WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Wednesday it found no sign of “systemic” troubles so far with U.S. home mortgages, as banks sought to play down a crisis over accusations of shoddy foreclosure practices.

But Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan insisted the government would “take every action” to press banks to fix paperwork problems at the core of a foreclosure crisis that has put major financial firms on the hot seat.

Donovan spoke after huddling with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top Justice Department official Thomas Perrelli to coordinate the government’s response to a foreclosure mess that poses potential risks to the fragile housing market and the broader economy.

With less than two weeks to go before midterm elections that threaten Democrats’ grip on Congress, the Obama administration has come under growing pressure to show it is on top of the situation.

This also comes as investors continue to hold banks accountable for past sales of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities, accusing lenders of sometimes misrepresenting the underlying loans.

A group of eight investors has accused Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) of inappropriately pooling certain mortgages into more than $47 billion of bonds. The bank has said it will fight being held responsible for the investors’ losses. [ID:nN19106691]

The foreclosure documents fiasco, in which banks are accused of using “robo-signers” to sign hundreds of foreclosure documents a day, has reignited public anger with banks, blamed for helping cause the recent financial crisis and recession.

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) – The White House warned banks on Tuesday it would hold them accountable for any illegal mortgage practices, keeping pressure on financial firms after two institutions announced the resumption of home foreclosures.

GMAC Mortgage joined Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest U.S. mortgage servicer, which announced on Monday a partial rollback of its foreclosure moratorium.

The banks’ moves, coupled with financial executives’ efforts to play down the severity of the crisis and show they were fixing any problems, followed weeks of damaging accusations of shoddy paperwork that may have forced some people illegally out of their homes.

The controversy, which has drawn public outrage and sparked government probes, has threatened bank earnings and the health of the fragile housing market, battered by falling prices and foreclosures on millions of homes since the beginning of 2007.

The White House, which has performed a delicate balancing act over the crisis, signaled that President Barack Obama was not letting the big banks off the hook.

Just two weeks before congressional elections that threaten his Democrats’ grip on Congress, Obama wants to avoid giving voters the impression he is caving in to financial firms whose risky lending is blamed for exacerbating the 2007-2009 meltdown that led to the deepest recession since the 1930s depression.

The administration has resisted calls for a nationwide foreclosure moratorium, wary of doing anything that could derail the nation’s anemic economic recovery.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will name close aide Tom Donilon as his new national security adviser on Friday in a move that could have implications for the struggling U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama’s current national security adviser, Jim Jones, a former Marine general, resigned on Friday.

Jones’ resignation had been widely expected as part of a mid-term reshuffle in the White House. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also signaled his intention to resign sometime in 2011, while Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer is also expected to retire.

The series of departures will give Obama an opportunity to reshape his national security team at a time when the United States is still deeply involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and is trying to isolate Iran over its nuclear program.

Obama was to make a statement to the media at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT), the White House said.

Jones was the point person for coordinating foreign policy advice to Obama, but was often portrayed as an outsider who struggled to make his voice heard over Obama’s close-knit group of advisers who were with him on his 2008 election campaign.

Donilon has served in senior roles in the State Department and is close to Vice President Joe Biden. He is known as one of the White House’s hardest working staffers and associates describe him as highly effective.

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday renewed its support for an Afghan reconciliation effort aimed at ending a 9-year-old war that has worsened, despite the presence of nearly 150,000 foreign troops in the country.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, however, declined to give any details of reported high-level secret talks between representatives of the Taliban and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government.

He said U.S. officials were playing no role in the reconciliation effort.

“This is something that has to be Afghan-led. This is about Afghanistan. It has to be done by the Afghans,” he told reporters at the White House. “We have always been supportive of that reconciliation.”

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the Taliban representatives taking part in the meetings were authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mullah Omar.

Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omer, speaking in Kabul, declined to confirm or deny the report of new meetings.

A senior U.S. administration official said there had been a series of what he called “engagements” between Afghan officials and the Taliban for the past few months. He declined to characterize the nature of the engagements.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Using the gravity of the Oval Office as a backdrop, President Barack Obama said in a 17-minute televised address to war-weary Americans on Tuesday that it was “time to turn the page” on the unpopular Iraq war.

* Obama declared the formal end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq but the reality is that there are still 50,000 U.S. troops in harm’s way there. Combat units may have been relabeled “advisory and assistance” brigades but they are still heavily armed and may be called upon by the Iraqi government to help in counter-insurgency operations in the still volatile country.

* Even as he trumpeted the success of the U.S. drawdown in Iraq, Obama tried again to assuage Americans’ growing doubts about the war in Afghanistan, emphasizing that U.S. forces would be there only for a “limited time” and that they would begin to come home next summer. U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan have soared this summer as violence has worsened.

* Obama’s declaration of what he called “this historic moment” was largely ceremonial. Little will change on the ground as Iraqi security forces have been taking the lead in combat operations for months.

* His announcement fulfilled his 2008 election campaign promise to end combat operations in Iraq but it is too early to say how it will play with voters in the Nov. 2 congressional elections. Opinion polls show Americans are preoccupied with stubbornly high unemployment and record government deficits.

* Mindful that the economy is issue No. 1 for recession-weary Americans, Obama stressed that winding down the costly war would enable the government to focus more resources on its “most urgent task” — boosting hiring and economic growth.

