President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States has opened a new era of diplomatic engagement, vowing to seek peace in the Middle East and to chart a new course in Afghanistan. He vowed to eliminate wasteful spending in Iraq and promised that the U.S. will no longer 'hide' the price of wars in both Iraq and afghanistan.Obama, delivering his first address to Congress, declared unequivocally that the U.S. will not torture prisoners but also pledged to swiftly punish captured terrorists.
"In words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun," Obama told a joint session of Congress little more than a month after he took office.