased the total amount the government can borrow to $16.7 trillion from $14.3 trillion — but without spending cuts.

“A ‘clean’ bill wasn’t going to work for him,” said Altmire spokesman Richard Carbo. “And that’s where he is right now. We can’t comment on anything beyond that, because we don’t know what we’ll be voting on.”

Indeed, of the 21 Democrats on the FreedomWorks list, only Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., voted for the “clean” debt increase in May, which failed 97-318. That vote saw 236 Republicans and 82 Democrats vote against an increase, hoping to force negotiations on other budget-balancing measures.

President Obama and congressional leaders are in the midst of those talks, trying to work out a deal by an Aug. 2 deadline.

Another Democrat the Tea Party will call on this summer is Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y. He has voted against a debt-limit increase three times, but he also recognizes that “clearly the country can’t default on its debt,” spokesman Sean Magers said.

“We have a reasonable, level-headed constituency that is looking for people to just get along and do what’s best for the country,” Magers said. “Yelling and screaming at a town hall is not going to get the country where it needs to be.”

Posted | Updated

Good morning from The Oval. On this day in 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale named the first woman to a national party ticket, picking Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate; the pair lost in November to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

It’s a day of contrasts for President Obama, who honors military courage before resuming high-level budget talks with congressional Republicans.

This afternoon, Obama awards the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry, who lost a hand protecting two comrades in Afghanistan by tossing away a live grenade. Petry is the second living, active service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

After that, Obama meets for a third straight day with congressional leaders on efforts to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while cutting government spending. As USA TODAY’s Richard Wolf reports, the president and the Republicans appeared to emerge from Monday’s meeting even further apart of the issue of taxes.

Obama, who is urging Republicans to end tax loopholes as part of a debt cut deal, is trying to find the political center. The Republicans, meanwhile, say Obama is seeking tax increases that would slow the economy and prevent job growth.

In other news:

The next election will feature high-dollar “SuperPACs” that could tilt elections for Congress and even the presidency, reports USA TODAY’s Fredreka Schouten.

First lady Michelle Obama and some predecessors will attend today’s funeral for Betty Ford.

The half-brother of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is assassinated.

Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad storm the U.S. embassy in Damascus.

And there are reports that Britain’s defunct tabloid The News of the World sought personal information on a prime minister and members of royalty.

We’re only interested in the public side of life here at The Oval, so please join us as we report on the budget talks, the Medal of Honor ceremony, and other presidential happenings. And thank you.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Afghanistan, Ronald Reagan, Michelle Obama, Hamid Karzai, George H.W. Bush

Washington likes to work right up to the deadline, but when it comes to the ongoing debt ceiling talks it’s hard to know when the deadline is.

The Treasury Department talks about Aug. 2. But that’s the day it would actually bump up against the nation’s $14.3 trillion ceiling, and would be unable to borrow more money to pay the government’s bill, risking a default with very bad consequences for the financial system.

But before Congress can approve an increase in the debt ceiling, Obama and party leaders must first reach an agreement — then write legislation — then get it passed by both the House and the Senate — and then reconcile any differences between the chambers.

That’s going to take some time. That’s some members of Congress say the real deadline is July 22, a week from Friday.

And that’s why, when a reporter asked President Obama on Sunday if the parties could get something done within the next ten days, Obama replied: “We need to.”

At his news conference yesterday, Obama said he would not accept a temporary, 30-day or 60-day increase of the debt ceiling, but will instead pursue a deal to reduce the debt via budget cuts and new government revenues by closing tax loopholes.

And he’ll be meeting with congressional leaders every day until a debt is reached.

“My hope is, is that as a consequence of negotiations that take place today, tomorrow, the next day and through next weekend, if necessary, that we’re going to come up with a plan that solves our short-term debt and deficit problems, avoids default, stabilizes the economy, and proves to the American people that we can actually get things done in this country and in this town,” Obama said.

Congressional Republicans, who also have talked about doing a deal well in advance of Aug. 2, say they want to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the debt overall going forward — but through budget cuts. They said Obama is seeking tax hikes that will slow economic growth and kill jobs.

The Republican-run House “can only pass a debt limit bill that includes spending cuts larger than the hike in the debt limit, as well as real restraints on future spending,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Boehner also said he hopes “we can work our way through this.”

The parties try again today during a 3:45 p.m. meeting at the White House — and the clock is ticking, whenever the real deadline is.

See photos of: Barack Obama

Washington likes to work right up to the deadline, but when it comes to the ongoing debt ceiling talks it’s hard to know when the deadline is.

The Treasury Department talks about Aug. 2. But that’s the day it would actually bump up against the nation’s $14.3 trillion ceiling, and would be unable to borrow more money to pay the government’s bill, risking a default with very bad consequences for the financial system.

But before Congress can approve an increase in the debt ceiling, Obama and party leaders must first reach an agreement — then write legislation — then get it passed by both the House and the Senate — and then reconcile any differences between the chambers.

That’s going to take some time. That’s some members of Congress say the real deadline is July 22, a week from Friday.

And that’s why, when a reporter asked President Obama on Sunday if the parties could get something done within the next ten days, Obama replied: “We need to.”

At his news conference yesterday, Obama said he would not accept a temporary, 30-day or 60-day increase of the debt ceiling, but will instead pursue a deal to reduce the debt via budget cuts and new government revenues by closing tax loopholes.

And he’ll be meeting with congressional leaders every day until a debt is reached.

“My hope is, is that as a consequence of negotiations that take place today, tomorrow, the next day and through next weekend, if necessary, that we’re going to come up with a plan that solves our short-term debt and deficit problems, avoids default, stabilizes the economy, and proves to the American people that we can actually get things done in this country and in this town,” Obama said.

Congressional Republicans, who also have talked about doing a deal well in advance of Aug. 2, say they want to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the debt overall going forward — but through budget cuts. They said Obama is seeking tax hikes that will slow economic growth and kill jobs.

The Republican-run House “can only pass a debt limit bill that includes spending cuts larger than the hike in the debt limit, as well as real restraints on future spending,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Boehner also said he hopes “we can work our way through this.”

The parties try again today during a 3:45 p.m. meeting at the White House — and the clock is ticking, whenever the real deadline is.

See photos of: Barack Obama

Obama, GOP, debt — what’s the real deadline?

WASHINGTON — President Obama and congressional Republicans emerged from closed meetings further apart Monday as they struggled to reach a deal on cutting future budget deficits, despite a White House suggestion that it could accept slowly raising the eligibility age for Medicare to 67.

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  By Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images

  President Obama warns of dire consequences if a debt deal is not reached.

By Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images

President Obama warns of dire consequences if a debt deal is not reached.

Facing an Aug. 2 deadline to work out a deal that would cut trillions of dollars from budget deficits while raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion borrowing limit, Obama and GOP leaders left their latest closed-door White House session with nothing to show for their talks. Another session will be held today.

Before Monday’s meeting, Obama vowed during a news conference to seek “the largest possible deal” to cut deficits. But he said the onus is on Republicans to compromise as much as he and his fellow Democrats already have.

According to a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the private negotiations, Obama has proposed slowly raising the eligibility age for Medicare, incrementally through 2036. No decisions were made, and Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement after the meeting saying she opposes cuts to the “pillars of economic and health security.”

A Republican aide familiar with the talks, who also was not authorized to speak about the closely held details and discussions, said House Speaker John Boehner bristled during Monday’s meeting at the notion that it would be easy for Republicans, who oppose any tax increases, to cut spending on programs for the elderly and poor.

According to the aide, Obama noted that House Republicans in April voted to dramatically trim entitlements, when they approved a blueprint proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. The Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, later rejected Ryan’s budget plan.

sWith a 10-year, roughly $4 trillion plan that he’s floating already tilted 4-to-1 in favor of spending cuts, Obama tried Monday to blame intransigence on taxes among rank-and-file Republicans for the stalemate.

“I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge, period,” the president said.

Boehner responded to Obama before their talks were to resume by again refusing to consider tax increases and complaining that the White House isn’t serious about cutting government benefit programs.

Obama said he would meet “every single day” with leaders of both parties in an effort to work out a deal to cut trillions of dollars from budget deficits while raising the borrowing limit. Without a deal by Aug. 2, the government faces a first-ever default on its obligations.

The president said he would not sign a short-term package that merely extended borrowing authority for a period of months.

“This is the United States of America. We don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments,” Obama said.

Negotiations resumed Monday at the White House following a rare Sunday night session in which Obama argued for a major deal. On Sunday, Boehner said only a $2.4 trillion deal was possible, and Democratic leaders vowed to protect the middle class, Medicare and Social Security.

The “big deal” would end President George W. Bush‘s tax cuts for individuals earning above $200,000 and couples earning above $250,000, beginning in 2013. It also would end special-interest tax breaks for oil and gas companies, hedge funds, private jet owners and others, in exchange for lower income tax rates.

“Now is the time to deal with these issues,” Obama said. “If not now, when?”

