Its fully been a year since we elected Barack Obama as our Commander in Chief and he hasn't come out gun's blazing like I thought he would. HAS done several things that often go unnoticed in these turbulent times. One of those things is diplomacy and as this Time Magazine photo story suggest he's had to do alot of it. Love him or Hate him I think he's doing a commendable job. Partake
Pics via: Time Magazine
Pictures taken by AP
* All insets written by Mark Halperin. Article by Mark Halperin
On Afghanistan
The President meets with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, aboard Air Force One in Copenhagen in October 2009. On a visit to Kabul in July 2008, then presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Obama said, "I think one of the biggest mistakes we've made strategically after 9/11 was to fail to finish the job here, focus our attention here. We got distracted by Iraq." - Mark Halperin
On the War in Iraq
The U.S. President shares fist bumps with U.S. troops in Baghdad in April 2009. In October 2002, then Illinois state senator Obama spoke out against those advocating war in Iraq: "I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by ... weekend warriors in the [Bush] Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne." - Mark Halperin
Message to the Islamic World
In June 2009, Obama traveled to Egypt to meet with President Hosni Mubarak. In Cairo, he delivered a seminal speech, declaring, "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world — one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap and share common principles — principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings." - Mark Halperin
On the Art of Negotiation
The President appears at the G-20 summit of the world's leading economies in Pittsburgh, Pa., in September 2009. "Well, if it's just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy, you know
Don't Just Blame Colonialism
During his visit to Ghana in July 2009, Obama addressed the entire African continent, saying, "Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans." - Mark Halperin
On a Global Mission
The President arrives in Baghdad in early 2009. On a trip to Cairo in June 2009, he declared, "It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward, to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path." - Mark Halperin
