President Obama Addresses Veterans' Issues

Today in Phoenix, Arizona, President Obama spoke to a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. Along with his speech, several health care related protests surrounded the hall in which President Obama was speaking. As is becoming more prevalent, at least one protester (although there have been reports of others) felt the necessity to bring loaded weapons to the event.

When asked why the protester would bring a weapon to a Presidential speech, he responded that "in Arizona, I still have some freedoms." As you can expect, the main stream media latched onto this story, obscuring if not ignoring the main points of the President's speech -- which sought to clear up some issues relating to America's Veterans.

In seeking to address the needs and concerns of America's Veterans, President Obama firmly praised their service, stating veterans represented the true spirit and skill of this nation's military. He also noted the size of the modern military -- citing that never have so few served so many.

Using this statement as a segue to a broader approach to conflict resolution, President Obama stated that in the future, national security would also expand to diplomacy, development, economic might and moral example. Such a change in approach would represent a review of military priorities and postures -- "questioning conventional wisdom, rethinking old dogmas and challenging the status quo."

In addition to the reevaluating the position of the modern military in this country, President Obama promised conference participants that health care funding for veterans would be increased -- hundreds of millions of dollars to serve veterans in more rural areas of the country. He also rejected the myth that veterans' benefits would be cut under proposed health care reforms, stating flatly, "No one is going to take away your benefits. That's the truth."

For more information on Veterans in America and President Obama's policies, visit here.