Posted | Updated

Obama, GOP back to where they started: The debt ceiling

Obama discusses debt talks at news conference

Obama, GOP back to where they started: The debt ceiling

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. will not “walk away” from the challenge of Iran’s stepped-up arming of Iraqi insurgents who are targeting and killing American troops, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday.

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  By Paul J. Richards, AP

  Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief.

By Paul J. Richards, AP

Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief.

“We’re very concerned about Iran and the weapons they’re providing to extremists in Iraq,” he told a small group of soldiers on his first visit to Iraq as Pentagon chief.

“We cannot sit back and simply allow this to continue to happen” he said. “This is not something we’re going to walk away from. It’s something we’re going to take on head on.”

Panetta said Iraq must more aggressively go after the Shiite militias that are using what he called Iranian-supplied weapons.

Three rockets fired from a mainly Shiite neighborhood hit Baghdad’s Green Zone during Panetta’s visit, Iraqi police said. No casualties were reported.

Panetta was visiting the U.S. military’s Camp Victory on the capital’s western outskirts at the time of the attack on the Green Zone, the heavily secured district in central Baghdad that is home to the U.S. and other embassies as well as Iraqi government offices.

In his pep talk to the troops on the sprawling compound outside of Baghdad that houses the U.S. military headquarters, Panetta appeared to slip on the politics of the Iraq war, which was started by the Bush administration in March 2003 on grounds that then-ruler Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Some in the Bush White House also suggested a Saddam link to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. by al-Qaida — a connection that President Barack Obama and other Democrats have called wrong and unproved.

Panetta told the troops he is firmly focused on ensuring that al-Qaida never again is able to attack the U.S. homeland.

“The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked,” he said.

Asked later to explain that remark, he said he was not talking about the rationale for the U.S. invasion of Iraq but instead the need to go after al-Qaida in Iraq once it developed a lethal presence in the country following the invasion. He has said there are about 1,000 al-Qaida fighters in Iraq. That compares with an estimated 50-100 in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden’s group was sheltered by the Taliban until the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

Panetta spent Sunday afternoon at Camp Dwyer, a dust-choked U.S. outpost in southern Afghanistan. He pinned Purple Heart medals on two Marines, had lunch with young officers, got a glimpse at an Army Black Hawk medevac unit and quizzed an Afghan army officer on commanding a unit that specializes in detecting land mines and roadside bombs.

The 73-year-old Panetta, on the job since July 1 after 2 years heading the CIA, appeared to hold up well under the intense heat. But at one point he seemed to lose track of his latest job switch. In a pep talk to a group of Marines, he said he has always valued public service, from his time in the Army in the 1960s to eight terms as a congressman and his years in the Clinton White House, “and now as director of the CIA.”

Panetta will also huddle with the top U.S. military and diplomatic representatives in Baghdad before meeting with Iraqi leaders to discuss the possibility of keeping some U.S. troops in Iraq beyond 2011. He will also press Iraq for stronger action to stop stepped-up attacks on U.S. forces.

Panetta is meeting separately with Army Gen. Lloyd Austin at his headquarters outside Baghdad and with Ambassador James Jeffrey.

Later, he talks to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.

The Obama administration believes Iraq needs a slimmed-down U.S. military presence beyond 2011, when virtually all U.S. troops are scheduled to depart. Many Iraqi leaders agree, but they’ve been unwilling to make a formal request.

There are now 46,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted | Updated

Good morning from The Oval. On this day in 1952, the Republican Party nominated World War II general Dwight Eisenhower for president, along with his running mate Richard Nixon.

For President Obama, it’s another day devoted to trying to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling — at a time when talks on that topic seemed stalled, less than a month before a potential government default on its obligations.

Obama has called congressional leaders to the White House for a second straight day to discuss a deal to raise the debt ceiling while cutting the federal debt moving forward.

At a similar meeting Sunday night, as USA TODAY’s Richard Wolf reports, Obama held out for a 10-year, $4 trillion debt deal that involves budget cuts and tax increases on wealthier Americans, even as Republicans objected over the tax issue.

Before this afternoon’s session, Obama makes his case during an 11 a.m. news conference at the White House.

In other news:

The debt ceiling impasse reflects the political challenges of House Speaker John Boehner.

New Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in Iraq.

Gen. David Petraeus is confident about Afghanistan, as he leaves to take over the CIA.

Obama counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan tries to persuade the president of Yemen to step down.

Minnesota’s state government shutdown could help one its’ prominent residents, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, USA TODAY’s Susan Page reports.

Meanwhile, our colleague Jackie Kucinich report on how Texas Gov. Rick Perry is testing the GOP presidential waters.

And former first lady Betty Ford, rest in peace.

We’re all set here at The Oval to report on the president’s day, so please join us for reports on the news conference and the debt meeting. Have a good one.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Afghanistan, Iraq, David Petraeus, Richard Nixon, Yemen

It started with a simple objective: Raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

Then the Republicans began demanding big budget cuts in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling.

Then the Democrats began demanding higher taxes for wealthy in order to close the debt down the line.

Now — given bleak prospects for a big deal involving all those elements, the so-called “grand bargain” — President Obama and the Republicans are back to where the started, trying to put together a new deal to raise the debt ceiling.

Except that now they’re even closer to a government default on its existing debts.

Obama and congressional leaders try again this afternoon at the White House, just hours after Obama conducts a news conference to make his case for a “balanced plan” that includes both budget cuts and ending certain tax breaks and loopholes. The president is advocating a package to cut the debt by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner went on the Sunday shows to remind people that the government will have trouble paying its bills after Aug. 2 without a debt ceiling increase.

“The longer we go into July, the more risk there will be in financial markets, more concern there is that America cannot get its act together to figure out how to solve this problem,” Geithner said on NBC’s Meet The Press. “And you’ll see that reflected in higher interest rates and more concerned loss of confidence.”

Geithner added:

Let me explain what happens on August 2nd. On August 2nd, at that point, we run out of the ability to borrow to meet our obligations. Remember, we have to borrow now 40 cents for every dollar we spend.

Now, on August 2nd, if Congress hasn’t acted, we’re left with the cash we have and the cash we’re going to take in. And every week, starting the week of August 2nd, we have to go out and finance roughly $100 billion in maturing obligations of the government.

We make 80 million checks a month to Americans, 55 million people on Social Security benefits and millions more Americans of veteran’s benefits, Medicare/Medicaid, people who supply our troops in combat, 80 million checks a month.

So, on August 2nd, we’re left with cash on hand and the cash we take in. And we have to convince people to come and refinance $500 billion in maturing principal payments that come due in August.

Republicans say they are willing to raise the debt ceiling, but only in exchange for corresponding budget cuts — and no tax increases, saying they would hurt job growth.

House Speaker John Boehner told Obama over the weekend that his caucus would not support a $4 trillion package that includes higher taxes. Boehner proposed going back to a smaller deal, some $2 trillion or so in cuts, developed during meetings led by Vice President Joe Biden.

After last night’s White House meeting, Boehner’s office sent over the following the statement:

“The Speaker told the group that he believes a package based on the work of the Biden group is the most viable option at this time for moving forward.

The Speaker restated the fundamental principles that must be met for any increase in the debt limit: spending cuts and reforms that are greater than the amount of the increase, restraints on future spending, and no tax hikes.

The President agreed with the Speaker that their previous talks did not produce any agreement. The group agreed to continue talks in the coming week.”

See photos of: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Timothy F. Geithner

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and other Mideast mediators meet Monday in Washington, with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in shambles and an upcoming U.N. confrontation over whether to admit Palestine as an independent country only likely to make the decades-old deadlock even more intractable.

Modest goals have been set by the U.S., the United Nations, Russia and the European Union. Foremost is getting Israeli and Palestinian negotiators back to the table for direct talks after nine months of inaction. Even that seems an unlikely outcome from Monday’s meeting.

The mediators “will come together and will compare notes about where we are and plot a course forward,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said last week.

Despite furious U.S. efforts, American and other officials say neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians appear willing to commit to new discussions based on parameters that President Barack Obama outlined in a May speech: two states based on the territorial boundaries that existed before the 1967 Mideast war, with some territory swaps to account for population shifts and security concerns.

Repeated visits to Israel and the West Bank last month by U.S. envoys have produced no tangible results. And this past week, the new U.S. special Mideast peace envoy, David Hale, and White House adviser Dennis Ross pressed the chief Palestinian peace negotiator on one of the biggest points of contention, a Palestinian plan to win U.N. recognition as an independent state.

Israel and the U.S. support an eventually independent Palestine but oppose the attempt to establish one without negotiation with the Jewish state. The administration has tried to get the Palestinians to drop the idea, but negotiator Saeb Erekat said immediately after Wednesday’s talks that the Palestinians were more determined than ever to win recognition when the U.N. General Assembly meets in September. Erekat said those opposing the Palestinians need to “rethink their position.”

The measure probably will pass, providing the Palestinians with increased diplomatic power, even though independence still will need the U.N. Security Council‘s approval. The U.S. would surely veto any such resolution.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential meetings, American officials invariably offered negative assessment of the overall atmosphere surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. They described it as gloomy and depressing, with one likening the recurrent problems and lack of solutions to a “Groundhog Day” scenario, referring to the movie in which the same day is repeated over and over.

