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Even veteran members of the traveling press were shocked when they saw today's schedule. Some had never seen such a packed day.

Indeed, Barack made the most of his day in Israel. He met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem, met with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem and then Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah. He toured the town of Sderot with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, met the Mayor of Jerusalem, and had dinner with Prime Minister Olmert. Not a bad day's work.

We are off to Berlin in a few very short hours where Senator Obama be speaking at Berlin's Teirgarten park tomorrow. We will be streaming that event live Thursday at 1pm EDT.

Enjoy your pictures of today...

"Sderot is a place that looks peaceful and it should live in peace because the people of Israel believe in peace." said Tzipi Livni, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs as she introduced Barack Obama.

Livni gave Senator Obama a tour of a home in Sderot that had been torn apart by a rocket attack, and afterwards Senator Obama spoke about what he had just seen in a press availabiilty...

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This afternoon, the campaign for change sent out this email to highlight the importanc of getting involved right now-- there are just over 100 days left before the November election.  If you would like to receive emails about upcoming events or other ways you can get involved, click here.

Dear Zachary --

The general election is coming up sooner than you may think. This Sunday, July 27th, is just 100 days from election day.

Time flies when you're building the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics. And that's why we need to act now to organize communities all across the country and build this movement for change.

This Sunday, supporters like you from every corner of Iowa are going to be joining 100 Day Canvass events -- reaching out in their local communities, registering new voters, and helping spread Barack's message of change.

No political experience is required. We'll provide you with everything you need to succeed, every step of the way.

Find a 100 Day Canvass event in your area this weekend:

http://ia.barackobama.com/Iowa100days

We're up against some formidable opponents. John McCain, the Republican Party, and the shadowy outside groups that support them are not going to hold back in their efforts to stop us. We need to be prepared, and we can't afford to wait.

There's a real opportunity to succeed here in Iowa. But it's going to take all of us working together.

Face-to-face contact with friends, neighbors and undecided voters is the most effective way to grow our movement. And with 100 days to go before the general election, we can't afford to sit on the sidelines -- we have to start now.

Reach out in your own community by joining a 100 Day Canvass event this Sunday:

http://ia.barackobama.com/Iowa100days

The success of this movement is in your hands. Barack Obama will change Washington and improve the lives of all Americans -- but only if supporters like you reach out to your friends, family, and neighbors.

See you this Sunday,

Tripp

Tripp Wellde
Iowa Field Director
Campaign for Change

P.S. -- If you can't make it this Sunday, get involved in your community by joining or leading a Neighborhood Team near you. Neighborhood teams are a great way to reach out to your friends and neighbors and to work for change near you. Learn more and join or lead a Neighborhood Team in your community:

http://ia.barackobama.com/IowaNeighborhoodTeams

 

 

As part of a continuing series, we're following Obama Organizing Fellows as they share their stories and their experiences. They discuss the people they meet, the hardships of organizing, what the campaign means to them, and how this summer is changing their perspective.

Andy is an Organizing Fellow in Ohio. His stories appear each Wednesday.

This past weekend marked the 160th anniversary of the historic Seneca Falls convention -- the first women's rights convention in the United States. The Obama campaign commemorated the importance of th women's rights movement by conducting Woman to Woman events, contacting voters and encouraging them to participate in the upcoming elections.

Many of these events across Ohio were coordinated with local female candidates who are running for office. I had the fortune of going to one such event.

It was at the home of Marian Harris, who is running for state representative in the 19th district of Ohio. We all gathered around her kitchen table to listen as she unveiled her strategy for our afternoon canvass.

Marian explained her plans to improve education, the economy, health care and the environment for Ohioans by working with her community and the governor. This was valuable information for us because we could then communicate it to the voters we met. It was also exciting to hear how similar these four goals are to Senator Obama's.

Before we went out, I got to ask her what this canvass meant to her. She told me that "I am doing this to celebrate Seneca Falls and my grandchildren's future". She is encouraged by working with the Obama campaign because of the way it is collaborating with local communities and drawing on the knowledge base of everyday Americans. I wanted to ask her more questions, but I didn't have the time. There were voters to be registered!

