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The Obamas go to Europe |
News Archive
On March 31, 2009, President and First Lady Obama traveled to Europe. This was a very important trip for the President, since it would be the first time he met many of the world's leaders since being sworn into office two months earlier, and not much time was set aside for sight-seeing — they were scheduled to visit five countries in eight days!
Their first stop was in London, where the Obamas got to meet Queen Elizabeth, who they had brought a gift for...an iPod! While in England, the President attended a NATO summit, and Mrs. Obama took time to visit a cancer treatment facility. Next up was a trip to France, where the Obamas met President and First Lady Sarkozy, a stop in Germany to attend another NATO conference, and then stops to the Czech Republic, where the President gave a speech, and Turkey, where he participated in a round-table discussion with students. On April 7, 2009, President Obama also made a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq, to speak to the troops stationed there!
Aside from introducing himself to world leaders, President Obama used this trip to repair relationships with nations that have disagreed with the U.S.'s policies in recent years, ask leaders for help with the United States' economic crisis, and to ask that they all band together to help fight the war on terror. While there is still much work to be done, many were impressed with the President and his ideas, and are hopeful the trip was the the first step towards creating long friendships!
Their first stop was in London, where the Obamas got to meet Queen Elizabeth, who they had brought a gift for...an iPod! While in England, the President attended a NATO summit, and Mrs. Obama took time to visit a cancer treatment facility. Next up was a trip to France, where the Obamas met President and First Lady Sarkozy, a stop in Germany to attend another NATO conference, and then stops to the Czech Republic, where the President gave a speech, and Turkey, where he participated in a round-table discussion with students. On April 7, 2009, President Obama also made a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq, to speak to the troops stationed there!
Aside from introducing himself to world leaders, President Obama used this trip to repair relationships with nations that have disagreed with the U.S.'s policies in recent years, ask leaders for help with the United States' economic crisis, and to ask that they all band together to help fight the war on terror. While there is still much work to be done, many were impressed with the President and his ideas, and are hopeful the trip was the the first step towards creating long friendships!