And until last week, the United States wasn’t even sure it made sense to meet with the other mediators, believing there was nothing new to discuss. Eventually the administration relented to European calls to get together, but little of substance is expected.

Speaking on the Voice of Palestine radio station, Erekat said Monday the Palestinians were hoping for a strong statement from the “quartet” of Mideast peacemakers.

“The quartet needs not only to state that the negotiations should based on the 1967 borders but Israeli also needs to endorse that in order for us to resume the peace talks,” he said. He said that given Netanyahu’s opposition to these terms, “we demand the Quartet hold Israel responsible for the collapse of the peace process.”

The meeting itself is quite limited, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton planning to hold a working dinner and then issue a written statement.

Concretely, the U.S. and the Europeans want direct Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume before the Palestinians bring their independence case to the United Nations.

Nuland said events in September could prove “detrimental to our ability to get parties back to the table.” She said it makes sense to “talk about the diplomacy that all of us have been having with the parties and see what we can do to work together to try to push them back to the table.”

Amid scarce signs of a breakthrough, Israelis and Palestinians have been entrenched in an international battle for and against the recognition effort. The Palestinians have sent officials to lobby governments around the world for support; Israeli officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on down have engaged in a determined counter-effort.

The Palestinians might be persuaded to withdraw the draft at the last minute. But with the peace process essentially frozen for the past two years, Washington has struggled to offer an alternative path and hasn’t even been able to get Israel to stop settlement building in areas the Palestinians hope to include in their state.

The Israelis are still fuming over Obama’s speech May 19. By endorsing language on territory that had long been a Palestinian goal as a basis for the talks, Obama upset Israel, which has maintained that all boundaries should be subject to negotiation.

Netanyahu is looking for a concession from the Palestinians in return. Diplomats say he hopes to secure an explicit statement that the Palestinians will recognize Israel as a Jewish state before entering talks.

Complicating matters is a unity deal between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank, and the militant Hamas movement in power in Gaza.

Netanyahu has rejected any talks with a Palestinian government including Hamas, which Israel and the U.S. brand a terrorist organization. Abbas has shown an apparent willingness to delay the formation of a unity government with Hamas, but once it happens it will likely jeopardize the process.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted

WASHINGTON — President Obama refused to back down Sunday night from seeking a landmark compromise that would slash about $4 trillion over 10 years from budget deficits and raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit.

• 

  By Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

  President Obama meets with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to negotiate the national debt.

By Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

President Obama meets with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to negotiate the national debt.

In a rare weekend meeting at the White House, Obama sought to convince recalcitrant lawmakers that tax increases on upper-income Americans and major cuts in popular health care and retirement programs still were within reach — despite Republicans’ pessimism. He will reiterate his case in a news conference this morning.

Obama’s pitch didn’t convince congressional leaders. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Obama’s insistence on ending former president George W. Bush‘s tax cuts for couples with income above $250,000 was a non-starter. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi raised doubts about proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

If Obama’s last-ditch effort fails, negotiators still could seek about $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction and an equal increase in the debt limit, enough to get them past the 2012 elections. They had agreed on about two-thirds of that amount in June when Republicans balked at new taxes and walked out.

With three weeks left before the government can no longer borrow money, reaching even that lower threshold will be difficult, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged Sunday.

“If they don’t act, then we face catastrophic damage to the American economy,” he said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “I do believe that this week, and certainly by the next week, we have to have agreement on the outlines of a package.”

The White House has insisted that the debt ceiling be raised, despite claims by some Republicans that the Aug. 2 deadline can be ignored. Now Republican leaders agree; McConnell said he would suggest a “contingency plan” if the talks fall apart.

After Sunday’s meeting, Don Stewart, a McConnell spokesman, said it’s “baffling” that Obama and Democratic lawmakers “continue to insist on massive tax hikes in the middle of a jobs crisis, while refusing to take significant action on spending reductions at a time of record deficits.”

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she remains hopeful for an agreement, but it “must do no harm to the middle class or to economic growth. It must also protect Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries, and we continue to have serious concerns about shifting billions in Medicaid costs to the states.”

A retreat from a bigger deal would represent a triumph of politics. Most Republicans don’t want to raise taxes; most Democrats don’t want to cut Medicare and Social Security without tax hikes.

“This is a very tough political fight,” Obama’s chief of staff William Daley said on ABC’s This Week. “But he didn’t come to this town to do little things. He came to do big things.”

Republicans said Obama’s plan includes higher taxes, which they will oppose at a time of 9.2% unemployment.

“We think it’s a terrible idea,” McConnell said on Fox News Sunday. “It’s a job-killer.”

On Saturday night, House Speaker John Boehner — who spoke with Obama by phone on Saturday — issued a statement saying, “Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes.”

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer quickly responded to Boehner with a statement saying that debt reduction is imperative, but “we cannot ask the middle class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts.”

Pfeiffer said the president wants “a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.”

The White House says its revenue plan ends loopholes and tax breaks for wealthy Americans such as oil company magnates, hedge fund managers and private airplane owners.

Despite Boehner’s call for a smaller debt reduction package, both sides claimed progress when it comes to the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

“Nobody’s talking about not raising the debt ceiling,” McConnell said.

Without that increase by Aug. 2, Geithner said, “We have no capacity to borrow. I have to write $80 million checks a month to Americans, including 55 million Americans who depend on their Social Security check.”

Christine Lagarde, the new head of the International Monetary Fund, told ABC News that an American default on its debt would create “nasty consequences” for the U.S. and global economies, including higher interest rates, lower stock markets and more unemployment.

“I can’t imagine for a second that the United States would default,” Lagarde said.

For months, Republicans have said they will not support a debt ceiling increase without big budget cuts. But Boehner’s statement late Saturday reflected the view that a package with higher revenue could not pass the Republican-run House.

Instead, the talks should focus “on producing a smaller measure,” Boehner said, starting with the $2 trillion or so in cuts identified during talks led by Vice President Biden. Such a plan “still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said.

Pfeiffer said Obama still wants a big package, “and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington.”

“The president believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things,” Pfeiffer said. “He will make the case to congressional leaders that we must reject the politics of least resistance and take on this critical challenge.”

Boehner’s statement that he is pulling the $4 trillion package from the table drew catcalls from Democrats who say Republicans only want to protect wealthy donors.

“We asked Republicans to consider a balanced approach that would have required shared sacrifice, but they would not,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

Posted

Obama to present Medal of Honor to living soldier

U.S. suspends aid to Pakistan

NORAD intercepts 2 planes near Camp David

Obama: No balanced budget amendment needed

The White House hasn’t said much about the many ideas floating around the debt negotiations but has registered opposition to one specific Republican proposal.

It’s the balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution — an item that some Tea Party Republicans say is essential to any kind of deal on the nation’s debt ceiling.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the talks to increase the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, while also reducing future debt, “is not a constitutional issue.”

“The balanced budget amendment would be basically an admission by Congress that they can’t do anything, right?” Carney said. “And that’s not true, as these discussions that we’re engaged in right now.”

Carney also said the proposed amendment is “not good for the economy, (and) it doesn’t answer the problem.”

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a prominent Tea Party supporter, said he will work against any debt deal that doesn’t include a balanced budget amendment, saying Congress needs the discipline to avoid running up future debt.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, DeMint also noted it would be years before a balanced budget amendment could take effect.

“It would take states two or three years to ratify,” DeMint said. “After that, it would be five years before this was implemented. So there would be plenty of time to do the things we need to do to save Social Security and Medicare, to fix our tax code.”

As we’re reporting here at The Oval, President Obama meets with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at 6 p.m. Sunday to discuss a debt ceiling deal.

DeMint added, “we are asking is to give the American people and the states a chance to decide if the federal government should, over the next few years, bring our budget into balance.”

But there is some question as to whether enough Republicans would insist on a balanced budget amendment.

As Fox News Sunday noted, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said: “In order to avoid what would be disastrous consequences for our markets, our economy as a whole, and our standing in the world, I encourage my colleagues to lay aside, at least temporarily, their insistence that amending the Constitution be a condition of their support for a solution to this terrible problem.”

See photos of: Barack Obama, John McCain

BAGHDAD (AP) — From one war front to another Sunday, Pentagon chief Leon Panetta hopped from a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan’s southern desert to Baghdad, where he sought to encourage Iraqi leaders to decide soon whether they want a residual American military force beyond year’s end.

• 

  By Paul J. Richards, AP

  Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief.

By Paul J. Richards, AP

Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief.

He refused to say whether the Obama administration wants the extension, but he expressed concern at a spike in U.S. deaths caused by what American officials believe are sophisticated explosive devices made in Iran.

Panetta prepared for talks Monday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior members of a government politically divided more than a year after national elections. Iraq has gone that long without defense or interior ministers, whose departments are responsible for the military and police.

