Category: Sep2013

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Larry Edward André, Jr., of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, of the District of Columbia, to be an Alternate Representative of the…

In President Obama’s meeting with President Rousseff last week in St. Petersburg, the President made clear that we understand the concerns raised in Brazil and elsewhere about certain intelligence collection activities allegedly undertaken by the United States, and he committed to working in diplomatic channels to address these concerns. As a part of that dialogue,…

East Room 9:01 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  My fellow Americans, tonight I want to talk to you about Syria — why it matters, and where we go from here. Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil…

This morning, the President spoke separately with French President Hollande and British Prime Minister Cameron.  They agreed to work closely together, and in consultation with Russia and China, to explore seriously the viability of the Russian proposal to put all Syrian chemical weapons and related materials fully under international control in order to ensure their…

NOTICE – – – – – – – CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN TERRORIST ATTACKS Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency previously declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks…

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the…

Today, eight additional countries – Georgia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Malta, Montenegro, Panama, Poland and Portugal – signed on to the joint statement on Syria that was issued on September 6. That statement condemns in the strongest terms the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons on August 21 in the suburbs of Damascus and calls for a…

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts: Beth F. Cobert– Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Sloan D. Gibson– Deputy Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs Heather Anne Higginbottom– Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources, Department of State Jim Shelton– Deputy Secretary,…

Earlier today the President met with key national security principals on our preparedness and security posture on the eve of the twelfth anniversary of September 11th. Over the past several months, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco has convened numerous meetings to review security measures in place for this anniversary,…

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Anne-Marie, for your kind words and for the invitation to be here today.  And thank you for your principled leadership—both in government, where we worked together so closely, and now at the New America Foundation.  I want to commend you and your colleagues here for the many contributions you make…