Marian divided up the canvass packets with addresses and maps. We then paired up and headed out to knock on doors. I teamed up with Organizing Fellow Hajra and we traveled to our neighborhood.

On the way over I asked Hajra what brought her here. She had just graduated from college and told me she was doing this because this campaign was the "cause of all causes". Before coming to the Obama campaign, Hajra worked with non-profit groups to collaborate with developing nations to solve womens issues. She came here because Senator Obama embodies the goals she worked on prior to the campaign. Obama shares Hajra's commitment to ending violence against women, creating economic opportunity and ensuring that women are represented in our government.

This fellowship has Hajra working harder than she ever has before. Through this hard work she has learned "to be self-confident and not to worry about being Muslim or having an Arabic name. Most of all, as someone who hasn't held many leadership positions in the past, I've learned that I'm capable of empowering communities to act for change." All of her hard work is driven by her hope for "stability for better communities, better nations, and ultimately, a better world."

Hajra and I canvassed the neighborhood while the summer sun bore down on us. We knocked on hundreds of doors, spoke to tons of people, and registered a lot of new voters. There were times when we were tempted to go swimming in the community pool, but we knew we made the right decision to keep on knocking when we spoke with Byrnette back in the office.

She comes to this movement because she thinks womens issues are common sense issues. "They are not idealistic, they are practical and grounded in other issues" she said. Juggling all the roles that are required of her is a concern for Byrnette. Between being disabled, on a fixed income, and having one child in college with another on the way, she told me that it can be worrisome at times.

But in the face of these concerns she does not back down. Instead she fights even harder to advance our cause of creating equality and opportunity for all. She is a tabling captain this upcoming weekend at the Jazz and Rib fest in Columbus. She enjoys working at tabling events because "not only do I get to meet a lot of volunteers, but I get to meet a lot of voters. There are a lot of reasons that people don't show up to the polls, so I encourage them to check all of their information and make sure there on not any surprises on election day." Her favorite thing is when people register for the first time. "We need hope for something positive in the face of all the drama and violence. You see that when you register someone who has never registered in their life."

This week has been inspirational for me. It has reminded me that the advancement of civil rights can only be achieved when people of all backgrounds band together to create change. We cannot wait for one person or one group to make the difference; we must all act now.

Check back next week for more from Andy in Ohio, and check out our Flickr page for more of his photos.

Yesterday Leader Boehner attended a roundtable discussion organized by Americans for Tax Reform and The American Spectator where he spoke and answered questions on the House Republican agenda. Boehner also discussed his experiences from the recent American Energy Tour, where he and ten of his colleagues witnessed first-hand the real solutions that make up House Republicans’ “all of the above” strategy to lower gas prices and increase American energy production.

More from Redstate.com:

Boehner came out swinging at Democrats this afternoon. “We will use every option we have to force votes in the House,” Boehner said at a press lunch sponsored by The American Spectator and Americans for Tax Reform. “Democrats have done everything humanly possible to avoid making their members vote.”

…Technology has helped further reduce the impact on the land. Boehner noted that the footprint needed to produce oil in ANWR today is much smaller than 30 years ago—about 1/6th of the original land mass.

Eight months after the Democratic-led New Direction Congress led the enactment of a landmark new energy policy for our country, House Republicans are now releasing an energy plan that largely rehashes failed ideas on domestic drilling or proposes ideas that they have repeatedly blocked in the past.

Their all-out legislative battle in recent years to protect the record profits of oil companies earning record profits has earned them the moniker “Grand Oil Party.”  They call their plan “All of the Above.”  Americans paying $4 a gallon thanks to an energy policy literally written by the oil industry may see it as “All Too Familiar.”

The GOP says their plan will “open our deep water ocean resources.”  
That means drill off more of America’s beaches.

