Thursday, January 22, 2009

In First Foreign Foray, Obama Heading to Latin America

Vice President Joe Biden looks on as President Barack Obama speaks to their senior staff to assert expectations on ethics and conduct, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From CQ Politics:

In what seems like a surprise move, President Obama's first public diplomatic initiatives are aimed not at the Middle East, but South America.

Obama plans to attend an April 17 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, which may turn out to be his international debut as ambassador-in-chief of the United States.

The new president is also expected to back the reintroduction of a ''Western Hemisphere Energy Compact'' bill (S.1007), sponsored by Senators Richard G. Lugar, R-Ill., and Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., to reduce dependence on Middle East oil, before heading to the Caribbean island nation in three months.

Read more ....

My Comment: Mexico and the rest of Latin America is America's "backyard". His trip to the hemisphere should not be a surprise.

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