The approximately 46,000 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq are to depart by the end of 2011 under an agreement negotiated in 2008 by the Bush administration, which went to war in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein‘s government.

Asking even a few thousand to stay longer carries political risk leaders in both countries.

A signature pledge of President Obama 2008 election campaign was to get the U.S. out of Iraq. For Iraqis fed up with violence, a longer U.S. presence looks like a formula for further strife.

The Associated Press reported on July 5 that the White House is offering to keep up to 10,000 troops in Iraq next year, despite opposition from key Democrats who demand that Obama bring home the troops as promised.

Panetta spent Sunday afternoon at Camp Dwyer, a dust-choked U.S. outpost in southern Afghanistan. He pinned Purple Heart medals on two Marines, had lunch with young officers, got a glimpse at an Army Black Hawk medevac unit and quizzed an Afghan army officer on commanding a unit that specializes in detecting land mines and roadside bombs.

The 73-year-old Panetta, on the job since July 1 after 2 years heading the CIA, appeared to hold up well under the intense heat. But at one point he seemed to lose track of his latest job switch. In a pep talk to a group of Marines, he said he has always valued public service, from his time in the Army in the 1960s to eight terms as a congressman and his years in the Clinton White House, “and now as director of the CIA.”

At issue in Baghdad is whether the Iraqi government will request that the U.S. negotiate a troop extension. The scheduled departure of virtually all U.S. troops by Dec. 31 will leave the country with significant gaps in its ability to defend its own airspace and borders.

Panetta’s predecessor at the Pentagon, Robert Gates, visited Iraq in April to push for an early decision and make clear that Washington believes an extension is in both countries’ interest.

Panetta, however, seemed less willing to commit to a residual force.

Speaking to reporters before boarding his plane for the flight to Iraq from Camp Dwyer in southern Afghanistan, Panetta was asked whether he intended to encourage the Iraqis to request an extension.

“I’ll encourage them to make a decision” about what they want, he replied, leaving open the question of what the White House would accept.

Panetta said he thinks U.S. should consider any Iraqi request and he said Obama “feels we ought to consider it as well.” Obama has said repeatedly over the past year that he is responsibly ending the Iraq war and bringing U.S. troops home this year.

Panetta said he also intended to urge Iraqi leaders to do more to go after Shiite militia groups that are using Iranian-supplied weapons to step up attacks on U.S. troops. The U.S. death toll of 15 in June was the highest for any month in the past two years, Panetta said.

“That has concerned us,” he said, adding that Iraqi Shiite militiamen using Iranian weapons need to be targeted more aggressively. Pentagon officials believe the Iranians are providing more arms, such as airborne makeshift “lob bombs” and explosively formed projectiles, to give the impression of driving U.S. troops out of Iraq.Panetta came to his new job with links to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, even if he was not directly involved in military strategy.

He visited both countries during his CIA tenure. Both wars have an unusually heavy intelligence component, with U.S. special operations teams taking on al-Qaida and other insurgents.

One concern about the plan to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of this year is that Iraq’s intelligence services are not yet up to the task of adequately supporting counterterrorism forces.

Panetta was a member of the Iraq Study Group, created by Congress in 2006 to consider a better way forward in a war that was spiraling out of control at the time. Coincidentally, Panetta served on the group with Gates until Gates quit because he was picked to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary.

Panetta signed off on the group’s final report, which concluded that it was time to get all U.S. ground combat brigades out of Iraq, leaving troops to train the Iraqi army and to undertake strikes against al-Qaida cells.

President George W. Bush took a decidedly different course, ordering troop reinforcements to Iraq as part of a new strategy that is widely credited for turning around the war.

The U.S. military reported that a service member was killed Sunday in southern Iraq and that the matter was under investigation.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted | Updated

If Americans like their first lady a generation or so behind most women, Betty Ford never got the memo.

• 

  By T.J. Hamilton, AP

  Nikki Cole with kids Makenzie, 6 and Nathan, 15, of Sparta, Mich., place candles at Betty Ford’s burial spot.

By T.J. Hamilton, AP

Nikki Cole with kids Makenzie, 6 and Nathan, 15, of Sparta, Mich., place candles at Betty Ford’s burial spot.

The outspoken widow of President Ford died of natural causes Friday at 93 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She will be buried next to him in Michigan on Thursday after commemorations in California and Michigan.

During and after her husband’s term, Ford talked openly about breast cancer and addiction, and she actively campaigned for women’s rights at a time when first ladies generally presented a more reserved, Cold War-era front.

Her outspokenness emboldened feminists, redefined the role of the first lady and made it safer for public figures to talk about their personal problems.

• STORY: Former first lady Betty Ford dead at 93

• PHOTOS: Images from Betty Ford’s life

• MORE: Ford helped pioneer addiction treatment

One of Ford’s defining characteristics was her candor, and that included confronting her own addiction head-on. She revealed a longtime addiction to painkillers and alcohol 15 months after leaving the White House. She established the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage in 1982.

Although it became known for treating celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash and Lindsay Lohan for addiction, more than 90,000 people have received treatment there.

Ford regularly welcomed new groups of patients to rehab with a speech that began, “Hello, my name’s Betty Ford, and I’m an alcoholic and drug addict.”

Historian Stacy Cordery, bibliographer for the National First Ladies’ Library in Canton, Ohio, said Ford was “lucky enough to see the good that she’d done,” unlike many other first ladies. “Betty Ford dramatically changed the shape of our understanding of breast cancer and certainly addiction — but it happened right away.”

The “ordinary woman who was called onstage at an extraordinary time,” as she wrote of herself, Betty Ford was last in the spotlight after her husband of 58 years died Dec. 26, 2006, also at 93.

She was “the most important first lady of the post-World War II period,” says historian and Betty Ford biographer John Robert Greene. “Her influence on American society in general and American women in particular transcends even Eleanor Roosevelt as well as Hillary Clinton.”

Elizabeth Anne Ford was thrust onto the national stage unexpectedly when President Nixon chose her husband, then the House minority leader, as vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned. In August 1974, she became first lady when Nixon resigned.

Cordery says Ford broke from a string of predecessors “who thought it was best to be private, to tuck away your sorrows.” The wife of a Republican president, Ford ran counter to his party by backing abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment.

•Her rehab legacy, 4D

Contributing: The Associated Press

Posted | Updated

President Obama said tonight that lawmakers have to strike a deficit-cutting deal to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling within the next week and a half, lest the government risk a damaging default on its financial obligations.

When a reporter asked Obama if negotiators could work it all out in the next 10 days, the president said: “We need to.”

Obama spoke before a White House meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders that ended only with an agreement to hold another session on Monday afternoon — preceded by an Obama news conference at 11 a.m.

After the meeting, Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it’s “baffling” that Obama and Democratic lawmakers “continue to insist on massive tax hikes in the middle of a jobs crisis, while refusing to take significant action on spending reductions at a time of record deficits.”

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Cal., said she remains hopeful for an agreement, but it “must do no harm to the middle class or to economic growth. It must also protect Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries, and we continue to have serious concerns about shifting billions in Medicaid costs to the states.”

Congressional leaders have said they need an agreement well in advance of Aug. 2 — the Treasury Department’s deadline for when borrowing authority runs out — so that the House and Senate can debate and vote on a final package.

Before tonight’s meeting, aides said Obama will continue pushing for a $4 trillion debt reduction deal, despite House Speaker John Boehner‘s decision to give up on the plan because of Republican opposition to tax increases.

Obama “didn’t come to this town to do little things,” said White House chief of staff William Daley on ABC’s This Week With Christiane Amanpour, hours before the White House negotiating session. “He came to do big things.”

Congressional Republicans said Obama’s plan includes higher taxes, which they will oppose at a time of 9.2% unemployment.

“We think it’s a terrible idea,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Fox News Sunday. “It’s a job-killer.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, on NBC’s Meet The Press, said, “we’re going to try to get the biggest deal possible.”

Obama and some Democrats said they could go as high as $4 trillion in debt reduction over 10 years — including possible changes to Social Security and Medicare — provided the agreement includes elimination of certain tax breaks that benefit the wealthy. They also want to restore higher tax rates on the wealthy after 2012, when tax cuts expire.

But on Saturday night, Boehner — who spoke with Obama by phone on Saturday — issued a statement saying, “despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes.”

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer quickly responded to Boehner with a statement saying that debt reduction is imperative, but “we cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts.”

Pfeiffer said the president wants “a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.”

The White House says its revenue plan ends loopholes and breaks for wealthy Americans such as oil company magnates, hedge fund managers, and private airplane owners.

Despite Boehner’s call for a smaller debt reduction package, both sides claimed progress when it comes to the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, seen by some Republicans — and GOP presidential candidates — as a subterfuge.

“Nobody’s talking about not raising the debt ceiling,” McConnell said on Fox News Sunday.

Without that increase, Geithner said, “we have no capacity to borrow. I have to write $80 million checks a month to Americans, including 55 million Americans who depend on their Social Security check.”

Christine Lagarde, the new head of the International Monetary Fund, told ABC News that an American default on its debt would create “nasty consequences” for the U.S. and global economy, including higher interest rates, lower stock markets, and more unemployment.