A top Obama aide said earlier that savings from ending the war in Iraq could be redirected toward the economy. The White House had previously suggested the money saved would go toward helping to cut the deficit, which it aims to halve by 2013.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Using the gravity of the Oval Office as a backdrop, President Barack Obama said in a 17-minute televised address to war-weary Americans on Tuesday that it was “time to turn the page” on the unpopular Iraq war.

* Obama declared the formal end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq but the reality is that there are still 50,000 U.S. troops in harm’s way there. Combat units may have been relabeled “advisory and assistance” brigades but they are still heavily armed and may be called upon by the Iraqi government to help in counter-insurgency operations in the still volatile country.

* Even as he trumpeted the success of the U.S. drawdown in Iraq, Obama tried again to assuage Americans’ growing doubts about the war in Afghanistan, emphasizing that U.S. forces would be there only for a “limited time” and that they would begin to come home next summer. U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan have soared this summer as violence has worsened.

* Obama’s declaration of what he called “this historic moment” was largely ceremonial. Little will change on the ground as Iraqi security forces have been taking the lead in combat operations for months.

* His announcement fulfilled his 2008 election campaign promise to end combat operations in Iraq but it is too early to say how it will play with voters in the November 2 congressional elections. Opinion polls show Americans are preoccupied with stubbornly high unemployment and record government deficits.

* Mindful that the economy is issue No. 1 for recession-weary Americans, Obama stressed that winding down the costly war would enable the government to focus more resources on its “most urgent task” — boosting hiring and economic growth.

A top Obama aide said earlier that savings from ending the war in Iraq could be redirected toward the economy. The White House had previously suggested the money saved would go toward helping to cut the deficit, which it aims to halve by 2013.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is on track to draw down its forces in Iraq to 50,000 by August 31, but there are doubts President Barack Obama can fulfill his pledge to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

As a presidential candidate Obama campaigned to end the now seven-year-old war responsibly, and as president he has been explicit in his assurances to Americans that not a single U.S. service member will remain in Iraq come January 1, 2012.

Easier said than done.

While violence has dipped sharply since the height of sectarian warfare from 2006-2007, Iraq remains fragile and its leaders have not resolved a number of politically explosive issues that could easily trigger renewed fighting.

The United States wants a stable, friendly Iraq, and analysts are skeptical Obama will do anything to jeopardize that.

Iraq’s military chief, the former U.S. general who oversaw the training of Iraq’s security forces, and U.S. officials who negotiated the current U.S.-Iraqi military pact are among those who say a U.S. military presence will be needed beyond 2011.

Obama’s defense secretary, Robert Gates, left the door open to that possibility in comments last week while emphasizing that Iraq’s new government, still to be formed after an inconclusive election in March, would first have to ask.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is on track to draw down its forces in Iraq to 50,000 by Aug. 31, but there are doubts President Barack Obama can fulfill his pledge to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

As a presidential candidate Obama campaigned to end the now seven-year-old war responsibly, and as president he has been explicit in his assurances to Americans that not a single U.S. service member will remain in Iraq come Jan. 1, 2012.

Easier said than done.

While violence has dipped sharply since the height of sectarian warfare from 2006-2007, Iraq remains fragile and its leaders have not resolved a number of politically explosive issues that could easily trigger renewed fighting.

The United States wants a stable, friendly Iraq, and analysts are skeptical Obama will do anything to jeopardize that.

Iraq’s military chief, the former U.S. general who oversaw the training of Iraq’s security forces, and U.S. officials who negotiated the current U.S.-Iraqi military pact are among those who say a U.S. military presence will be needed beyond 2011.

Obama’s defense secretary, Robert Gates, left the door open to that possibility in comments last week while emphasizing that Iraq’s new government, still to be formed after an inconclusive election in March, would first have to ask.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has completed the drawdown of its forces to Iraq to 50,000 ahead of the scheduled August 31 date, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

He added the combat mission was not yet over and would continue until August 31.

“We have drawn down to 50,000, but to be clear, the mission changes on the 31st, when brigades that are left are re-missioned to advise-and-assist brigades,” a senior Obama administration said.

The Pentagon has said the remaining 50,000 troops will also continue to train Iraqi armed forces and police units.

NBC News reported that the last U.S. combat troops had left Iraq and crossed the border into Kuwait, more than seven years after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

An NBC reporter traveling with the convoy said the troops from the 4th Stryker Brigade drove through the night and arrived in Kuwait just before 4 a.m. local time, with TV footage showing the convoy rolling through the border gates and the gate shutting as the last vehicle passed through.

Administration officials said the NBC report was premature. The official said it had never been the U.S. intention to wait until August 31 to remove the last troops scheduled for the drawdown.

, Aug 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama went swimming off the coast of Florida on Saturday and declared the Gulf area’s beaches “open for business,” trying to show by example that a region hit by the BP oil spill was safe for tourists to enjoy.

Obama, on his fifth visit to the region since BP Plc’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) deep-sea well in the Gulf of Mexico ruptured in April, pledged to restore the economy and the environment in the aftermath of the world’s worst offshore oil spill.

“Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf, and it has not been flowing for a month. But I’m here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is,” he told reporters after holding talks with local business owners.

“That is a commitment my administration is going to keep.”

No oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since July 15, when BP placed a tight-fitting cap over the broken Macondo well, which has spewed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil since April 20. The British company last week injected cement into the top of the well to seal it.

But officials say they will not declare victory until completion of a relief well being drilled 13,000 feet (2.5 miles/4 km) beneath the seabed that is now just feet away from its target. More cement is due to be pumped in via the well.

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