• According to the Bush Administration’s own Energy Department, if we repealed the offshore drilling ban today, oil and gas production would not begin there until 2017, and impact on prices would be “insignificant.” [EIA, 2007]
• 80 percent of America’s oil and gas natural resources are in areas where oil companies can already drill. [Committee on Natural Resources, 6/18/08]
• There are 33 million acres of the federal OCS lands that are under lease but are not producing.
• Oil companies are spending more of their record profits on buying back stock than they are on new oil and gas exploration — both on and off shore. [AP, 7/21/08]

The Democratic-led Congress leadership has pushed for responsible drilling practices, telling the oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres—the size of Georgia and Illinois combined—that they already hold.  House Republicans have twice blocked this drilling proposal.

The GOP says their plan is to “open the Arctic coastal plain.”  
That means drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

• According to the Bush Administration’s own Energy Department, if we opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling today, we wouldn’t get the first drop of oil for 10 years, and it would take nearly 20 years for the field to reach peak production, and at that time, gas prices would drop by less than 2 cents a gallon. [EIA, 5/08]

The Democratic-led Congress has proposed, as part of a larger plan, to expedite drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), which holds over 10.6 billion barrels of oil – more than the Arctic Refuge.  House Republicans blocked this measure.

The GOP says their plan is to “allow development of our nation’s shale oil resources.”
That means open up huge parts of the American West to costly, water-intensive, land-stripping “tar shale” practices even though it’s use is not commercially viable now.

The Republicans want to open up 2.3 million acres of public lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for tar shale development despite the fact that 3 million acres of prime tar shale lands are already owned by oil companies.

• The technology needed for commercially-viable extraction of oil from tar shales does not yet exist.
• To convert tar shale into oil, enormous electricity and water are needed to power the operation. It takes about three barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil from tar sands. This water would be taken in parts of the country experiencing long-standing water supply issues and historic droughts.  [Wilderness Society, 3/08]
• Furthermore, even the most optimistic estimates say it will take 20 years for tar shales to produce 1 million barrels of oil per day and 30 years to produce 3 million barrels of oil per day. [RAND, 2005]

The Democratic-led Congress has expanded the use of American-grown biofuels transitioning to non-food sources, such as switchgrass and woodchips, rather than continuing America’s dependence on foreign oil. House Republicans have repeatedly voted against investing in renewable energy development.

The GOP says their plan is “to improve energy conservation and efficiency.”  
Republican actions tell a different story.

• Vice President Dick Cheney summed up his party’s view: “Conservation is a sign of personal virtue, not an energy policy.” [USA Today, 5/1/01]
• From 1995 to 2007, the Republican majority and President Bush repeatedly blocked efforts to increase efficiency standards for vehicles, buildings, lighting, air-conditioning, and appliances.  The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act finally broke the obstruction on appliance and lighting standards.
• One of the first things the Bush Administration did after it took office was to reverse a regulation to strengthen the efficiency of central air conditioners by 30%, and then it dragged its feet in implementing new appliance standards of the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
• The President’s 2009 budget cuts renewable energy and energy efficiency programs at the Department of Energy $467 million below the FY 08 enacted level. President Bush’s 2009 budget request eliminates funding for programs that help low-income families save millions of dollars by making their homes more energy efficient. [2008]
• If the Republican majority had not blocked the transition to a 35-mile per gallon (mpg) standard in the mid 1990’s, then we would now be saving 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and consumers would be saving $90 billion a year on gasoline they didn’t have to buy.

The Democratic-led Congress improved vehicle, lighting, and appliance standards in 2007, over Republican objections, and we passed energy tax credits to help families afford plug-in hybrid cars. Despite President Bush’s opposition, Democrats will continue to fight for funding for low-income Americans to weatherize their homes.  

The GOP says their plan will “promote new and expanding energy technologies.”
Republican actions tell a different story.

• President Bush and Congressional Republicans continue to block legislation that would repeal unnecessary tax breaks for Big Oil and move them to renewable energy. Republicans have voted at least four times against the tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency that are key to an energy independent future.
• Funding for energy technology research has been woefully inadequate under President Bush – around a third the level seen during the energy crisis in the late 1970s – underscoring the low priority this Administration has given to investing in new technologies to solve the energy and climate crisis.

