Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010

President Obama visited Camp Lejeune on Friday and declared that the United States would pull out its combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 and complete the withdrawal by December 2011.

The decision will keep President Obama's promise during his campaign that he would shift resources and troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. The decision also indicates a significant change in America's attitudes about Iraq. There has been years of debate between war and peace, whether the country should withdraw its troops or not, whether or not the combat mission was necessary and reasonable. However, today's decision and the support shown by party lines, even including President Obama's rival in the last year's election, demonstrates that there has been a huge change in America's perception towards Iraq.

The pullout plan will withdraw most of the 142,000 troops, leaving out 35,000 to 50,000 troops as "transitional forces" to hunt terrorist cells and American civilian and military personnel. Those "transitional forces" will also be pulled out of Iraq by 2011.

President Obama said, "By August 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end. We will complete this transition in Iraq responsibility, and we will bring our troops home with the honor that they have earned."

Mr. McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, welcomed President Obama's pullout plan, calling the withdrawal "reasonable" and saying, "cautiously optimistic that the plan laid out by the president can lead to success."

Opinion: I personally welcome the withdrawal plan declared by President Obama as I believe that the combat mission has only caused severe casualties, earning nothing but shameful reputation in international society. According to another report about the withdrawal, President Obama said, "Every nation and every group must know, whether you wish America good or ill, that the end of the war in Iraq will enable a new era of American leadership and engagement in the Middle East." I agree with President Obama because the combat mission has only caused adversity towards the United States in the Middle East when they have to cooperate to eradicate terrorist forces that disturb global peace. As well, it is also significant that the decision was supported across party line because such consensus might mean the United States' more active participation in the world's peacekeeping activities. The United States' help in peacekeeping will be truly magnificent as it is the most influential country in the world and can lead to global cooperation in solving problems caused by terrorism.

As Doubts Grow, U.S. Will Judge Banks' Stability

President Obama and his administration declared that they would judge the country's top 20 banks' stability through "stress tests", which will test whether the banks could survive in this global economic crisis as it is worsening.

The big banks are insisting that they are still healthy and that they are capable of regaining their status with the governmental support. On the other hand, it is examined by many economists and analysts that some banks are already insolvent, and are not able to survive in this economic downturn. The critics also say that it would be best to nationalize some of the banks now before the economy worsens even further.

The reviews of banks' stability would put the banks in computer-run "what if" situations to evaluate the banks' ability to survive in Depression-like conditions, such as in times of 10 percent of unemployment rate.

Despite the critics' claims that some of the banks should be nationalized, the Treasury Department maintained that they will keep the banks private. They insisted that they have no intention of nationalization of the country biggest banks. Their intention is to support the banks based on the results of the stress tests, which would give the government ideas whether a particular bank needs more capital now or might need more in the future under the conditions like the computer-run "what if" situations.

Opinion: I agree with the government's decision to judge bank's stability. However, what I don't get is that the decision sounds like that the government will support banks regardless of what the results of the tests say. It says that the government's intention is only to see if a particular bank needs more money or not. However, I believe that the government should stop their financial support for those banks that turn out to be incapable of facing the economic crisis and should start spending more on those that are evaluated to be capable. Many economists have already examined that AIG does not have that capability. However, the government has spent an extremely large amount of bailout money on AIG. What the government has earned in return for their support was Wall Street bonuses that outraged people. I read an Opinion paper a few days ago on a korean newspaper that criticized the Obama administration's imprudent policy that does not give up on insolvent banks, but recklessly holds on to the banks. The opinion paper said that the U.S government should merge insolvent banks and call those executives, who are responsible for the bankruptcy of their banks, to account.

Egyptian Political Dissident, Imprisoned for Years, Is Suddenly Released

Ayman Nour, an Egyptian political dissident who was imprisoned for challenging the governing parties' monopoly on power, was released from prison on Wednesday. The release was not expected at all; even Mr. Nour himself was not aware of his release.

The Egypt government convicted Mr. Nour in 2005 of misleading people into wrong political viewpoints in order to prevent opposition politics from flourishing. He gave a new faith in people's eyes and forged their signatures in effort to create his own Al Gahd Party that would oppose to the governing parties. His movement was widely accepted with thousands of signatures when he only needed 50.

The sudden release of Mr. Nour is interpreted by many political analysts as a political gesture at times of increasing pressure from the United States and European governments. Although his release was welcomed, it also created resentment and sadness among people who, from this case, realized that Egypt's justice system was ruled by decree, not law.

Alaa Aswani, a social critic of Egyptian society, said, "I am happy he is out, but I am sad that the executive power and the president can interfere directly in judicial outcomes. The president can put someone in jail and can pardon him and then look for a legal pretext. This is the sad part."

