G8 Summit ended with pledge to support growth and Greece

The four day G8 Summit closed out at Camp Davis on Saturday with world leaders coming down in support of growth and saving Greece from the current financial crisis. At the same time, the leaders of the world put the onus on their European counterparts to deal with the financial turmoil before it starts hurting the rest of the world economy.

British PM David Cameron called for “decisive action” and “contingency plan” to combat and tackle the eurozone crisis. He also delicately prodded that the European Central Bank (ECB) should consider printing notes to revive demand in the single currency block.

US President Barack Obama, the host of the Camp Davis Summit, called upon the leaders of France, Germany and Italy to resolve the crisis through restoring public finances and encouraging stimulus. Keeping an eye on his re-election chances, President Obama proposed “stimulus” for job-creating infrastructures, and balancing it with “reforms” in order to address debts and deficits.

Lastly, in order to address the political and economic upheaval in Greece, the leaders of the G8 nations also reaffirmed their interest in keeping Greece within the euro zone. Though, they didn’t propose any solution to tackle the turmoil in Greece.

Obama joins French President Hollande to back growth

While welcoming G8 leaders at Camp Davis on Friday, President Obama has hoped that the world leaders would find a solution to eurozone crisis that would be a pragmatic mix of “fiscal consolidation” and “strong growth agenda”. He also stressed upon the importance of Europe and its strong hold on American economy and the need to put Europe back on the growth path. With Europe already bracing for possible Greek exit, Obama’s take on “growth” is expected to divide the house into two and set the ball rolling for more heated debates.

It seems that French President Francois Hollande’s pro-growth policies have found an echo in his American counterpart, Barack Obama. In aligning with growth, Obama is believed to have distanced himself from Angela Merkel-backed austerity program.

Obama’s view reflects the growing fear of eurozone financial crisis and its cascading effects on other parts of the world. This has the potential to hurt the slowly recovering US economy also Obama’s re-election chance. It is believed that  the four day Camp David summit would be the ultimate testing ground for international diplomats not only to iron out their differences, but also to find a viable solution to euro zone crisis that has threatened to plague the entire financial world.

Iraq war ends as US officially pullouts troops

Finally the declaration, which was longingly awaited around the world, came from Pentagon on Wednesday – the US-declared war in Iraq is officially over. This puts an end to a war that lasted almost nine years and snuffed out more than one lakh Iraqis and 4500 Americans. The final phase of withdrawing US troops is expected to be finished by 1st of Jan 2012 as per an agreement reached in 2008 between President Barack Obama and ex-president George Bush. At present, there are still 4000 troops deployed in two American bases in Iraq.

In a speech in North Carolina, the US President, Barack Obama, applauded his soldiers for their bravery and commitment, especially the sacrifice of dead soldiers and their families. He welcomed his soldiers back home amidst loud cheers and thanks giving.

The United States led Iraq war was headed by ex-President George Bush in 2003 on the claim that the then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had stashed large-scale destruction weapons. This has drawn huge criticism and humiliation from all over the world as the allegation was found to be unfounded. For America, life after Iraq war perhaps presents the perfect time for introspection and for Iraq, there lays a long struggle to establish peace, stability and prosperity.