The Democratic-led Congress passed legislation to extend and expand tax incentives for renewable energy, retain and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and spur American innovation and business investment. Democrats will continue to push for a Renewable Electricity Standard that would require 15 percent of all electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. The majority of House Republicans oppose all of these measures.

The New Direction Congress taking action to bring down high energy prices squeezing American families and businesses. Tomorrow, Democrats will vote on a proposal to draw down a small portion of oil the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to immediately expand available supplies, send a strong message to oil speculators, and help reduce the record prices that are helping push the economy toward recession.

We hope House Republicans will drop their opposition and stand with Democrats to pass this crucial bill.

photo credit: the truth about mortgages

So today, the House will consider the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. Which, even before being signed into law, has helped contribute to a rally in the financial markets.

This comprehensive legislation will assist homeowners facing foreclosure, and help strengthen the housing market and our overall economy.
 
You can find out more about how it will help here.

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After a busy morning of meetings, Senator Obama toured Yad Vashem, just outside Jerusalem.

Yad Vashem is a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and its victims.

Senator Obama laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance, and shared his thoughts in the museum's guest book:

I am grateful to Yad Vashem and all of those responsible for this remarkable institution.

At a time of great peril and promise, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man’s potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise from tragedy and remake our world. Let our children come here, and know this history, so they can add their voices to proclaim “never again”. And may we remember those who perished, not only as victims but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed like us, and who have become symbols of the human spirit.

The Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee is currently holding a hearing, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Review.” The hearing will include testimony from military veterans on the effects of the policy.

Watch the hearing live >>

This past weekend, Story county Democrats gathered in Nevada, Iowa for a barbecue and meet and greet to discuss the upcoming election that is just over 100 days away.  The event was attended by dozens of local activists and several elected officials and candidates.  The most amazing part of the afternoon was the fact that so many of the attendees supported other candidates during the primary process, but they were on the exact same page about our need for new leadership and our need to unite to bring change from the statehouse to the White House.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Today in Sioux City and in Fort Dodge, there will be two similar events that if you are able, you shouldn’t miss!  For more information and to RSVP, click the links below.

Fort Dodge Unity Event with Roxanne Conlin

Sioux City Unity Event with Michael Mauro

If you aren’t able to make it to one of these events, then sign up for one of the canvasses this weekend—on Sunday there will only be 100 days left before the November election, and we need your help to make a difference in your neighborhood!  Click the image below for more information and to join us!

CHICAGO, IL – On the heels of U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s speeches at the LUCAC and NCLR conventions, the Obama campaign today released a Spanish language radio ad entitled Nuestro Propio Camino, which profiles Senator Obama’s upbringing and connection to Latino values.  Nuestro Propio Camino will air in Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Nevada.

“Latinos can relate to Senator Obama’s background of hard work and commitment to family and community,” said Federico Pena, National Campaign Co-Chair.  “Senator Obama is serious about winning the Latino vote and this Spanish language ad is but one among a variety of his efforts to build on the progress of the primary. ”

Listen to Nuestro Propio Camino...

Continue reading for the translated script of the ad...

From today’s Cit Pat:

Imagine having a four-hour dialysis appointment, then waiting up to three hours in the lobby, nauseated, for your ride home.

It can get tiring, especially for someone like Josephine Young of Summit Township, who has done it three times a week for nearly six years.

Young, 69, was one of a handful of patients at Jackson Dialysis, 234 W. Louis Glick Highway, who talked to U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, on Tuesday about public transportation issues and the soaring price of gasoline.
Young, who uses either a wheelchair or walker, relies on Jackson Transportation Authority’s Reserve-A-Ride.

Walberg also visited the American Red Cross, 3425 Francis St., where he heard from Executive Director Karen Randall and board members about the effects high gasoline prices have on the agency.

Randall said emergency services volunteers — the people trained to immediately respond to help people in a fire, accident or other disaster — have started using their own money to pay for gasoline to get there and back.

