Bridging the Pond: President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron Hold a Joint Press Conference

After the morning's State Arrival ceremony and a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office, President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron took advantage of a beautiful spring day to hold a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden.
The two leaders answered questions about the global economy, Iran's nuclear program, and the war in Afghanistan. They also touched on a potential cross-cultural-sports exchange -- offering the President an introduction to cricket in exchange for the Prime Minister's crash course in bracketology.
Both men emphasized the open communiation and strong relationship between the two countries, with President Obama saying:

"The alliance between our countries is a foundation -- not only for the security and prosperity of our two nations, but for international peace and security as well.  David shares my belief that, in a time of rapid change, the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom is more important than ever.  ...The future we seek is only possible if the rights and responsibilities of nations and people are upheld.  And that’s a cause that we advanced today."

 Prime Minister Cameron echoed these sentiments:

"There are some countries whose alliance is a matter of convenience, but ours is a matter of conviction.  Two states... united for freedom and enterprise; working together, day in, day out, to defend those values and advance our shared interests." Later emphasizing that: "the relationship between Britain and America is the strongest that it has ever been.  And I believe that’s because we’re working together as closely as at any point in our history.  And together, I’m confident that we can help secure the future of our nations and the world for generations to come."

Want to hear how the two answered the questions from reporters? You can jump to the President and Prime Minister's responses by clicking on the links below:

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Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (1331MB) | mp3 (85MB)

• Given the extraordinarily difficult circumstances in Afghanistan... what makes you confident that two years from now when the last troops leave, it will be better than it is today? Also, ...if you could talk about the pace of withdrawal.
• Mr. Prime Minister, you and the President take very different approaches to economic growth—whereas you emphasize more austerity measures, the President focuses more on stimulative measures... could explain why you believe that your approach is likely to create more jobs than President Obama's?
• Do you have any information about an apparent car bombing at Camp Bastion this afternoon? And on the general Afghan question...why do you think it is that the British and American people look at a situation that they think is, frankly, a mess... and they are just not persuaded by your arguments?
• On Iran, do you believe that the six-power talks represent a last chance for the country to diffuse concerns over its nuclear program and avert military action?
• Prime Minister, on Syria, how are you approaching the Russians to get them on board for a fresh Security Council resolution? Do you believe President Bashar al-Assad ought to be tried as a war criminal?
• On the subject of Syria... have you discussed today the possibility of a no-fly zone? Have you discussed how you might implement it? Have you discussed how you would degrade the Syrian defenses? Have you discussed time scales on any of those issues?