“I can’t imagine for a second that the United States would default,” Lagarde said.

For months, Republicans have said they will not support a debt ceiling increase without big budget cuts. But Boehner’s statement late Saturday reflected the view that a package with higher revenues could not pass the Republican-run House.

Instead, the talks should focus “on producing a smaller measure,” Boehner said, starting with the $1.5 trillion or so in cuts identified during talks led by Vice President Biden. Reaching $2.4 trillion “still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said.

Pfeiffer said Obama still wants a big package, “and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington.”

“The president believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things,” Pfeiffer said. “And so (on Sunday), he will make the case to congressional leaders that we must reject the politics of least resistance and take on this critical challenge.”

Boehner’s statement drew catcalls from Democrats who say the Republicans only want to protect wealthy donors.

“We asked Republicans to consider a balanced approach that would have required shared sacrifice, but they would not,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Timothy F. Geithner

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressman Alcee Hastings asked a court Saturday to throw out claims that he subjected a former employee to sexual harassment and retaliation when he was co-chairman of an independent U.S. agency.

• 

  By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

  Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington in May 2010.

By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington in May 2010.

The Florida Democrat said the case should be handled according to congressionally-approved administrative and judicial remedies — and not the U.S. District Court in Washington, where the plaintiff, Winsome Packer, lodged her complaint.

Packer says Hastings asked several times to stay at her apartment or to get her to visit his hotel room in Vienna, Austria, when she worked as staff representative and he was co-chairman of the Helsinki Commission. She also said Hastings asked her what kind of underwear she was wearing and alleged that much of the harassment occurred when he was in Europe on business for the commission, which advises on U.S. policy about security, human rights and other issues in Europe.

Hastings’ 42-page filing steers largely clear of the substance of Packer’s claims.

But in a footnote, Hastings “unequivocally” denied the accusations and said Packer’s lawsuit was aimed at drumming up sales of a novel she has written about intrigue and race in Washington politics. It also accuses a conservative group called Judicial Watch of representing Packer as part of a series of attempts to attack his credibility.

Packer worked for the commission in Vienna from 2008-2010.

Her suit names as defendants Hastings, the Helsinki Commission and commission official Fred Turner. She says Turner retaliated against her after she made her harassment claims.

In a separate filing Saturday, the commission disputed the sexual harassment allegations and said instances in which Hastings hugged Packer, gave her a music box or asked to see her apartment were out of general benevolence toward staff. Reviewing each of Packer’s claims, the commission denied that some took place and said it didn’t have enough information to know what happened in other instances.

Turner also asked to be dismissed from the suit, contending there’s no evidence he sought to retaliate against Packer. He said he took away some of her job duties after Packer cited problems of being “marginalized” by other colleagues.

Hastings has previously called the allegations “ludicrous.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted | Updated

President Obama’s team says he will continue pushing for a major debt cut deal, even after House Speaker John Boehner pulled the plug on a $4 trillion reduction proposal because of Republican objections over taxes.

“Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement late Saturday.

White House officials said Obama will continue pressing for more debt reduction through both spending cuts and more government revenue, including elimination of tax breaks and loopholes for the nation’s wealthiest Americans.

“The President believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative,” said White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer in a statement. “But in order to do that, we cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts.”

With Obama and bipartisan congressional leaders scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at the White House, Pfeiffer said the president wants “a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.”

Boehner said he spoke with Obama by phone on Saturday.

Despite Boehner’s call for a smaller debt reduction package, both sides claim progress on a major goal: Raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Aug. 2, the date at which the Treasury Departments says it will no longer be able to pay the government’s bills.

For months, Republicans have said they will not support a debt ceiling increase without big government cuts.

Obama and some Democrats said they could go as high as $4 trillion over 10 years — including possible changes to Social Security and Medicare — provided the deal include elimination of certain tax breaks that benefit the wealthy.

Republicans objected to any tax increases, saying they would slow job growth. Boehner’s statement late Saturday reflected the view that a package with higher revenues could not pass the Republican-run House.

Boehner said the talks should not focus “on producing a smaller measure,” starting with the $2-to-$3 trillion in cuts identified during talks led by Vice President Joe Biden. Such a plan “still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said.

Pfeiffer said Obama still wants a big package, “and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington.

“The President believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things,” Pfeiffer said. “And so tomorrow, he will make the case to congressional leaders that we must reject the politics of least resistance and take on this critical challenge.”

Boehner’s statement that he is pulling a $4 trillion package from the table drew catcalls from Democrats who say the Republicans only want to protect wealthy donors.

“We asked Republicans to consider a balanced approach that would have required shared sacrifice, but they would not,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nevada.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Fox News Sunday that he opposes raises taxes at a time when the unemployment rate has hit 9.2%.

McConnell also indicated that, even if the the parties fail to agree on a debt reduction package, the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling will likely be raises before Aug. 2.

“Nobody’s talking about not raising the debt ceiling,” McConnell said.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Joe Biden

Boehner to Obama: No big debt cut deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A report says the U.S. could suspend hundreds of millions in military aid to Pakistan unless the two countries’ fractured relations improve and Pakistan pursues militant groups more aggressively.

• 

  By Fareed Khan, AP

  A woman gestures toward a bullets-riddled wall after security forces took control of a troubled area of Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday.

By Fareed Khan, AP

A woman gestures toward a bullets-riddled wall after security forces took control of a troubled area of Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday.

The New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration is upset with Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and wants tougher action against the Taliban and others fighting American soldiers in Afghanistan.

It cites anonymous officials saying up to $800 million in military assistance and equipment could be affected. They say equipment deliveries and aid would probably resume if U.S.-Pakistani relations improve and Pakistan proves its commitment to counterterrorism efforts.

Tensions between the countries have surged since U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

The White House said it didn’t have an immediate comment on the report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted

Obama recognizes new nation of South Sudan

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican budget negotiators have abandoned plans to pursue a massive $4 trillion, 10-year deficit reduction package in the face of stiff GOP opposition to any plan that would increase taxes as part of the deal.

• 

  By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

  House Speaker John Boehner speaks about job growth Friday in Washington, D.C.

By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

House Speaker John Boehner speaks about job growth Friday in Washington, D.C.

House Speaker John Boehner informed President Barack Obama Saturday that a smaller agreement of about $2 trillion was more realistic.

In a statement issued Saturday evening, Boehner said: “Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes.”

The White House responded that Obama will continue to push to make as much progress on deficit reduction as possible.

Boehner’s statement came a day before he and seven of the top House and Senate leaders were scheduled to meet at the White House in a negotiating session and lay out their remaining differences.

A deficit reduction deal is crucial to win Republican support for an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling. The government’s borrowing capacity is currently capped at $14.3 trillion and administration officials say it will go into default without action by Aug. 2.

Obama tried to build political support for an ambitious package of spending cuts and new tax revenue that would reduce the debt by $4 trillion over 10 years. But from the moment he proposed it, Republicans said they would reject any tax increases and Democrats objected to spending cuts in some of their most prized benefit programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Vice President Joe Biden had already identified, but not signed off on, about $2 trillion in deficit reductions, most accomplished through spending cuts.

But after holding a secret meeting with Boehner last weekend, Obama and his top aides said they believed an even bigger figure was attainable if both parties made politically painful, but potentially historic, choices.

In the end, the pressure from both sides was pushing against Obama’s bigger goal.

“I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said.

“The president believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative. But in order to do that, we cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts,” said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer. “We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.”

Pfeiffer said: “Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington. “

A Republican official familiar with the discussions said taxes and the major health and retirement entitlement programs continued to be sticking points.

Earlier Saturday, in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama appealed to Democrats and Republicans to “make some political sacrifices” and take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to tackle the government’s budget crisis.

He said that it will take a “balanced approach” that mixes limits on domestic programs and the Pentagon, curbs to Medicare and elimination of some tax breaks for the wealthy.

But even as the negotiators sought a deal to bring the deficit under control, Obama’s Democratic allies and GOP rivals seem to find their options limited by months of angry rhetoric and political posturing.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted | Updated

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — al-Qaeda’s defeat is “within reach,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Saturday during his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief. He said eliminating as few as 10 of the group’s top figures could cripple its ability to strike the West.

• 

  Alex Wong, Getty Images

  Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Afghanistan as the secretary of defense this week.

Alex Wong, Getty Images

Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Afghanistan as the secretary of defense this week.

Panetta’s assessment could stoke the debate in Washington over how soon to pull the U.S. military from the land where Osama bin Laden’s network launched the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, against the United States. Some question why a continued military commitment is necessary if al-Qaeda’s end is in sight, given that it was the reason the U.S. began the war.

Although not as specific as Panetta about what it will take to break al-Qaeda, the top American commander in Afghanistan said in a separate interview that he agrees the group is on the ropes.

“There has been enormous damage done to al-Qaeda” beyond bin Laden’s killing May 2 in Pakistan. Army Gen. David Petraeus said. “That has very significantly disrupted their efforts and it does hold the prospect of a strategic defeat, if you will, a strategic dismantling, of al-Qaeda.”

