Deadline for nuclear scale back extended
The US and the five other countries involved agree to extend the July 20th deadline by four months to give Iran more time to dismantle parts of its nuclear-development program. The extension was expected. President Obama says:
It’s clear to me that we have made real progress in several areas and that we have a credible way forward. But as we approach a deadline … there are still some significant gaps between the international community and Iran, and we have more work to do.
During the extension period, Iran will continue to have access to $2.8 billion in assets previously restricted by the U.S., but sanctions against its oil sales and other assets will remain frozen. John Kerry says:
Let me be clear, Iran will not get any more money during these four months than it did during the last six months.
Calls for Gaza ceasefire
Obama calls for an immediate halt to hostilities as 120 people are killed in one day of fighting, the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years. A Gaza emergency services spokesman says more than a third of the victims are women and children. The death toll now totals 476 Palestinians. The Israeli army says 13 soldiers have been killed in Gaza, raising the total of soldiers dead in the first three days of the ground offensive of Operation Protective Edge to 18. A White House statement says Obama called for an ‘immediate truce,’ but that he also reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself
McDonald promises to ‘transform’ VA
At a Senate Veterans Affairs meeting, Robert McDonald, Obama’s choice to lead the department, cities problems with patient access to health care, transparency, accountability and integrity, among other issues. He pledges to transform the agency, saying that “systematic failures” must be addressed:
The seriousness of the moment demands urgent action. The VA is in crisis. The veterans are in need. There is a lot of work to do to transform the department and it will not be easy, but it is essential and can be achieved.
Calls for unconditional release
Obama calls on Hamas to demonstrate that it can meet ceasefire commitments by releasing Israel Defense Forces 2nd. Lt. Hadar Goldin who has been dragged into a tunnel by militants 90 minutes into the 72-hour truce agreement:
If they are serious about resolving the situation, that soldier needs to be unconditionally released as soon as possible. I think it’s going to be very hard to put a ceasefire back together again if Israel and the international community can’t feel confident that Hamas can follow through on a ceasefire commitment.
Orders airstrikes
President Obama issues military airstrikes in Iraq, against ISIS. In a televised speech Obama threatened to renew U.S. military involvement and announced that U.S. military planes already had carried out airdrops of food and water, at the request of the Iraqi government, to tens of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities atop a mountain surrounded by ISIS.
Earlier this week, one Iraqi in the area cried to the world, ‘There is no one coming to help!” Well, today, America is coming to help. We’re also consulting with other countries — and the United Nations — who have called for action to address this humanitarian crisis
Obama also noted that U.S. military action would be worry many Americans and vowed not to put American combat troops back on the ground in Iraq. He also said there is no U.S. military solution to the crisis.
As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq
Martha’s Vineyard vacation
0 CommentsObama leaves for a two-week planned vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. This is the fifth time during his presidency that Obama visits the island, which is located off the coast of Massachusetts. He will return to the White House for a series of meetings that are scheduled over a two-day period during his vacation. If any events require an earlier return to the White House, he will do so.
Arrives on Martha’s Vineyard
0 CommentsAir Force One lands on the Vineyard at 12:41 pm. The president, his wife, daughter Malia and the family dogs head to a vehicle in a motorcade for the 20 minute ride to Chilmark. After spending approximately 30 minutes in the vacation home, Obama heads to Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Former NFL player Ahmad Rashad, NBA player Ray Allen, and Cyrus Walker, the cousin of White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, join Obama for a round of golf. Before departing from Washington, Obama tells reporters that is is ready:
to not have a suit on for a while.
Airstrikes may continue
Obama says that airstrikes and humanitarian air drops could continue for months, apparently preparing Americans for an extended military presence in the country following the withdrawal of ground troops.
I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to be a long-term project
On creating a political environment where Sunnis feel they are able to live comfortably alongside Shiites:
Changing that environment so that the millions of Sunnis who live in these areas feel connected to and well served by a national government, that’s a long-term process
Obama: Intervention is ‘unacceptable’
In a phone call, Obama tells President Petro Poroshenko that any Russian intervention in Ukraine without consent from Kiev would be “unacceptable” and a violation of international law. Poroshenko tells Obama that shelling of Ukrainian territory from Russia in ongoing. Obama urges Poroshenko to exercise restraint in military operations in order to avoid civilian casualties.
