First, I would like to congratulate you on being elected the new president of our country. I trust that you will work to improve the current situation and problems that our country has recently come to face. I hope the new power you now possess will be used to work for the greater good of this country and its citizens. Two main issues that concern me most are the War in Iraq and the environmental crisis.

    The issue of the War in Iraq needs to be addressed immediately.  I feel that this is a situation that has been poorly handled by the previous administration and now we need a solution for this problem which has been inflicted on our country. From what I can tell so far there are two options: stay in Iraq for an undetermined amount of time or pull out in the very near future. Staying for a much longer period would entail spending billions more dollars and thousands of more casualties. Pulling out would mean leaving an unstable government, which we created, basically defenseless and susceptible to being overthrown. Neither option seems beneficial at the moment, but I feel that remaining would most likely be our best option. Because the Iraqi government is incredibly unstable right now, leaving would not be a wise decision because a more powerful neighboring country like Iran could invade and control the entire country, including their oil wells. Since we receive a substantial amount of oil from the Middle East, we would not want another country to hinder our oil imports. If this were to happen we could end up paying more at the pump which would ultimately hurt the American public. I understand that staying does not seem like the best idea, but it has more benefits, in the long run, than leaving.  By staying America would reassure the Iraqis that we will stabilize their government which would ultimately keep good relations with the Iraq. Good relations with this country are critical if they are to cooperate and supply us with the oil our country is dependent on. However, the negatives of staying include the investment of billions more dollars and the loss of the lives of more soldiers. I know this situation is not ideal, but it may be a price we have to pay.  As I see it we created this huge mess, and now we have to clean it up. As president I hope you will be able consider these options and make the decision that will, in the long run, be the right thing for our country.

     The issue of energy, like that of the War in Iraq, ultimately has no solution which will be a "quick-fix."  I feel that our country currently is incredibly wasteful and greedy. As it is widely known now, the US uses about 25% of the world's oil. The use of these fossil fuels contributes greatly to global warming and the destruction of our planet. I think that it is essential to end our dependence on foreign oil. The elimination this dependence could also improve our troubled economy and our current situation in Iraq.  Our gluttonous usage of fossil fuels has caused a substancial amount of anxiety with rising gas prices and a great toll on the wallet of the average American. The United States should try to develop and utilize more green forms of energy such as solar and wind power. I understand that the development of such technologies is in the earlier stages and that they are not yet effective enough for our country to completely rely on them yet, but I feel that with proper attention we can make a huge impact on the entire world to utilize more environmentally friendly sources of energy. It would be incredibly selfish of America if we did not think about the future of our country and of the entire world. By ignoring this issue, we are allowing the destruction of our planet. The way we can begin to start this process is by powering more buildings and especially homes with power sources like solar and wind, which would not be a very difficult transition. Just making this small step over even just thousands if not millions of homes would be a step in the right direction toward saving our environment. The government should offer incentives like tax cuts to those willing to take these steps toward "going green." It is small steps like changing a fraction of the energy sources we use to clean energy which make all the difference. I think that with governmental incentives more people will be motivated to make the right changes and further the "green movement." Any small change will be a great start to what I hope would be a much larger change to environmentally friendly energy sources.

    The issues of Iraq and energy are important to me and many more young Americans. We must take the first small steps toward change in order to make a difference in our country. We must look to our future and not necessarily take the easy way out of a tough situation but choose what would be for the greater good of the people now and the generations to come.  I know that these may not be the most urgent issues on the president's agenda, but I believe that these will greatly influence the well-being of our country.  The future of our country and ultimately the entire world rests on what we do today and what changes we can initiate.