The following is the official White House transcript of Obama’s Wednesday night address.

East Room

8:01 P.M. EDT

President Barack Obama delivers a televised address from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 22, 2011 on his plan to drawdown U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Nearly 10 years ago, America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor.  This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security –- one in which the targets were no longer soldiers on a battlefield, but innocent men, women and children going about their daily lives. 

In the days that followed, our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan.  Then, our focus shifted.  A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there.  By the time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year.  But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the offensive.  Without a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we could face a resurgent al Qaeda and a Taliban taking over large parts of Afghanistan.

For this reason, in one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve made as President, I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan.  When I announced this surge at West Point, we set clear objectives:  to refocus on al Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban’s momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.  I also made it clear that our commitment would not be open-ended, and that we would begin to draw down our forces this July.

Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment.  Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals.  As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point.  After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead.  Our mission will change from combat to support.  By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security. 

We’re starting this drawdown from a position of strength.  Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11.  Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership.  And thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known.  This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11.  One soldier summed it up well.  “The message,” he said, “is we don’t forget.  You will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes.” 

The information that we recovered from bin Laden’s compound shows al Qaeda under enormous strain.  Bin Laden expressed concern that al Qaeda had been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that had been killed, and that al Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam -– thereby draining more widespread support.  Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and we must be vigilant against attacks.  But we have put al Qaeda on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.

In Afghanistan, we’ve inflicted serious losses on the Taliban and taken a number of its strongholds.  Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped stabilize more of the country.  Afghan security forces have grown by over 100,000 troops, and in some provinces and municipalities we’ve already begun to transition responsibility for security to the Afghan people.  In the face of violence and intimidation, Afghans are fighting and dying for their country, establishing local police forces, opening markets and schools, creating new opportunities for women and girls, and trying to turn the page on decades of war.

Of course, huge challenges remain.  This is the beginning — but not the end –- of our effort to wind down this war.  We’ll have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we’ve made, while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government.  And next May, in Chicago, we will host a summit with our NATO allies and partners to shape the next phase of this transition.

We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war without a political settlement.  So as we strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban.  Our position on these talks is clear:  They must be led by the Afghan government, and those who want to be a part of a peaceful Afghanistan must break from al Qaeda, abandon violence, and abide by the Afghan constitution.  But, in part because of our military effort, we have reason to believe that progress can be made.

The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply:  No safe haven from which al Qaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland or our allies.  We won’t try to make Afghanistan a perfect place.  We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely.  That is the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to protect its people, and move from an economy shaped by war to one that can sustain a lasting peace.  What we can do, and will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures –- one that ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government.

Of course, our efforts must also address terrorist safe havens in Pakistan.  No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region.  We’ll work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keeps its commitments.  For there should be no doubt that so long as I am President, the United States will never tolerate a safe haven for those who aim to kill us.  They cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve. 

My fellow Americans, this has been a difficult decade for our country.  We’ve learned anew the profound cost of war — a cost that’s been paid by the nearly 4,500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1,500 who have done so in Afghanistan -– men and women who will not live to enjoy the freedom that they defended.  Thousands more have been wounded. Some have lost limbs on the battlefield, and others still battle the demons that have followed them home.

Yet tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding.  Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way.  We’ve ended our combat mission in Iraq, with 100,000 American troops already out of that country.  And even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance.  These long wars will come to a responsible end.

As they do, we must learn their lessons.  Already this decade of war has caused many to question the nature of America’s engagement around the world.  Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of global security, and embrace an isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face.  Others would have America over-extended, confronting every evil that can be found abroad.

We must chart a more centered course.  Like generations before, we must embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events.  But we must be as pragmatic as we are passionate; as strategic as we are resolute.  When threatened, we must respond with force –- but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large armies overseas.  When innocents are being slaughtered and global security endangered, we don’t have to choose between standing idly by or acting on our own.  Instead, we must rally international action, which we’re doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving them the chance to determine their own destiny.

In all that we do, we must remember that what sets America apart is not solely our power -– it is the principles upon which our union was founded.  We’re a nation that brings our enemies to justice while adhering to the rule of law, and respecting the rights of all our citizens.  We protect our own freedom and prosperity by extending it to others.  We stand not for empire, but for self-determination.  That is why we have a stake in the democratic aspirations that are now washing across the Arab world.  We will support those revolutions with fidelity to our ideals, with the power of our example, and with an unwavering belief that all human beings deserve to live with freedom and dignity.

Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens here at home.  Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times.  Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people.  We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means.  We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy.  And most of all, after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the beginning of this time of war.  For our nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep, no horizon is beyond our reach.

America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home.

In this effort, we draw inspiration from our fellow Americans who have sacrificed so much on our behalf.  To our troops, our veterans and their families, I speak for all Americans when I say that we will keep our sacred trust with you, and provide you with the care and benefits and opportunity that you deserve.  

I met some of these patriotic Americans at Fort Campbell.  A while back, I spoke to the 101st Airborne that has fought to turn the tide in Afghanistan, and to the team that took out Osama bin Laden.  Standing in front of a model of bin Laden’s compound, the Navy SEAL who led that effort paid tribute to those who had been lost –- brothers and sisters in arms whose names are now written on bases where our troops stand guard overseas, and on headstones in quiet corners of our country where their memory will never be forgotten.  This officer — like so many others I’ve met on bases, in Baghdad and Bagram, and at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital -– spoke with humility about how his unit worked together as one, depending on each other, and trusting one another, as a family might do in a time of peril. 

That’s a lesson worth remembering -– that we are all a part of one American family.  Though we have known disagreement and division, we are bound together by the creed that is written into our founding documents, and a conviction that the United States of America is a country that can achieve whatever it sets out to accomplish.  Now, let us finish the work at hand.  Let us responsibly end these wars, and reclaim the American Dream that is at the center of our story.  With confidence in our cause, with faith in our fellow citizens, and with hope in our hearts, let us go about the work of extending the promise of America -– for this generation, and the next. 

May God bless our troops.  And may God bless the United States of America.

Editor’s note: As statements come in tonight regarding Obama’s speech, they will be posted on this blog.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan, N.C., Chair of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats Subcommittee, tonight commented after the President’s speech on Afghanistan.

“We owe our brave troops a strategy that both finishes the job and honors their sacrifice,” Hagan said. “Yet there is a shortsighted focus among some in Congress on immediate steps when what is needed is flexibility and a clear eye on the end game. Our combat troops should leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. This will create a sense of urgency within the Afghan government to get its act together. 

“American troops, including almost 20,000 men and women from North Carolina, are disrupting, dismantling and defeating terrorism in Afghanistan. We cannot throw away the significant gains they have fought so hard to achieve. What remains of al Qaeda is hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border. We must take the opportunity to bury them there once and for all.”

Hagan, who comes from a strong military family, has visited American troops serving in Afghanistan three times since taking office.

Editor’s note: As statements come in tonight regarding Obama’s speech, they will be posted on this blog.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, U.S. Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s address on Afghanistan:

“I am hopeful that the plan announced by the President tonight achieves the appropriate balance between building on the progress that American forces have made in Afghanistan, ensuring stability in the region – particularly in Pakistan – and handing over security to the Afghan people.”

CHARLOTTE – United States Senator Kay R. Hagan today commented on the indictment of John Edwards. 

“First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards’ children, Cate, Emma Claire and Jack.  They have endured so much pain during the last year, including the passing of their remarkable mother, Elizabeth.

“It is now time to move forward expeditiously with the nomination of Thomas Walker for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  In March 2009, shortly after my swearing-in, I convened a statewide panel, led by former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, to find the most qualified, competent and fair-minded candidates for federal appointments. Mr. Walker is one of the fine legal minds recommended by the panel for U.S. Attorney, and I was proud to further recommend him to the President.  In the interest of avoiding even the appearance of partisanship in federal prosecutions, I also asked the White House to allow the sitting U.S. Attorney to complete pending investigations into public officials.  Finally, those investigations are complete.

 “Today, I forwarded Mr. Walker’s blue slip to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will expedite his nomination to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.”

The following is a press release from the Department of Justice.

In this Dec. 11, 2010 file photo, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is seen in Raleigh. (AP Photo)

FORMER SENATOR

AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOHN EDWARDS CHARGED FOR ALLEGED ROLE IN SCHEME TO VIOLATE FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury today returned a six-count indictment against former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards for allegedly participating in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws, announced U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. 

The indictment, returned in the Middle District of North Carolina, charges Johnny Reid Edwards, 58, of Chapel Hill, N.C., with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal campaign finance laws and to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC); four counts of accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions from two donors in 2007 and 2008; and one count of concealing those illegal donations from the FEC.  Edwards is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Winston-Salem, N.C., at 2:30 p.m. EDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Auld.

“Democracy demands that our election system be protected, and without vigorously enforced campaign finance laws, the people of this country lose their voice,” said U.S. Attorney Holding.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice are committed to the prosecution of individuals who abuse the very system of which they seek to become a part.”

