Obama Juggles Domestic Politics and International Diplomacy as He Welcomes Cameron

After hosting HRH Prince Harry for a surprise visit with First Lady Michelle Obama, the White House will welcomes prime minister David Cameron on Monday to discuss the latest crisis in Syria, the up-coming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland as well as Iran and the Middle East peace process.
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After hosting HRH Prince Harry for a surprise visit with First Lady Michelle Obama, the White House will welcomes prime minister David Cameron on Monday to discuss the latest crisis in Syria, the up-coming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland as well as Iran and the Middle East peace process.

This visit is occurring as new details emerged on Friday regarding e-mails that show a possible tug of war between the State Department and the CIA over how to tell the story of the Benghazi tragedy and claims by Republicans in Congress that there was attempt to 'cover-up' the facts.

The PM's visit is likely to be a welcome distraction from the Obama administration's efforts to put the an end to the re-examination of Benghazi Incident.

However, the prime minister's visit is also likely to put additional pressure on the President to deal with another festering problem - Syria.

This crisis poses challenges for the Obama Administration on both the domestic and international fronts and is simply not going away.

In response to a question regarding the agenda for the meeting between the President and PM Cameron, who has just met with president Vladimir Putin, on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said, "Well, as is always the case when the President meets with prime minister Cameron, they will speak about a range of subjects. The relationship between our two nations is extraordinarily close, and we work and cooperate on matters across the international spectrum."

When asked for more details and how much of their talk will be on the crisis in Syria, Mr Carney added, "They will also clearly discuss Syria."

Mr Carney also made the point that: "The upcoming G8 will of course be a topic of conversation. The United Kingdom is hosting that important meeting on the international economy.

"They will probably discuss Iran. They will probably discuss the Middle East peace process and a whole host of other issues. That is always the case when these two leaders get together."

Since PM Cameron has just met with president Putin, it seems very likely the two leaders will discuss whether there is any hope for Russian cooperation in the Syrian Crisis.

Their meeting is also happening prior to one between President Obama and Turkish prime minister Erdogan later in the week where PM Erdogan is supposedly headed to the White House with concrete proof of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Regime.

Time may be running out since both leaders know the US, the UK and other western nations may soon be faced with real proof that Syria has "crossed the red line."

In light of the grave decisions facing these two leaders this White House visit is likely to be 'all business.'

Jon-Christopher Bua's blogposts for Sky News appear here.

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