Obama Breaks Promises

Obama promised to make immigration reform his main priority in his first year as president and now that he is in his second year as president many doubt he will be able to sign such a bill before the midterm elections in November. Frustrated activists have organized a rally on the National Mall hoping thousands of people from across the country will show up to voice their anger and displeasure with the slow action that has been taken so far. Last week Obama assured activists and the two senators that are drafting the bill that he was committed to an immigration overhaul and making it one of his top priorities. But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said financial regulation, energy legislation, jobs and the economy are among the top priorities the White House is currently facing. He believes nothing dealing with immigration can happen without strong bipartisan support and that it has to be more than the president wanting to get something done. Many citizens oppose the idea of any attempt to help legalize immigrants and others insist on focusing on stronger border control first. Advocates believe Congress has plenty of time to send Obama a bill by November and remain hopeful. Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham released an outline of their bill this week and Obama guaranteed to do everything in his powers to have an immigration reform moving through Congress this year. The outline proposes for illegal immigrants to admit they broke the law by breaking the law, pay fines and taxes and also perform community service. In addition, they would also be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English before working towards becoming a legal resident.

Withdrawing US Troops

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, recently announced the possibility that some of the U.S forces involved in the Afghanistan surge, could leave the country before President Obama's announced July 2011 withdrawal date. He announced his predictions during his recent visit to a training ground in Kabul where Afghan soldiers train under U.S. and British instruction. British Brigadier informed Gates that if more NATO countries were to contribute more trainers, the ability to expand Afghanistan's army would keep its pace. In a conference Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said he and his country are ashamed and embarrassed that other foreign nations are assuming its defense and said he is eager to take over the difficult job. The main goal is to hand back the responsibility of their own country by next fall. The goal is to expand the Afghan National Army to 171,000 and the police force to 134,000. Wardak hopes that by next year they will be capable of taking responsibility of the "security of the country in different regions," believes that the process will continue as the numbers and their capabilities increase. Gates went on to say that the transition will happen no later than July 2011 but the pace will depend on the conditions. Gates was impressed when Afghan soldiers dealt with a stimulated roadside bomb explosion where they tended to casualties and contained the explosive. Even though their attention right now is focused on the southern parts of the country, Gates believes that the training for the long term is ore important and the Afghans are the only ones that "will be able to provide security for Afghanistan."

Working on Immigration Reform

President Obama discussed an effort to work on an immigration reform with Republican senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic senator Charles E. Schumer. Obama is planning to work on reviving the nation's immigration laws since he has already postponed such plan before. He discussed the issue privately with his staff hoping to advance a bill through Congress before the midterm elections. In the meeting Obama and members of his Domestic Policy Council discussed ways to invigorate the effort in the meeting with both senators who have both been working for months to create a bill. The White House may ask both senators to at least come up with a blueprint that could be turned into legislative language sometime after. The bill would include a way for for the 10.8 million people who are living here illegally to eventually become citizens. But citizenship wouldn't be easily granted because undocumented workers would need to register, pay taxes and pay a certain penalty for violating immigration laws, if they fail to comply they might face deportation. The bill would also include improved border security. Supporters of an immigration overhaul are pleased that Obama hasn't abandoned the effort to do something about immigration but they expect Obama to take a more assertive approach instead of leaving it up to Congress. Supporters believe that a proposal must be made by April or May to actually have a chance of passing this year. Republicans are unlikely to provide support for such a bill as Sen. Schumer pointed out that it's hard to find republican supporters.