After pledging to withdraw America's combat forces in Iraq by the end of August, this month is set to be one of Obama's most important thus far. Naturally, he's starting it with a bang, with a speech at the national convention of Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, Georgia. Here, the president will outline the plan for the troop drawdown and touch on our continuing mission in Afghanistan:
Let us never forget—it was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted and trained to murder 3,000 innocent people on 9/11. It is Afghanistan and the tribal regions of Pakistan where terrorists have launched other attacks against us and our allies. And if Afghanistan were to be engulfed by an even wide insurgency, al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates would have even more space to plan their next attack. And as President of the United States, I refuse to let that happen.
From there, the rest of the week will prove relatively mild. Tuesday will find Obama in Washington, where he’ll host the White House Forum with Young African Leaders for 120 delegates representing about 40 African nations.
According to the White House: “The President’s Forum with Young African Leaders presents the U.S. government and American friends of Africa with an opportunity to deepen and broaden our understanding of the trajectories of African societies, and to reflect on how the next generation are building their communities’ and their nations’ futures – just as their predecessors did in the era of independence from colonial rule.”
On Wednesday the president will address the AFL-CIO Executive Committee before flying to Chicago in the evening. Once in Illinois, he’ll first visit a Ford plant to discuss the revitalization of the automotive industry and then attend some fundraisers for midterm election candidates.
Obama will be back in Washington by Friday, where he’ll be taking meetings at the White House all day.
-Cord Jefferson is a staff writer at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.