MR. LEHRER: Mr. President, welcome.

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you so much for having me, Jim.

JIM LEHRER: You have just been with 2,000 U.S. Marines. Some have been in harm's way, some are about to go in harm's way, Iraq or Afghanistan, under orders from you as the commander in chief. Was this difficult for you this morning?

BARACK OBAMA: Well, it wasn't difficult because my main message was, number one, thank you. And the easiest thing for me to do is to express the extraordinary gratitude that I think all Americans feel for young men and women who are serving in our armed forces. And the second was to be very clear about our plans in Iraq, and that we are going to bring this war to an end.

But I will tell you that the most sobering things that I do as president relate to the deployment of these young men and women. Signing letters of those who have fallen in battle...
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