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Best Vine 2014 Alphacats Vine: Obama, whats in the box? Scruwy #remake #crunchberries #Fro - Video

President Barack Obama led the nation in commemorating Memorial Day, declaring the United States has reached "a pivotal moment" in Afghanistan with the end of war approaching.

Obama, who returned just hours earlier from a surprise visit with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, paid tribute to those lost in battle there and elsewhere over history. He called them "patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice" for their country.

"Early this morning, I returned from Afghanistan," Obama told the audience of several thousand people. "Yesterday, I visited with some of our men and women serving there 7,000 miles from home. For more than 12 years, men and women like those I met with have borne the burden of our nation's security. Now, because of their profound sacrifice, because of the progress they have made, we're at a pivotal moment."

"Our troops are coming home. By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to end," the president said to applause. "And yesterday at Bagram, and here today at Arlington, we pay tribute to the nearly 2,200 American patriots who've made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. We will honor them, always."

The president made a fleeting reference to the widening scandal involving reports of poor performance by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is facing allegations of delayed treatments, and even deaths in Arizona.

"As we've been reminded in recent days we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families, and ensure they get the care and benefits and opportunities that they've earned and that they deserve," said the president. Embattled Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki, a retired Army general, was present.

"These Americans have done their duty," Obama said. "They ask nothing more than that our country does ours now and for decades to come," he added, drawing more applause.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was among those attending the ceremony. Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for policy changes and better management at the department.

The Arlington remembrance was duplicated in villages, towns, cities and counties across the country. There was a holiday weekend reunion of some of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen in upstate New York. More than 3,000 volunteers placed flags at the graves of 120,000 veterans at the Florida National Cemetery. And in Mississippi, the annual Vicksburg Memorial Day parade was being accompanied by a wreath-laying ceremony at Vicksburg National Cemetery.

In Suffolk, Va., Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal joined those attending Fleet Week. "They made the sacrifice so everyday citizens don't have to worry about the evils of the world," he said.

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Obama Leads Country in Celebrating Memorial Day

President Barack Obama secretly slipped into Afghanistan under the cover of darkness Sunday for a weekend visit with U.S. troops serving in the closing months of America's longest war.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan

Spirited out of Washington aboard Air Force One, Obama flew for more than 13 hours for the brief visit to Bagram Air Base, the main U.S. base in the country.

He is to respond to the criticism in a speech on Wednesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His Afghan visit is bound to be seen by some critics as an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of military veterans who are alarmed at allegations that government-run medical facilities in the United States have not provided timely care for veterans.

Obama, making his fourth trip to Afghanistan, was to be briefed by Army General Joseph Dunford, who heads U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham, as he nears a decision on how many U.S. troops to leave behind after most are gone by year's end.

During a visit scheduled to last just a few hours, Obama was also set to speak to the troops and go to the base hospital to see wounded soldiers.

Obama had no plans to visit the Afghan capital Kabul nor would he meet Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai or other government officials. This allows him to avoid getting immersed in the country's presidential election campaign to choose a successor to Karzai, who has long been out of favor in Washington.

Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said Karzai was to have been informed about the Obama visit shortly before his arrival.

Karzai has irked Obama by refusing to sign a bilateral security agreement that Washington wants before it will agree to leave a contingent of U.S. troops behind in Afghanistan for training Afghan forces and counter-terrorism operations, after the formal U.S. troop drawdown at the end of the year.

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 - the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

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Obama surprises U.S. troops in secret trip to Afghanistan

President Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday for an unannounced visit, in which he commended U.S. troops for the sacrifices they have made and said he was hopeful that a bilateral agreement signed by the end of the year would allow for limited troops in the country.

Of all the honors that I have as serving as president, nothing matches serving as your commander-in-chief, Obama told troops in Bagram.

Obama thanked the soldiers for progress in Afghanistan, including the recent Afghan election, more local girls in school and Afghans reclaiming their communities.

Al Qaeda is on its heels in this part of the world and thats because of you, Obama said.

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The surprise trip came as the U.S. and NATO are withdrawing most of their forces ahead of a year-end deadline. Obama is seeking to keep a small number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 to train Afghan security forces and conduct counterterrorism missions.

But that plan is contingent on with Afghan President Hamid Karzais successor signing a bilateral security agreement, which Karzai himself has refused to authorize.

For many of you, this will be your last tour in Afghanistan, Obama told the troops, crediting them with the lead Afghan forces have taken to secure the country.

Obama said he hopes a bilateral security agreement would be signed by years end, and at that point, Americas war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end.

Beyond 2014, Obama said there would be a limited military presence in Afghanistan in order to make sure that Afghanistan can never again ever be used to launch an attack against our country and insure Afghanistan doesnt regress.

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Obama Hopes for "Limited Military Presence" in Afghanistan by Year's End

President Obama lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

President Obama, back in the nations capital following a surprise trip to visit U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, said Monday the country needs to do more to ensure veterans and families get the care and benefits they deserve.

Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, the president praised veterans from all the nations wars.

Everything that we hold precious in this country was made possible by Americans who gave their all, he said during his speech.

While the president did not specifically mention the growing scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs over long wait times and secret record-keeping, he did say the country must do more to ensure veterans and families get care and the benefits they deserve.

He added, These Americans have done their duty.

But others, like the American Legion, say the growing scandal at the VA has tarnished this years memorial services.

Verna Jones, director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation at the American Legion National Headquarters, says the VA scandal is leaving a black eye every day for veterans.

Veterans are losing faith in the system, Jones said.

According to various media reports at VA hospitals and clinics across the country, more than three dozen veterans have died while waiting for care.

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Obama celebrates Memorial Day at Arlington as VA scandal grows