• VIDEO: Panetta: al-Qaeda’s defeat within reach

Panetta said he hoped his shift from CIA director to defense secretary, combined with a change of U.S. civilian and military leaders in Kabul, will put the troubled U.S.-Afghan relationship “back on the right track.”

Mixed with the optimism was a hint of concern about resetting the Obama administration’s increasingly rocky relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He frequently criticizes the U.S. military and is known to offer what American officials see as weak support for his own fledgling army and police.

Panetta pointedly noted that the U.S. feels compelled to deal with “a lot of leaders throughout the world who have problems … and that’s the situation here. We have to respect him as president of his country.”

Panetta had dinner with Karzai but they did not hold a joint news conference, as is customary when an American defense secretary visits the capital.

In the aftermath of bin Laden’s death and apparently with the benefit of new intelligence gained in the raid on his compound, the U.S. has determined that eliminating “somewhere around 10 to 20 key leaders” of al-Qaeda would cripple the network, Panetta said. Those leaders are in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa, he said.

“We’re within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaeda,” Panetta said, addressing reporters for the first time since succeeding Robert Gates as defense secretary July 1.

Asked why he feels confident about wiping out al-Qaeda, Panetta said, “The key is that having gotten bin Laden, we’ve now identified some of the key leadership within al-Qaeda both in Pakistan as well as in Yemen and other areas.”

He named only two of the leaders on the list:

—Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden’s designator successor. Panetta said the U.S. believes al-Zawahri is living in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of western Pakistan.

—Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born Muslim cleric living in Yemen. The U.S. has put him on a kill-or-capture list.

“If we can be successful at going after them,” he said, referring to the 10 to 20 leaders, “I think we can really undermine their ability to do any kind of planning, to be able to conduct any kind of attack” on the United States. “That’s why I think it’s within reach. Is it going to take some more work? You bet it is. But I think it’s within reach.”

“Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them because I do believe that if we continue this effort we can really cripple al-Qaeda as a major threat” to America, he said.

al-Qaeda’s attacks of Sept. 11 triggered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban government that had sheltered bin Laden. But in the years since, the Taliban has reasserted itself and al-Qaeda has managed to operate from havens in neighboring Pakistan.

al-Qaeda affiliates have emerged in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere. That’s led many in the U.S. to argue for a shift from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan to targeting al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and other places.

Panetta, who planned to travel outside Kabul to visit U.S. troops Sunday, has endorsed President Barack Obama‘s plan to begin drawing down U.S. troops this summer but keep a significant, though gradually shrinking, presence until the end of 2014.

At one point Saturday, Panetta told reporters that 70,000 troops would remain “through 2014.” His spokesman, Doug Wilson, later said Panetta meant to say that the 70,000 that will remain in September 2012 will be drawn down through 2014 on a schedule that has not yet been worked out.

On a lighter note, Panetta told reporters that he has gotten a feel for his new job. He compared it to his official aircraft, a towering military version of the Boeing 747.

“It’s big, it’s complicated, it’s filled with sophisticated technology, it’s bumpy, but in the end it’s the best in the world.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted | Updated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has imposed travel bans on more than 50 senior Iranian officials accused of participating in human rights abuses and political repression.

The State Department announced on Friday that it, along with Britain, had hit 52 Iranian government ministers, military leaders and law enforcement, judicial and prison officers with visa restrictions that will bar them from entering the United States. Canada is expected to take similar action soon.

“Today’s actions are an important reminder to Iran that the international community will continue to hold accountable those officials who commit human rights abuses and suppress the democratic aspirations of fellow citizens,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement.

The Obama administration has been raising pressure on Iran over concerns that it is repressing pro-democracy advocates and abusing the rights of students, religious and ethnic minorities, women’s rights leaders and other groups.

The State Department would not divulge the names of those affected by Friday’s travel bans, citing the confidentiality of visa records.

The step was taken under a law that allows the secretary of state to revoke or deny visas for foreigners whose presence in the United States would have negative foreign policy consequences. Similar penalties have been imposed on officials from Libya, Belarus and the Ivory Coast.

There are also separate international sanctions on Iran related to its uraninum enrichment program, which the U.S. and its allies say is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a claim Iran denies.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration sent two distinct messages by dispatching the U.S. ambassador to Syria to meet anti-regime protesters in a besieged city. To Syrian President Bashar Assad: Reform now. To critics in the United States of its engagement policy: Stop complaining.

• 

  By Muzaffar Salman, AP

  Pro-Syrian President Assad protesters shout slogans against the visit of the U.S. Ambassador to Syria on Friday.

By Muzaffar Salman, AP

Pro-Syrian President Assad protesters shout slogans against the visit of the U.S. Ambassador to Syria on Friday.

Greeted by demonstrators with roses and cheers, the envoy, Robert Ford, finished a two-day trip Friday to the restive city of Hama aimed at driving home the message that the United States stands with those in the Syrian streets braving a brutal government crackdown.

The visit prompted fierce reaction from the Syrian government and a renewed American warning that Assad was failing to stabilize his country by satisfying the democratic yearnings of his people.

Ford “had a chance to talk to lots of average citizens; these were shopkeepers, people out on the street, young men,” said Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman. “When he got into the city, the car was immediately surrounded by friendly protesters who were putting flowers on the windshield, they were putting olive branches on the car, they were chanting ‘Down with the regime!’ It was quite a scene.”

So far, the U.S. government has refused to suggest an end to the Assad family’s four-decade dynasty. The government’s harsh repression of dissent has escalated the crisis with protesters increasingly demanding Assad’s removal after 11 years full of promises of democratic reform but little change from the iron-fisted rule of his father.

The Obama administration has grown increasingly disgusted with the violence in Syria that has claimed the lives of 1,600 people plus 350 members of the security forces. Yet it has not mustered sufficient international outrage to secure a U.N. condemnation of Assad’s government or a unified global demand that he step down.

The administration cannot press too hard by itself because the threat of military action would not be taken seriously while it is trying to wind down wars in neighboring Iraq and in Afghanistan, and struggling to justify its participation in an international coalition against Moammar Gadhafi in Libya.

The solution has been to balance stinging criticism of the Assad regime’s conduct with continued pleas for it to lead a democratic transition. Still, the measured approach has faced a clamoring at home and in Syria for tougher action.

There has been no U.S. ambassador in Syria for the five previous years in protest of alleged Syrian involvement in the assassination of a Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a steadfast critic of Syria’s domination of his country.

Republican members of Congress have challenged Ford’s continued presence in the country, characterizing it as an unwarranted reward to Assad’s often pro-Iran and anti-U.S. government stances, and untenable in light of recent violence against civilians.

Ford’s participation in a Syrian government-organized trip to the country’s north last month did not help. The State Department said then that Ford’s outing to the abandoned town of Jisr al-Shughour allowed him to “see for himself the results of the Syrian government’s brutality.” However, he mostly encountered deserted streets and buildings that would not prove the existence of a foreign conspiracy to destabilize Syria, as the government claims, or mass atrocities, as Western governments and human rights groups allege.

Ford has been rebuffed in several attempts to speak directly with senior Syrian officials.

“Any continued presence of a U.S. ambassador will either be used by the regime for propaganda purposes or just plain ignored,” Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said last month. Ros-Lehtinen said Ford’s participation in the government trip “compromised U.S. credibility with freedom and pro-democracy advocates within Syria.”

U.S. officials nevertheless insist that Ford is serving a vital role in making American concerns known to the Syrian government and providing assessments to policymakers back in Washington. Beyond that, he is providing moral support to protesters, officials say.

Ford’s trip allowed him to see firsthand the lies of the Syrian regime, Nuland told reporters. While the government blames foreign instigators or armed gangs for unrest, Ford “witnessed average Syrians asking for change in their country,” she said.

In recent days, Hama residents have largely sealed off their city, setting up makeshift checkpoints with burning tires and concrete blocks to keep security forces away.

The government seized on Ford’s visit to insist that foreign conspirators lay behind the unrest and called it proof the U.S. was inciting violence in the Arab nation. The U.S. is trying to “aggravate the situations which destabilize Syria,” the state-run news agency said Friday.

Nuland called the claim “absolute rubbish.”

“The reason for his visit was to stand in solidarity with the right of the Syrian people to demonstrate peacefully,” she said.

Nuland also disputed the Syrian argument that Ford’s trip was unauthorized, explaining that the U.S. Embassy informed the government ahead of time.

“They really need to focus their attention on what their citizens have to say, rather than on spending their time picking at Ambassador Ford,” Nuland said.

Ford left Hama during Friday prayers ahead of what are usually the week’s largest protests. He returned to Damascus safely Friday afternoon.

Separately Friday, the State Department said it summoned Syria’s ambassador to the U.S. earlier this week after receiving alarming reports of Syrian diplomats conducting video and photographic surveillance of people participating in protests in the United States.

