Barack Obama

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President Barack Obama speaks about his Promise Zones Initiative, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The Promise Zone Initiative is part of a plan to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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President Barack Obama speaks about his Promise Zones Initiative, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The Promise Zone Initiative is part of a plan to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

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Speaking out: Lukman Faily, Iraqi ambassador to the United States, says the Obama administration is not as engaged in his country's future as was the Bush administration, but adds that sectarian divisions are not about to erupt into civil war. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)