Walberg supports legislation that would seek more drilling for oil in the United States — including Alaska — and encourages investment in new nuclear power plants.

Also posted at The Hill’s Congress Blog.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to witness first-hand some real solutions to help lower gasoline prices and energy costs for families and small businesses.  Ten of my house Republican colleagues and I travelled through the Rocky Mountain West on the way to Alaska on an American Energy Tour.  What we saw further opened our eyes to the challenges, and opportunities, which make up America’s energy future.

Our trip began on Friday with a visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.  NREL is an Energy Department facility operated by private-sector scientists dedicated to perfecting cutting-edge solar, wind, fuel cell, biomass, and other emerging energy technologies.  The work being done at NREL is a critical component of our strategy to reduce our nation’s dangerous and costly dependence on foreign oil through a comprehensive “all of the above” strategy.  For a look at another critical component of that strategy, we departed for Alaska.

While in Alaska we learned two valuable lessons that will further embolden our fight in Congress for more production of American energy.  First, we learned that the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, which carries petroleum from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope to the Gulf of Alaska, is in decline. Officials in Alaska warned us that in 10 years, if the pipeline continues its current rate of decline in transporting oil supplies, the pipeline will be processing less than 300,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to nearly 720,000 today.  Experts agree that at that level — without adding new supplies of oil — the pipeline could not continue to operate, shutting down all production in the North Slope and turning a multi-billion dollar asset into scrap metal. It’s a “pipeline deadline,” if you will.
Secondly, we learned that wildlife can successfully coexist, and flourish, within close proximity to environmentally-safe energy production thanks to new technologies in use by energy companies. While in the North Slope area we saw plenty of wildlife.  Caribou, musk ox, and other native species where everywhere – including our runway as we attempted to depart from the small airport near Prudhoe Bay.  Those on the Left who cite these companies’ “insensitivity” as a reason for stonewalling more production in the region either suffer from a complete misunderstanding of the issue or are purposely twisting the facts. And either way, it’s the American people — not to mention North Slope residents who depend upon energy production for jobs — who suffer the consequences.

The American public and an increasing number of rank-and-file Democrats are demanding that Speaker Pelosi schedule a real vote to increase American energy production.  Her response to CNN recently: “I have no plans to do so.”  House Republicans will continue this fight every single day, but let’s be clear: Only Speaker Pelosi and her liberal Democratic colleagues are standing in the way of lower gasoline prices for the American people.
MORE:

American Energy Tour Photos

From the Washington Post:

Two days spent in Afghanistan and two days in Iraq, Obama said, reinforced his belief that it is time for the United States to move on. Calling the situation in Afghanistan "perilous and urgent," he said both U.S. military and Afghan government officials agree that "we must act now to reverse a deteriorating situation."

Obama's analysis has been buttressed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders who, to the dismay of the White House and Sen. John McCain, his Republican opponent, have publicly agreed with his call for completing a U.S. combat withdrawal from Iraq in 2010.

... Obama referred to a withdrawal timeline as something now largely agreed upon by both the U.S. and Iraqi governments, saying he welcomes "the growing consensus."

He was effusive in his praise of U.S. troops and diplomats, describing the "terrific" conversation he had with Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, who took him on a helicopter tour over the Iraqi capital. Obama said he understands that Petraeus would prefer leaving his options open rather than operating with a timeline, and said if he were in Petraeus's shoes, "I'd probably feel the same way."

... Obama said his job would be to listen to the military but make decisions based on "a range of factors that I have to take into account as a commander in chief."

Those factors, he said, would include "the perceptions of the Iraqi people" and the statements of their leaders, as well as "the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan," which he called the "central front in the war against terrorism."

McCain's judgments are based on "what he thinks makes the most sense," Obama said. But his own judgments, "in speaking with Afghans and Iraqis, the U.S. military and civilians," he said, led him to conclude that there is a need to "seize this moment to make America more secure" by focusing on "broader challenges."