The U.S. government is also investigating claims that Assad’s government targeted Syrian family members of demonstrators in retaliation, a statement said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted

Hello, I’m Cathy McMorris Rodgers, I have the privilege of representing Washington’s Fifth Congressional District, and I serve as vice chair of the House Republican Conference.

‘Where are the jobs?’

It’s the only question worth asking after yesterday’s unemployment report. Our economy is actually creating fewer jobs month-to-month right now. More than 14 million people are out of work. They’ve been unemployed, on average, for 40 weeks, a new record.

The Obama Administration promised its ‘stimulus’ would keep unemployment below eight percent. Two and a half years later, the unemployment rate is more than nine percent and still rising. That’s unacceptable. America can do better.

By and large, it’s uncertainty that’s holding our economy back, whether it’s uncertainty about our overwhelming debt, uncertainty about energy prices, or uncertainty about all the burdensome mandates coming down from Washington. Small business owners are pleading for government to just get out of the way.

The Republican majority in the House has been listening. We’re focused on implementing our Plan for America’s Job Creators, which is designed to remove government barriers to private sector job growth — the kind of growth the ‘stimulus’ promised but failed to deliver. You can check out the details of our plan for yourself at Jobs.GOP.gov.

As a part of this blueprint, we’ve passed legislation to stop policies that drive up gas prices and expand domestic energy production to help lower costs and create jobs.

We’ve voted to modernize the patent system to help America’s innovators level the playing field.

And we’ve approved a budget that pays down our debt over time and makes Washington live within its means.

Unfortunately, the Democrat-led Senate hasn’t considered any of these jobs bills. Not a single one. In fact, it’s been more than 800 days since the Senate last passed a budget.

President Obama has said he’s open to job creation ideas from anyone in any party. If that’s the case, he should encourage Democrats in the Senate to take up the jobs bills the House has passed.

From the look of things, the Democrats who run Washington don’t have a jobs plan; they have a spending agenda. They’re proposing a rehash of what’s already been tried: more spending, more taxes, and bigger government. These are the Washington-knows-best policies that steered us towards a dead end.

If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we cannot spend, tax, or borrow our way to prosperity. To create jobs and set our country on a sound fiscal course, we must stop spending money we don’t have.

That’s why Republicans have maintained there can be no increase in the national debt limit unless it is accompanied by serious spending cuts and reforms. To be truly serious, these cuts should exceed the amount by which President Obama wants the debt limit increased. And there can be no job-crushing tax hikes on families and small businesses.

Washington Democrats disagree. They say that to reduce our out-of-control debt, the American people should sacrifice in the form of higher taxes. That’s where they’re wrong. The American people have already sacrificed in lost jobs, more debt, and chronic uncertainty. It’s time for Washington to do the sacrificing.

Last month, more than 150 economists echoed this viewpoint. ‘We will not succeed in balancing the federal budget and overcoming the challenges of our debt,’ they wrote, ‘until we succeed in committing ourselves to government policies that allow our economy to grow.’ Tax hikes won’t help our economy grow — they would just make matters worse.

If we do this right, we can reduce uncertainty in the short-term and pay down our debt over the long-term. That’s what our job creators need and that’s what our children deserve.

Mr. President, Americans are asking you, ‘where are the jobs?’ We invite you to change course and work with us to empower, not burden, our nation’s small businesses, families, and entrepreneurs. We can do this if we work together.

Again, you can learn more about the Republicans’ jobs plan at Jobs.GOP.gov. Thanks you for listening.

Obama, GOP duel over taxes and the debt ceiling

Obama recognizes new nation of South Sudan

Today is a reminder that after the darkness of war, the light of a new dawn is possible. A proud flag flies over Juba and the map of the world has been redrawn.

These symbols speak to the blood that has been spilled, the tears that have been shed, the ballots that have been cast, and the hopes that have been realized by so many millions of people. The eyes of the world are on the Republic of South Sudan. And we know that southern Sudanese have claimed their sovereignty, and shown that neither their dignity nor their dream of self-determination can be denied.

This historic achievement is a tribute, above all, to the generations of southern Sudanese who struggled for this day. It is also a tribute to the support that has been shown for Sudan and South Sudan by so many friends and partners around the world.

Sudan’s African neighbors and the African Union played an essential part in making this day a reality. And along with our many international and civil society partners, the United States has been proud to play a leadership role across two Administrations.

Many Americans have been deeply moved by the aspirations of the Sudanese people, and support for South Sudan extends across different races, regions, and political persuasions in the United States.

I am confident that the bonds of friendship between South Sudan and the United States will only deepen in the years to come. As Southern Sudanese undertake the hard work of building their new country, the United States pledges our partnership as they seek the security, development and responsive governance that can fulfill their aspirations and respect their human rights.

As today also marks the creation of two new neighbors, South Sudan and Sudan, both peoples must recognize that they will be more secure and prosperous if they move beyond a bitter past and resolve differences peacefully.

Lasting peace will only be realized if all sides fulfill their responsibilities. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be fully implemented, the status of Abyei must be resolved through negotiations, and violence and intimidation in Southern Kordofan, especially by the Government of Sudan, must end.

The safety of all Sudanese, especially minorities, must be protected. Through courage and hard choices, this can be the beginning of a new chapter of greater peace and justice for all of the Sudanese people.

Decades ago, Martin Luther King reflected on the first moment of independence on the African continent in Ghana, saying, “I knew about all of the struggles, and all of the pain, and all of the agony that these people had gone through for this moment.”

Today, we are moved by the story of struggle that led to this time of hope in South Sudan, and we think of those who didn’t live to see their dream realized. Now, the leaders and people of South Sudan have an opportunity to turn this moment of promise into lasting progress.

The United States will continue to support the aspirations of all Sudanese. Together, we can ensure that today marks another step forward in Africa’s long journey toward opportunity, democracy and justice.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. and its allies are within reach of defeating al-Qaeda after killing Osama bin Laden and gaining new insights about the terrorist group’s other leading figures, new Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Saturday.

• 

  Alex Wong, Getty Images

  Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Afghanistan as the secretary of defense this week.

Alex Wong, Getty Images

Leon Panetta makes his first trip to Afghanistan as the secretary of defense this week.

The former CIA director offered an upbeat assessment about the prospects for ending al-Qaeda’s threat as he spoke with reporters flying with him on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking over as Pentagon chief July 1.

In the aftermath of the May 2 raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan, the U.S. has determined that eliminating “somewhere around 10 to 20 key leaders” of al-Qaeda would cripple the network, Panetta said. Those leaders are in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa, he added.

“We’re within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaeda,” Panetta said, addressing reporters for the first time since succeeding Robert Gates as defense secretary.

“The key is that, having gotten bin Laden, we’ve now identified some of the key leadership within al-Qaeda, both in Pakistan as well as in Yemen and other areas,” he said.

“If we can be successful at going after them, I think we can really undermine their ability to do any kind of planning, to be able to conduct any kind of attack” on the United States. “That’s why I think it’s within reach. Is it going to take some more work? You bet it is. But I think it’s within reach,” Panetta said.

He said the 10 to 20 top terrorist figures now the focus of U.S. efforts include Ayman al-Zawahri, the designator successor to bin Laden as al-Qaeda’s leader.

Panetta said the U.S. believes al-Zawahri is living in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of western Pakistan.

The only other name he mentioned was Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born Muslim cleric living in Yemen. The U.S. has put him on a kill-or-capture list.

“Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them because I do believe that if we continue this effort we can really cripple al-Qaeda as a major threat” to America, he said.

Al-Qaeda’s attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, triggered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban government that had sheltered bin Laden. But in the years since, the Taliban has reasserted itself and al-Qaeda has managed to operate from havens in neighboring Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda affiliates have emerged in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere. That’s led many in the U.S. to argue for a shift from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan to targeting al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and other places.

Asked whether he thought Pakistani authorities knew that bin Laden had been living in their country, Panetta said, “Suspicions, but no smoking gun.” The Pakistani government says it did not know bin Laden’s whereabouts when Navy SEALs attacked his compound not far from Islamabad.

While in Kabul, the Afghan capital, Panetta planned to meet with U.S. troops and their commanders, including Army Gen. David Petraeus. He will leave his post as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan this month to succeed Panetta at the CIA. Marine Gen. John R. Allen will replace Petraeus.

A central topic of their discussion is likely to be President Obama‘s decision on June 22 to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year and 23,000 more by September 2012. The drawdown is to begin this month, but not all details have been worked out.

Panetta said he also intended to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai’s mercurial character and frequent public criticisms of the U.S.-led international military coalition have soured his relations with many U.S. officials, including the current U.S. ambassador. Karl Eikenberry.

Eikenberry is handing off that post this month to Ryan Crocker, a veteran diplomat and former U.S, ambassador to Iraq who was coaxed out of retirement. Crocker reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul after the 2001 toppling of the Taliban

Panetta said he believes he and President Obama’s “whole new team” of U.S. leaders in Kabul have a good understanding of Karzai.

“Hopefully, it can be the beginning of a much better relationship than what we’ve had over the last few years,” he said.