Iraq statement
From outside his vacation house in Chilmark, MA, Obama gives a statement (full text) on the latest developments in Iraq. He states that US forces have:
successfully conducted targeted airstrikes to prevent terrorist forces from advancing on the city of Erbil, and to protect American civilians there.
He also addressed the humanitarian efforts to help citizens that are stranded on Mount Sinjar without food or water and noted that the US has deployed a USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team to assst:
Some people have begun to escape their perch on that mountain, and we’re working with international partners to develop options to bring them to safety.
‘He was one of a kind’
Obama pays his respects to Williams in a statement, referring to some of his most well-known characters and his often emotional body of work:
Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.
On his contributions to America:
He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most — from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.
Attends birthday party with Clintons
0 CommentsThe Obamas and the Clintons attend a birthday party for the wife of a mutual friend, Vernon Jordan, at the Farm Neck Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard. Erik Shutlz issues a report to the press pool, which in part says:
Tonight, the President and First Lady attended the birthday celebration for Mrs. Ann Jordan at an event at the Farm Neck Golf Club. [ . . . ] The President and First Lady have known the Jordans for over twenty years, and were grateful to have been able to share this special evening with them.
Rejects ice bucket challenge
President Obama rejects the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge after Ethel Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political family, nominates him. White House spokesman Eric Schultz:
The President appreciates Mrs. Kennedy thinking of him for the challenge — though his contribution to this effort will be monetary. The President will be making a donation to an ALS charity this week.
Addresses Ferguson situation
President Obama addresses the nation and asks for local police to be open and transparent about Brown’s death investigation. Obama criticizes police for detaining two journalists during protests.
Now’s the time for healing. Now’s the time for peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson.
National guard enters Ferguson
When protesters shoot at the police, Governor Nixon requests the help of the National Guard. The midnight curfew does little to end the violence and looting. St. Louis County police pushes CNN‘s, Don Lemon and a group of protesters backward onto a sidewalk.
President Obama announces that Attorney General Eric Holder will go to Ferguson to meet with local leaders and the FBI who will conduct a separate federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. Obama:
While I understand the passion and anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting … only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos, he said, adding, There’s no excuse for excessive force by police or any action that denies people the right to protest peacefully.
Reacts to James Foley’s murder
Obama tells reporters on Martha’s Vineyard that “the entire world is appalled” by Foley’s murder:
No just God would stand for what they did yesterday or every single day,” he said. “A group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century…They have rampaged across cities and villages killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. There has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so that it doesn’t spread.
His full remarks can be seen here
Esquire interview
Plouffe gives his thoughts on being the campaign manager for Obama:
I’m a competitive person. Elections are nothing about doing well. You win or lose, and I love to win, and it feels absolutely terrible when you lose. We built something from scratch, he continues and we beat Hillary Clinton and John McCain. That’s like, uh, beating the L. A. Lakers and the Boston Celtics to win the championship. If he had lost, I’d have felt like I let the country down.
Wears tan suit
0 CommentsPeople crowd social media as Obama wears a light-colored suit during a press conference. Obama stands behind his decision to wear the taupe colored summer suit. Social media expert Cooper Lawrence:
People are very upset with him over that tan suit because it denotes casual and we are not living in a casual time right now.
‘Interventionism created ISIS’
Paul criticizes Clinton’s foreign policy in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, saying that interventionism led to the rise of ISIS:
To interventionists like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, we would caution that arming the Islamic rebels in Syria created a haven for the Islamic State. We are lucky Mrs. Clinton didn’t get her way and the Obama administration did not bring about regime change in Syria. That new regime might well be ISIS.
He adds:
[…] Those who say we should have done more to arm the Syrian rebel groups have it backward. This is not to say the U.S. should ally with Assad. But we should recognize how regime change in Syria could have helped and emboldened the Islamic State, and recognize that those now calling for war against ISIS are still calling for arms to factions allied with ISIS in the Syrian civil war.
‘We don’t have a strategy yet’
Obama says that his administration hasn’t yet developed a strategy to combat ISIS, as speculation mounts that the U.S. will bomb ISIS in Syria. To reporters:
I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet. I think what I’ve seen in some of the news reports suggests that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we’re at than we currently are.