London, England–(ENEWSPF)–May 24, 2011 – 5:48 P.M. BST
MR. CARNEY: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us here in London. I have with me today Ben Rhodes, the President’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. He’ll give you a briefing on this visit so far as well as an update on events for tomorrow. Before he does that, though, I have a statement by the President regarding some news involving Chrysler’s full repayment and final repayment of its TARP money today, making a final payment of $5.1 billion. The statement by the President is as follows:
Chrysler’s repayment of its outstanding loans to the U.S. Treasury and American taxpayers marks a significant milestone for the turnaround of Chrysler and the countless communities and families who rely on the American auto industry.
This announcement comes six years ahead of schedule and just two years after emerging from bankruptcy, allowing Chrysler to build on its progress and continue to grow as the economy recovers.
Supporting the American auto industry required making some tough decisions, but I was not willing to walk away from the workers at Chrysler and the communities that rely on this iconic American company. I said if Chrysler and all its stakeholders were willing to take the difficult steps necessary to become more competitive, America would stand by them. And we did.
While there is more work to be done, we are starting to see stronger sales, additional shifts at plants, and signs of strength in the auto industry and our economy, a true testament to the resolve and determination of American workers across the nation.
That’s the end of the President’s statement. I would add that since June of 2009, the American auto industry has added 115,000 jobs.
With that, I’ll turn it over to Ben. And then we’ll take — depending on the nature of your questions, we’ll each take questions.
MR. RHODES: Thanks, Jay. So I just want to, before we take your questions, give you some updates on the visit so far and plans for tomorrow.
The President was in very good spirits after his trip to Ireland; had a wonderful day yesterday with the people of Ireland and very much enjoyed himself in getting to know some of his distant relatives and the broader Irish public.
Today, of course, we had a series of events with the Queen and the Prime Minister. I think in general, as you saw the President reaffirm in an op-ed with Prime Minister Cameron this morning, the U.S.-U.K. relationship is both essential for our countries and for the world. And the purpose of this visit is to reaffirm that relationship, to further align our approaches on all the core issues that we work with the United Kingdom on. And that runs the gamut from our cooperation on global economic recovery to the effort in Afghanistan, counterterrorism, our efforts in Libya, our nonproliferation agenda, and a whole host of issues that the Prime Minister and the President will have the opportunity to discuss tomorrow.
I think also the President was very honored to be received by the Queen today. She, of course, is a historic figure who in many ways embodies the depth of the ties between our two nations, dating back, of course, to our shared effort in World War II and throughout the Cold War. And again I think her receiving the President was a deep honor for both him and the First Lady and, again, underscores the friendship between our two countries.
The President then, of course, was able to visit with Prime Minister Cameron and to visit a local school in town. The President and Prime Minister Cameron both very much wanted to have the opportunity, within the context of the formal state visit, to get out and interact with some young people, and they were able to do so at the Global Academy. And again I think it spoke to the President’s desire to, again, interact with some of the British people during his time here, in addition to his official business.
Just a couple of scheduling things to run through. Tonight of course is the dinner at Buckingham Palace. Tomorrow the President will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Cameron. I went through some of the subjects that they’ll be discussing.
After that they’ll drop by a barbeque that’s being hosted by the First Lady and Prime Minister Cameron’s wife to celebrate military families, and this will have service members from the United States who are based in the U.K., as well as of course British service members.
They’ll be announcing a new joint initiative focused on military families and care for our veterans. This of course has been a focus for the First Lady of the United States. It’s also a focus for Prime Minister Cameron and his wife here. And this will establish a new service personnel task force that will share best practices on how we can better provide support for military personnel and their families.
That includes linking them up in their communities to meet their needs. That includes supporting the transition of those who are leaving service into civilian life through vocational training and education. It includes support for wounded warriors and other ill and injured personnel, including the physical and psychological care and rehabilitation that they need.
And it speaks to the fact that we’re coming through a period of time where we’ve had, of course, nearly 10 years of conflict. So many of the same challenges that we have in the United States associated with wounded warriors and military families are present here in the U.K.
So what this task force will do is bring together experts from both countries on a regular basis, seek the use and involvement of charitable organizations and the private sector, and bring together, again, government officials who can on a regular basis share those best practices and help strengthen our efforts to support service members and their families.
So after that event, the President and Prime Minister will hold a joint press conference. Then the President will address the British Parliament. Again, it’s an honor that he’s very deeply moved to receive.
I’ll just say a few things about the speech, and you may have questions on it. I think what he’ll again underscore is both the essential nature of the U.S.-U.K. alliance as well as the broader transatlantic alliance to global security and prosperity. I think he’ll speak to the fact that we’ve obviously come through a very difficult decade, but in some respects we’re turning a corner insofar as we’ve successfully ended our combat mission in Iraq, removed 100,000 troops. The British forces of course have left Iraq. Our efforts to dismantle, defeat — disrupt and defeat al Qaeda have weakened that organization, of course including the killing of Osama bin Laden recently. We are preparing to begin a transition — or have already begun a transition in Afghanistan to Afghan lead that we’ll continue to undertake over the course of the next — until 2014. And of course we are working very hard every day to advance a global economic recovery.
In that context, of course we recognize that we live in a new world that’s quite different from the one that we faced after World War II or the end of the Cold War. You have of course rising powers around the world. And I think what the President will reaffirm, though, is that even in that changing context, that it is the alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom and the broader transatlantic alliance that is the cornerstone of global security and the extension of the democratic values that we share.
The United States and the United Kingdom, along with our allies, are the ones who shoulder particular burdens for global security. We see that in Afghanistan. We see that in our efforts against al Qaeda. We see that of course today in Libya. We are deeply invested in an international system that marshals collective action and that can be applied of course to not just our efforts in Afghanistan but our efforts around nonproliferation, the ongoing effort to enforce sanctions on nations like Iran and North Korea that are not meeting their obligations.