Salama Ahmed Salama speculated on Wednesday that Mr. Nour's release was a good-will gesture to the Obama administration. He said, "all the pretexts for his release today are unacceptable, and no one can believe it. It can be seen in the framework of improving relations with the United States."

Opinion: I also find it unreasonable that the president can interfere with judicial process. As we learned in Civics, there are three government branches:Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The government is divided into three different branches in order to balance the authorityso that one branch does not have too much control or influence in government's decisions. However, some governments neglect the importance of the branch system and interfere with one another. This is the case in Egypt as well. The executive government rules the country by decree of the president, not by the established law that is for the common good of its people. The Egyptian president pardoned Mr. Nour to show their good will towards the Obama administration, not because the law rules him innocent.

Australians Rage Against Arson Suspect

A man, named Brendan Sokaluk, was accused of setting the deadly fires that had killed at least 189 people and burned down at least 640 homes across the southern Australia this month. The arsonist has been placed in a protective custody to be kept safe from widespread fury and anger that are raising among people after his identity was made public.

A court at first said that his identity was to be withheld as people's fury can lead to revenge on his family. However, several Australian newspapers published his identity that included detailed profiles, only without his name.

Worried of the public outrage that could endanger Mr. Sokaluk's family, his defense lawyer, Helen Spowart, attempted to convince a judge on Monday that Mr. Sokaluk's identity should remain secret. However, she failed to prevent his identity from being revealed, but was successful in banning publication of his photographs. The judge said, "whatever the court does, his identity will be well known within days. Those suspected of vigilantism would not be prevented from behaving in an abhorrent way simply by suppressing his mane.” The judge agreed to ban publication of his photographs and home address.

According to a local news media, thousands of messages were shared on Facebook calling for torture and death penalty on the arsonist. One of them declares, "Brendan Sokaluk, the Victoria Bushfires Arsonist, must burn in hell." The messages and groups on Facebook were removed under the Facebook's code of conduct and because of the Victoria State Police Department's request to pull down the posts. The department understood the anger expressed by people, saying they were "understandably angry". At the same time, however, they also requested that they “need to let police do their job thoroughly and to allow the correct justice procedures take place.”

Opinion: I believe it is controversial to decide whether the press should reveal the arsonist's profiles or not because the decision can directly relate to the matter of life and death of the arsonist's family and the arsonist himself. I think that the criminal should be judged through a proper and fair justice procedure although the man deserves death penalty or something even worse as those messages and posts on Facebook say. The similar case took place in Korea. Photographs of a man accused of serial murders were published by several newspapers. There were some debates whether it was right to make the criminal's photographs public because people like the murderer's family or acquaintances who are not involved in the crimes, can be targets of revenge. As well, some people argued that even a criminal has a right to control the commercial use of his identity such as his name and images. I was also shocked when I heard that the image was published because it was the first time ever the Korean police has allowed the publication of criminal's photographs. Although I was infuriated by the murderer, I felt sorry when I was thinking of his children who will also face prejudice in their lives just because of his father's wrongdoings.

20 Dead as Taliban Attackers Storm Kabul Offices

Five Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen armed with explosives and rifles stormed the Justice Ministry Office in Kabul on Wednesday. The guerrillas took control of the office for more than an hour, causing casualties of 20 dead, and 57 wounded. It was more than an hour after when security forces finally retook control of the building and started to evacuate people in the building. Afterwards, all eight attackers were killed by security forces.

The attack came on the eve of a scheduled visit by Richard C. Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan. Considering Kabul is the most heavily fortified capital in the country, it demonstrates that even such fortified capital can be a victim of Taliban attack without a more proper and prepared security system.

Mr. Holbrooke's visit to Kabul was made as a part of President Obama's policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to increase American force levels in the regions. The degree of attacks like this made by Taliban in Afghanistan will definitely influence President Obama's policy to deal with Taliban, who is in control of much of the countryside and is gradually moving its forces into major cities, endangering people in the regions.

One senior official in Washington pointed out that the Wednesday's attack indicated the intimate ties between the insurgents and Pakistan's tribal areas, supporting that the attack was planned and supported by the Pakistan-based network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, which was also accused of the last summer's attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

Opinion: I have currently read a novel called The Kite Runner. The novel depicts Afghanistan and Pakistan societies in the present days with a man who brings a boy to the United States. The novel is based on the year 2001 when the capital city Kabul was under control of Taliban. In this article, I could learn that Taliban forces have now been removed from the major cities, and are now mostly in control of the countryside. However, now the Taliban forces are endangering the city by guerrilla attacks with a small group of bombers and gunmen. Therefore, I think that the United States and other world powers should protect Afghanistan from Taliban attacks by bolstering security levels with a more number of military forces. As President Obama's policy promises, it is important for the United States to send more troops to Afghanistan and . Moreover, the ties between Taliban and Pakistan's tribal areas should be investigated more thoroughly as such ties can hinder our attempts to bring peace back in the region. As well, I hope Pakistan could also join the United States' peacekeeping project and do their parts because they can make huge influences on Afghanistan as a neighbouring country. At last, it seems that President Obama's envoy, Mr. Holbrooke, was not successful in convincing Pakistan tribal areas not to help Taliban because the attack came right after his visit to the areas.