From the Los Angeles Times:

After visits to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barack Obama shifted his focus to Mideast peace efforts Tuesday as he arrived in the region for two days of talks with leaders in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The all-but-sure Democratic nominee for president vowed to work "from the minute I'm sworn in to office to try to find some breakthroughs" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I think it's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," Obama said shortly after his arrival in Jordan under tight security. "What a U.S. president can do is apply sustained energy and focus on the issues of the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Obama spoke in a dramatic setting, the ancient ruins atop Citadel Hill, or Jebel al Quala, near the towering pillars of the Temple of Hercules. Across the valley behind him, thousands of concrete dwellings were visible, terraced across the steep hillsides of Amman, the capital. Soldiers with heavy weaponry patrolled the roasting hilltop as dust clouds swirled around Obama's lectern.

... Today, Obama plans to visit the southern Israeli town of Sderot, a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. He will also spend time in Jerusalem at Yad Vashem, a memorial to Holocaust victims.

From the Grand Forks Herald:

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign opened an office Tuesday evening in Grand Forks, displaying a kind of political muscle never seen in these parts.

The Obama campaign soon will have 50 paid staff workers across the state, a local party leader said. An Obama office opened last week in Bismarck. One will open today in Fargo and one in Minot next Tuesday. More offices will open later, Obama staffers said.

It’s enough to make veteran Democratic party activist and union official — and longtime Grand Forks County Commissioner — Arvin Kvasager shake his head. He’s never seen a presidential campaign of either party spend this kind of money in North Dakota, Kvasager said Tuesday in the new Obama office.

... Shaking his head in amazement over the number of young people crowding into the small campaign office Tuesday night on Gateway Drive, Kvasager said he’s pretty confident North Dakota might go from red to blue in November.

“I’m awed by the enthusiasm,” he said looking around at volunteers signing up.

... Mac Schneider, former UND footballer and now the Democratic candidate for the state Senate from District 42 in Grand Forks, greeted the Obama fans, many who signed up to volunteer on his campaign. A recent Rasmussen poll showed Obama running neck-and-neck with Republican Sen. John McCain in North Dakota as of July 10, a big change from the typical big Republican margins of victory in presidential elections in the state.

It reminds him of his excitement the first time he got into a Sioux football game, said Schneider, a backup quarterback.

“For the first time since 1964, North Dakota is in the game, big-time,” he told the applauding activists.

... [Gary Emineth, chairman of the state’s Republican Party] was in Washington last week meeting with national party leaders, and he warned them against counting their chickens in North Dakota too early.

“I made it clear that Barack Obama is very serious about trying to win North Dakota, and I said that at the end of the day, if you don’t think so, if you take it for granted, you might be surprised.”

From the Mail Tribune:

Nathan Miller has stood in front of Food For Less in Medford [Oregon] for hours at a time coaxing people to register to vote.

"We do it every day," said the 28-year-old from Kingwood, West Virginia. "This generally is our best spot."

Miller and 10 other people from across the country came to the Medford area in June as "organizing fellows" for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Working without pay, they have canvassed voters, staffed phone banks, trained volunteers and helped set up a grassroots organization for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The Obama fellows were sent to 17 key states with special training to create grassroots volunteer groups that will carry on after they leave on June 26.

... More than 100 Obama organizers are working in a dozen offices throughout the state.

The volunteers earn no money for their efforts and have to pay for their own food, but the Obama campaign has found them local places to stay. Two of the fellows have been living at Brading's house for the past six weeks.

"Every morning we get up, and we all have our laptops out in a circle," she said. "We have our coffee and tea and then they go out and register voters."

The Armed Services Committee is currently holding a hearing, “On the Comptroller General’s progress report on Iraq.” Witnesses are Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States, and Joseph Christoff, Director of International Affairs and Trade for the Government Accountability Office. The GAO released a report on the lack of strategy going forward in June.

GAO Report Faults Post-’Surge’ Planning
Karen DeYoung, Washington Post - June 24, 2008

Watch the hearing live >>

Comtroller General Dodaro explains why the GAO believes a new strategy is necessary now during his opening testimony and under questioning by Chairman Ike Skelton: