President Obama makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan to deliver holiday greetings to the troops. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Iran’s nuclear ambitions are a global concern. We’ve got two stories on trade: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says trade can no longer depend so heavily on consumers, and the U.S. and South Korea wrap up four days of trade talks. A presidential commission releases a controversial new plan on reducing the budget deficit. And finally, find out how the U.S. and Russia are strengthening their relationship, with banjos.
President Obama in Afghanistan
President Obama made a quick, unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday. He traveled there to meet with American officials, speak to Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and thank U.S. troops for their service. Above, Obama is greeted by NATO Commander in Afghanistan General David Petraeus, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Elkenberry, center, after stepping off Air Force One.
Iran’s Nuclear Threat
There is “no debate” in the international community over its shared concern that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. Speaking with Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa in Manama, Clinton says a nuclear armed Iran could destabilize the Middle East.
Easing World Trade Imbalances
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says nations that have been overly reliant on exports to fuel economic growth will benefit by pursuing policies that will help boost their own consumer demand. “We can no longer depend so heavily on consumers in the United States, Europe and other developed countries to be engines of global economic growth,” says Locke.
U.S.-Korea Trade Talks Conclude
U.S. and South Korean trade negotiators wrapped up four days of trade talks on a bilateral free trade agreement. An announcement of the details is not expected before negotiators brief President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
Cutting the U.S. Deficit
Warning Americans that “the moment of truth” had come, a presidential commission released a sweeping and controversial plan to reduce U.S. chronic budget deficits and slow the growth of the public debt by 2020. The proposal calls for drastic cuts in defense and other government spending, the elimination of popular tax breaks, and an increase in taxes most working Americans pay for social programs.
Building Bridges with Banjos
The banjo, a traditional American instrument, is helping strengthen relations between the American and Russian people. The California-based Deering Banjo Company recently chose Liza Karpacheva, a 15-year-old Russian orphan from Obninsk, Russia (sister city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee), to receive the Brian Friesen Banjo Award. Karpacheva, right, is the first non-American to receive this award.