President Obama has flaws

[ProSense]

Presidents have flaws, but in the face of the worst economic disaster in more than 70 years, having inherited two wars, and despite an increasingly volatile political climate, President Obama is rising to the occasion to become one of the country's most effective leaders.

He withdrew 100,000 troops from Iraq and ending the occupation is in progress:

- In June 2009, U.S. Forces occupied 357 bases. U.S. Forces currently occupy 121 bases, and are expected to reduce that number to 94 bases by the end of August.

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In Iraq, Biden Reaffirms Deadline for Troops’ Exit

He add troops to Afghanistan, which is what he said he would do, but he has also announced the withdrawal will begin in summer of this year.

Obama Plans $42 Billion Cut in War Costs With Iraq, Afghan Troop Reduction

The Obama administration’s plan to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will cut the Pentagon’s war budget by $42 billion -- a 26 percent decrease from this year’s level, according to government officials.

The proposed $117 billion for fiscal year 2012, which begins Oct. 1, would be the lowest expenditure for the wars since fiscal 2005.

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The Pentagon today has roughly 97,000 troops in Afghanistan and 47,000 in Iraq. The 144,000 total is the lowest since July 2006, when the U.S. had about 148,100 deployed, according to military data compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of this year.

The war-spending number is the smallest since Congress approved $102.6 billion in fiscal 2005, said Amy Belasco, war cost analyst at CRS.

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President Obama promised to close Guantanamo, and he is still trying to do so, but not everything goes according to plan: President Obama Correctly Rebukes Congressional Attempt To Hinder Transfer Of Guantánamo Detainees To U.S.

In addition to ending the wars and reversing Bush policies, the President's biggest challenge is going to be creating enough jobs to reverse the huge job losses of the recession.

President Obama will make mistakes, but his missteps do not detract from his efforts or his character.




edited typo