Obama approves Afghanistan troop increase

President Barack Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials told CNN Tuesday. The new troop deployment is expected to include 8,000 Marines headquartered from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as well as 4,000 additional Army troops from Fort Lewis, Washington. “This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires,” Obama said in a written statement

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Lessons Obama learned from stimulus deal

President Obama will pitch his plans this week for dealing with record home foreclosures and trying to thaw frozen credit markets — and taking some key lessons learned into consideration. Aides said the White House has learned several lessons from the fight over the economic stimulus plan, including that the president is better at selling his ideas when he gets out of Washington.

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Obama to walk trade tightrope in Ottawa

President Obama takes his first foreign trip Thursday, but domestic politics will loom large as he tackles the explosive issue of protectionism in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the leader of the United States’ largest trade partner. At issue is a controversial so-called “Buy American” provision requiring the use of U.S.-produced iron, steel, and other manufactured goods in public works projects funded by the $787 billion economic stimulus bill. Several Democratic-leaning unions and domestic steel and iron producers favor the provision; a large number of business and trade organizations are opposed

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Saying No to a Car Czar: Obama’s Smart First Step on Detroit

Times are tough, but imagine how much worse they would be if the United States were dependent on foreign oil or Americans were still using illegal drugs. Fortunately, our leaders solved those problems long ago, by boldly appointing czars to clean them up. So naturally, now faced with the near death of the U.S

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