Peanut Case Shows Holes In Safety Net

The salmonella outbreak started in the Peanut Corporation of America plant in rural southwest Georgia and spread across the country. In 2007, it took eight people's lives and sickened 19,000 people. Many things, such as the conditions at the plant, have been accused of causing the salmonella outbreak. However, the conditions of the plant was only one of many elements that led to the outbreak. Most importantly and shockingly, it was the government's negligence in food safety net that has led to the outbreak.

First of all, the Peanut Corporation of America plant in southwest Georgia was definitely one element. According to an inspection, the roasters were not calibrated to kill germs that are harmful to human health. Also, the workers were dressed in uniforms that contained contaminants. Even the roof of the plant was leaking when the facility should be kept dry in order not to let salmonella thrive.

An examination of the Blakely case reveals holes in food safety net and the indifference of the government in protecting its people from the consequences of the holes in safety net. According to interviews and government records, the state and federal inspectors who have investigated the plant did not require the plant to inform the public of the salmonella contamination in its plant. When a whistleblower inspected the ConAgra Foods factory and found out about the salmonella contamination in 2004, the Food and Drug Administration did not pursue the laboratory tests, letting them become a bigger problem and eventually killing people in the market.

The holes in safety net led to the distribution of salmonalla containing food products and eventually killed and sickened people. Three years later, in 2007, the government finally verified the inspector's claims and ConAgra improved conditions at its plant and increased laboratory testing. However, federal regulators still overlooked and did not impose higher standards on other peanut facilities, causing more and more problems and bigger holes in food safety net.

Opinion: I think the peanut case shows the lack of conscience among those people who run the plants and who inspect the plants. Death and illness of people caused by salmonella-contaminated peanut products could have been prvented if it were not for those indifferent and amoral people. The government should impose higher standards on peanut facilities. The government should also send out inspectors regularly to plants and test the procedure of making peanut products. Based on the inspection, those plants that fail to meet the standards should be closed down before making a bigger damage in people lives. Food is one of many elements in human lives that is directly related to a matter of life and death. I wish the government officials and people who are in food-related businesses are more honest and more caring in producing food.

Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses 'Shameful'

As the global economic downturn continues, Wall Street Bankers are accused of giving themselves nearly $20 billion in bonuses. President Obama criticized the bankers "shameful" for such immoral behaviours of the bankers, to whom the government granted billions of bail-out money to save the nation's most prominent financial institutions.

President Obama pointed out to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, "There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses". He expects Secretary Geithner to send his message directly to the bankers.

Public anger over the economic crisis and high unemployment rate is rising and the government is trying to help prominent bankers ride out of the crisis and have the economy back on track. However, all the bail-out money seems to be used for the executive's good, rather than to rescue the economy. Such immoral activities demonstrate the necessity of imposing stricter restriction on pay for executives of institutions that receive government assistance.

As it seems it will take far more than $700 billion bailout fund, that has already been authorized, to stabilize banking system, President Obama and his administration will have to assure Congress that they will guide the right use of bailout fund. Mr. Geithner has already expressed his opinion to impose stricter compensation limits. President Obama's anger and criticism today shows that he will step up the pressure on bankers before granting them any additional fund.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden was also outraged by the large bonuses, "They're thinking the same old thing that got us here, greed. They're thinking 'take care of me.' " He pleged that the government will spend the remaining $350 billion of the troubled assets money "wisely and prudently and transparently."

Opinion: It was shocking to learn that the bailout funds granted by the government is being used in the ways that they are not supposed to. The money is being used to satisfy executive's greed when many people are struggling with unemployment rate caused by this economic downturn. Bonuses should be granted for those who have worked hard to help the company ride out of the economic crisis. They are the true people who deserve bonuses, not those executives who are busy filling up their greed. As Vice President Joseph Biden said, it is their limitless greed that got us here. I believe the government should not let this happen anymore. A stricter compensation limit should be imposed and if the law is not followed by certain financial institutions, they should not be granted any additional money. In addition to this, it is most important for the bankers to realize what they are supposed to do and what is a right thing to do. When they decided to be wise, prudent and transparent themselves, all the immoral activities caused by greed would disappear from this world and we all can truly see the hope of onset of new economy.