Americans Held in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — A delegation from the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman is visiting Iran to try to secure the release of two American men imprisoned for more than a year and accused by Tehran of illegally crossing the border and spying, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.

Oman helped secure the Sept. 14 release of a third American, Sarah Shourd, who was arrested along with the men, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, near the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009. Shourd denies Iran's allegations and says the three were just hiking through a scenic area of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region during a vacation.

For background information on political structure in Iran, see the Department of State webpage. For information on the Secretary of State Clinton’s interaction with the government of Oman see: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/09/147323.htm

Ending Poverty by 2015

With only five years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York on 20-22 September to accelerate progress towards the MDGs. The targets aimed at slashing poverty, hunger, disease, maternal and child deaths and other ills were adopted at the UN Millennium Summit of 2000.

President Obama is in attendance, and in spite of some of the troubles facing the UN, the mood is favorable for an American president who has restored U.S. funding to the United Nations, ended a U.S. boycott of the U.N. Human Rights Council, and reinvigorated U.N. nuclear disarmament efforts.

See the U.N.'s MDG website and report.

Limited Extension of Tax Cuts

President Obama intends to extend the tax cuts created by the Bush Administration, but only to those making under $250,000 per year. Republicans would like to include wealthier Americans in the cuts, but Obama is opposed to the borrowing of extra millions to extend the cuts to the very wealthy. See this Congressional Research service report for background information and history of legislation leading up to the tax cuts.

Combat Mission in Iraq Ended

On August 31, 2010, U.S. President Obama addressed the nation on the End of Combat Operations in Iraq. The Whitehouse gives his remarks here.

Nearly 100,000 U.S. troops have been removed and bases have been closed or transferred to the Iraqis. 4,400 Americans have given their lives in Iraq.

"The U.S. has spent a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits. For too long, we have put off tough decisions on everything from our manufacturing base to our energy policy to education reform. As a result, too many middle-class families find themselves working harder for less, while our nation’s long-term competitiveness is put at risk."