“Today, a federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against former Senator John Edwards for violating federal election laws during his campaign for President of the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “Mr. Edwards is alleged to have accepted more than $900,000 in an effort to conceal from the public facts that he believed would harm his candidacy.  As this indictment shows, we will not permit candidates for high office to abuse their special ability to access the coffers of their political supporters to circumvent our election laws.  Our campaign finance system is designed to preserve the integrity of democratic elections – for the presidency and all other elected offices – and we will vigorously pursue abuses of the kind alleged today.”

“Public servants are held to the same laws as everyone else in this country.  The position sought does not exempt anyone, even those running for President of the United States,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

“Public officials hold positions of trust and get no free pass to ignore the law,” said Victor S. O. Song, Chief, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation (CI).  “Today’s indictment demonstrates IRS’ commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure our public officers remain trustworthy and adhere to the highest levels of integrity.” 

According to the indictment, while a candidate for President of the United States, Edwards conspired with other individuals to accept and receive campaign contributions in excess of limits imposed by the Federal Election Act in an effort to protect and advance his candidacy from disclosure of an ongoing extra-marital affair and the resulting pregnancy.  The indictment alleges that between 2007 and 2008, Edwards accepted and received more than $900,000 as part of this effort.

The Federal Election Act limits the amount an individual may contribute to any candidate for federal elected office in order to limit the influence any one individual may have on the outcome of a federal election.  The Federal Election Act established that the most one individual could contribute for the 2008 presidential primary election was $2,300.  According to the indictment, the Federal Election Act’s contribution limit applies to anything of value provided for the purpose of influencing a federal election, including contributions to a candidate and his/her campaign; expenditures made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate or his/her campaign; and payments for personal expenses of a candidate unless those payments would have been made irrespective of his/her candidacy.

The Federal Election Act, according to the indictment, also requires each presidential campaign committee to file periodic campaign finance reports with the FEC, which are made available to the public.  In these reports, the committees were required to identify each person who, during the relevant reporting period, contributed more than $200 to the committee, along with the date and the amount of the contribution.  According to the indictment, these reports are intended to provide citizens with a transparent record of the amount and sources of all campaign contributions and to assist voters in making informed decisions at the polls.

According to the indictment, the payments at issue were used to facilitate Edwards’ extra-marital affair, and to conceal it and the resulting pregnancy from the public.  The indictment alleges that the funds were used to pay for the living and medical expenses of the individual with whom Edwards was having the affair, and to pay for the travel and accommodations necessary to hide this individual from the news media and the public so that Edwards’ candidacy would not be damaged.  According to the indictment, Edwards knew that the public revelation of the affair and pregnancy would undermine his image and force his campaign to divert personnel and resources away from campaign activities to respond to criticism and media scrutiny.

The indictment alleges that Edwards and his co-conspirators concealed the alleged unlawful contributions from the FEC and the public by causing the John Edwards for President Committee to file with the FEC false and misleading campaign finance reports that failed to disclose the illegal contributions.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Edwards faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge.  He faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions, and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of concealing the alleged illegal donations.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Higdon Jr. and Brian S. Meyers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, as well as Deputy Chief Justin V. Shur and Trial Attorneys David V. Harbach II and Jeffrey E. Tsai of the Public Integrity Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI.

The following is a press release from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office:

CSI Agents of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office have spent two days examining under the foundation of a house where a man lived in 1962 who was the suspect of kidnapping two young children from the Midway Park Area.  Neither of the children or their remains was ever located.  Neighbors living nearby the suspect were concerned that possibly the children had been buried under the floor of the suspect’s house. 

In 1991 new light in this case came to Sheriff Brown by way of the suspect’s wife via her daughter.  The suspect’s wife, while on her death bed, told about her husband kidnapping the children. The children’s parents were then contacted.

Sheriff Brown learned two or three months ago that a company was going to demolish the house so he contacted the company and shared the story reference to the house.  The company agreed to call Sheriff Brown before the demolition of the floor and foundation.

On Wednesday, February 23, 2011, Sheriff Brown received a call from the demolition company which stated some bones had been found under the floor.  The company stopped all demolition until law enforcement arrived.  Three bones and a pink plastic belt were found.  One of the bones was a jaw bone with teeth.  The bones were taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office.  The Medical Examiner said the bones did not appear to be human.  The jaw bone with teeth will be taken to an Orthodontist for further examination.