Obama heralds new era

Reuters

UNPRECEDENTED: An estimated two million people braved freezing weather to see the first African-American President inaugurated in Washington.

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The war in Iraq will be wound back, the Guantanamo Bay prison camp closed and a US$825 billion (NZ$1.58 trillion) economic stimulus plan set in motion as the world awakes to a new-look superpower.

United States President Barack Obama today starts his first full day in office after inauguration celebrations of unprecedented proportions.

In his first act of business, Obama issued a proclamation declaring a national day of renewal and reconciliation and calling on Americans to serve one another.

Obama's campaign promise to end the war in Iraq will be on the agenda today when he meets top national security aides and senior commanders.

Obama was summoning his holdover Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, to the White House, along with other members of his National Security Council, to discuss a way ahead in the war, two senior military officers said.

The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had not publicly announced the meeting.

The war in Afghanistan was also to be discussed, with the commander overseeing both conflicts, General David Petraeus, scheduled to attend.

In his inaugural address yesterday, Obama said he would "begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan".

His election pledge was to pull out of Iraq on a 16-month timetable.

Obama had also promised to close down the controversial Guantanamo Bay camp, where about 245 foreign captives are held in the US war on terrorism.

Obama's aides have said the new President will order the closure of the Guantanamo camp as one of his first acts.

Military authorities yesterday suspended pre-trial hearings at the camp, saying it was because of the inauguration.

Obama's focus in the first weeks will fall mostly on the embattled US economy.

"Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered," Obama said in his inauguration address.

"Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

The economic crisis was a consequence of "greed and irresponsibility" on the part of some, Obama said.

He vowed that those who manage Americans' money "will be held to account".

Obama cited the worst US economic conditions in 70 years and US involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as having placed the country "in the midst of crisis".

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," he said.

He pledged bold and swift action as he works with Congress on an estimated US$850 billion package aimed at jolting the economy back to life.

The warnings came amid a festival atmosphere as an estimated crowd of two million braved sub-zero temperatures to see the first African-American President take the oath on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington DC.

"It was very cold and very exciting and very emotional for people," said Christchurch expatriate Anne Tully, who watched the inauguration.

Tully, an international affairs expert, said Obama's speech was "very solid".

"It was not so much a celebratory speech but a very solid, serious speech," she said.

Tully braved the cold for seven hours with her American husband and children and barely managed to catch a glimpse of Obama.

"A lot of people had been there very early because we stopped at one of the large museums afterwards and a lot of people were asleep on the ground," she said.

About 8000 police were deployed and 32,000 military personnel were on duty or on standby.