On a lighter note, he said he has gotten a feel for his new job as defense secretary. He compared it to his official aircraft, a towering military version of the Boeing 747.

“It’s big, it’s complicated, it’s filled with sophisticated technology, it’s bumpy, but in the end it’s the best in the world.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted

President Obama discussed the latest spike in the unemployment rate in remarks this morning at the White House.

The Labor Department said today that the jobless rate increased from 9.1% to 9.2% in June, which saw a rise of only 18,000 jobs.

The bad news comes as Obama tries to negotiate a deal with Republicans to increase the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while reducing federal spending.

Republicans quickly jumped on the bad numbers.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, “Today’s report is more evidence that the misguided ‘stimulus’ spending binge, excessive regulations and an overwhelming national debt continue to hold back private-sector job creation in our country.”

Austan Goolsbee, who chairs Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, cited a somewhat better number in the report, the fact that private sector payrolls increased by 57,000 in June (offset by losses in government jobs).

“While the private sector has added 2.2 million jobs over the past 16 months, this month’s report reflects the recent slowdown of economic growth due to headwinds faced in the first half of this year,” Goolsbee said.

Goolsbee called for “bipartisan action” on proposals “to extend the payroll tax cut, pass the pending free-trade agreements and create an infrastructure bank to help put Americans back to work. “

Democrats said Republicans have blocked Obama’s efforts to revive the economy, including an increase in the $14.3 trillion needed to pay the government’s bills.

“I hope the news that our economy is not creating jobs at an acceptable rate will cause Republicans to start taking job creation seriously,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “So far this year, Republicans have derailed every common-sense, bipartisan jobs bill we have brought to the floor.”

The Associated Press reports:

The Labor Department said Friday that the economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June. The number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

High gas prices and supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis and the weak housing market have slowed the economy. Average hourly wages declined last month. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been flat this year.

Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Harry Reid

President Obama said today’s bad jobs reports “confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve.”

“We’ve always known that we’d have ups and downs on our way back from this recession,” Obama said during brief remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

After the Labor Department said the unemployment rate increased from 9.1% to 9.2% in June, Obama called on Congress to create construction jobs, speed patent approvals, approve free-trade agreements and extend this year’s payroll tax cut into 2012.

Obama said the new report — which cited paltry job growth of 18,000 in June — proves the need for a deal to increase the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while reducing federal spending, the subject of high-profile negotiations with Republicans.

“The American people need us to do everything we can to help strengthen this economy and make sure that we are producing more jobs,” Obama said.

Republicans called the spike in unemployment an indictment of Obama’s economic policies.

“Today’s report is more evidence that the misguided ‘stimulus’ spending binge, excessive regulations and an overwhelming national debt continue to hold back private-sector job creation in our country,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Obama and congressional Republicans are scheduled to discuss the debt limit and deficit reduction Sunday.

The Republican presidential candidates weighed in on the jobs numbers (at Obama’s expense), our On Politics blog reports.

At the White House, Obama cited five “headwinds” that have slowed job growth: a string of natural disasters across the globe, higher gas prices, state and local budget cuts, fiscal problems in Greece and the Euro zone, and concern about whether the government will default over failure to raise the debt ceiling.

The president reminded listeners he came into office in the midst of a recession and a financial meltdown. “The economic challenges that we face weren’t created overnight,” he said, “and they’re not going to be solved overnight.”

Austan Goolsbee, who chairs Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, cited a somewhat better number in the report: Private sector payrolls increased by 57,000 in June (offset by losses in government jobs).

“While the private sector has added 2.2 million jobs over the past 16 months, this month’s report reflects the recent slowdown of economic growth due to headwinds faced in the first half of this year,” Goolsbee said.

Congressional Democrats said Republicans have blocked Obama’s efforts to revive the economy, including an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit needed to pay the government’s bills.

“I hope the news that our economy is not creating jobs at an acceptable rate will cause Republicans to start taking job creation seriously,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “So far this year, Republicans have derailed every common-sense, bipartisan jobs bill we have brought to the floor.”

The top Republicans on the House and Senate budget committees issued a joint statement saying Obama administration spending is the biggest jobs problem.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said, “The federal government’s dramatic overspending and enormous debt burden are directly hurting job creation. Employers large and small know that today’s excessive borrowing will be tomorrow’s tax hikes and interest-rate increases. This lack of confidence in the future puts a chilling effect on hiring and investment right now.”

The Associated Press reports:

The Labor Department said Friday that the economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June. The number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

High gas prices and supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis and the weak housing market have slowed the economy. Average hourly wages declined last month. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been flat this year.

Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Jeff Sessions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Friday overwhelmingly passed a $649 billion defense spending bill that boosts the Pentagon budget by $17 billion and covers the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The strong bipartisan vote was 336-87 and reflected lawmakers’ intent to ensure national security, preserve defense jobs across the nation and avoid deep cuts while the country is at war.

While House Republican leaders slashed billions from all other government agencies, the Defense Department is the only one that will see a double-digit increase in its budget beginning Oct. 1.

Amid negotiations to cut spending and raise the nation’s borrowing limit, the House rejected several amendments to cut the Pentagon budget, including a measure by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to halve the bill’s increase in defense spending.

“We are at a time of austerity. We are at a time when the important programs, valid programs, are being cut back,” Frank said.

Scoffing at the suggestion that “everything is on the table” in budget negotiations between the Obama administration and congressional leaders, Frank said, “The military budget is not on the table. The military is at the table, and it is eating everybody else’s lunch.”

Still, the overall bill is $9 billion less than President Barack Obama sought. The White House has threatened a veto, citing limits on the president’s authority to transfer detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and money for defense programs it didn’t want.

• STORY: House: No gay weddings by military chaplains

The measure includes $119 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House also voted to slow repeal of the policy allowing gays to serve openly in the military, backing an amendment to block funds for the training manual for the Chaplain Corps on ending the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., sponsor of the amendment, said its purpose was to prohibit chaplains from performing same-sex marriages on Navy bases regardless of a state’s law. The House approved the measure 236-184.

The overall bill must be reconciled with a still-to-be-completed Senate version.

The final vote came after the House turned back an amendment by Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio that would have barred funds for the U.S. operation against Libya. The vote was 251-169.

The House has sent mixed signals on Obama’s military action against Libya, voting to prohibit weapons and training to rebels looking to oust Moammar Gadhafi but stopping short of trying to cut off money for American participation in the NATO-led mission.

In a series of votes Thursday, Republicans and Democrats expressed their dissatisfaction with the Libya operation, now in its fourth month with no end in sight and waning support from some nations in the international coalition. The House voted to bar military aid to the rebels but moments later rejected efforts to prevent funding for the limited U.S. mission.

The votes mirrored the contradictory actions of the House last month, when lawmakers refused to approve the operation but declined to cut off the money.

The congressional unrest over Libya stems from a stalemated civil war and Obama’s contention that he didn’t need congressional authorization to engage in another war on top of Afghanistan and Iraq because Libya fighting isn’t full-blown hostilities. Among war-weary NATO allies, Italy announced that it was reducing its participation in the campaign by removing an aircraft carrier from the region and pulling thousands of troops home.

“Libya did not attack us. Libya did not attack NATO,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said. “However much we detest Mr. Gadhafi and his regime, we have no reason to be at war.”

The House voted 225-201 for an amendment sponsored by Cole to bar the Pentagon from providing “military equipment, training or advice or other support for military activities” to an outside group, such as rebel forces, for military action in or against Libya.

Forty-eight Democrats backed the Republican-sponsored measure.

The intent of the measure was to prohibit aid to the rebels such as weapons and assistance to their Transitional National Council, including operational planning. The broad effort also would target contractors in Libya.

Obama already has authorized $25 million in nonlethal assistance to the rebels, including thousands of meals from Pentagon stocks. The U.S. also has supplied $53 million in humanitarian aid. Neither would be affected by the bill.

Moments after that vote Thursday, the House rejected a measure that would have prohibited funds for the U.S. military to continue its limited role. The vote was 229-199, with 67 Democrats breaking with the administration to support the amendment, which Kucinich cosponsored with freshman Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich.

Lawmakers argue that Obama violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which requires a president to seek congressional approval within 60 days of the first military strikes, a move the commander in chief did not make.

In a reflection of congressional anger toward the administration, the House voted overwhelmingly for an amendment that prohibits spending that violates the War Powers Resolution and focuses on future military operations.

The House also rejected two other efforts to prohibit funds for the U.S. military operation in Libya.

Sen. John McCain, top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the House vote on aid to the rebels, arguing that it sends the wrong message to Gadhafi and those challenging the long-time leader.

“I am saddened by the abandonment of America’s traditional support for those struggling for freedom and democracy, which has been a hallmark of our Republican Party for decades,” said the Arizona Republican, who traveled to Benghazi in April to meet with the rebels.

Since NATO took command of the Libya operation in early April, the U.S. role has largely been limited to support efforts such as intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare. The U.S. has launched drone attacks and other airstrikes, flying more than 3,400 sorties.

The Senate has delayed consideration of a resolution authorizing the U.S. mission in Libya.

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