President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at Buckingham Palace in London Tuesday for a state visit and found they’re staying in what might be called the honeymoon suite.

Shortly after arriving at the 775-room palace, the Obamas were shown to their six room suite by Queen Elizabeth II. It was last used by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their wedding night.

"It may not be the same bed,” said one palace aide. “It is the same suite."

After the tour, the Obamas were to meet briefly with the newlywed couple – also known as Prince William and Kate -- before walking outside for a formal arrival ceremony.

President Barack Obama will cut short a visit to Ireland and leave Monday evening as a plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland heads toward the British Isles, threatening to strand him on the ground.

Obama’s entourage,including Air Force One and a chartered plane carrying the White House press corps, had been scheduled to fly from Dublin, Ireland, to London on Tuesday morning. But the plume of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland was expected to cover Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern Britain by 6 am Tuesday, according to reports in London.

British authorities said late Monday that airspace would be closed at 7 am Tuesday, local time, over Northern Ireland and Scotland. News reports in London said airlines already were grounding flights.

The earlier departure for London will not change Obama's planned state visit to London Tuesday, accordingto Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

Last year, an ash cloud from another Iceland volcano wreaked havoc on European air travel for days. It also forced Obama to cancel a trip to Poland to attend the funeral of its president; a trip he’s making up this week after stops in Ireland, the United Kingdom and France.

When he arrives in London later this week, President Barack Obama will join British Prime Minister David Cameron in announcing a a new joint effort to coordinate national security analysis and staretgy.

The National Security Strategy Board would be co-chaired by White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and British National Security Adviser Sir Peter Ricketts, according to U.S. and British officials in London who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcement.

Donilon flew to London Sunday ahead of Obama to finish the arrangements.

The joint-board would coordinate the two governments’ assessments of threats from terrorists and rogue nations, as well as developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the rapid changes emerging through the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements sweeping North Africa and the Middle East.

“The new board will allow us to look ahead and develop a shared view of emerging challenges, how we should deal with them, and how our current policy can adapt to longer term developments," said a statement from a British official.

“It reflects a welcome further development of our close relationship on foreign and defense business. Sharing the knowledge and insights of the experts in London and Washington will help both governments look ahead in an increasingly complex and fast moving world.”

White House press pool report from Dublin:

President Barack Obama arrived at President Mary McAleese's residence, a large white house set in a large park, shortly after 10 a.m. local.

He and Michelle Obama walked into the State Reception Room alongside the Irish President and her husband, Martin. The large guest book with sheets of lined manila-colored paper sat on a wooden table at the center of the State Reception Room, an ornate room with gold trim on the ceiling and walls, a deep green carpet and fireplace. An Irish Army commandant stood off to the side, behind the table. The Obamas only signed their name. They thanked the McAleeses before being ushered into another room.

As he walked out, an Irish reporter shouted: "Mr. President, may we ask your first impressions of Ireland?" President Obama would only smile and wave his hand.

He is now meeting with President McAleese before moving outdoors for a tree planting. His tree will be about 50 feet or so from a Sequoia planted in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy.

From a White House press pool report:

Air Force One landed at Dublin Airport in blustery winds at 9:29 local time. After taxiing a bit, the President and First Lady disembarked. He was wearing a dark suit, she was wearing a grey jacket and light grey skirt. They were greeted by the Irish chief of protocol and the US ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney.

 

Moments later:

POTUS landed in a broad green field in Phoenix Park at 9:59. Very windy ride over from the airport. President and Mrs. Obama walked through the waving grass, through a stand of trees, to their motorcade, which left for the short drive to the Irish president's house.

Nancy Pelosi's OK.

The House minority leader was taken to a Rome hospital Monday morning after feeling ill. She's on a trip to Italy, where she's leading a congressional delegation that's helping celebrating that country's 150th birthday, and Afghanistan. One report said she had a fainting spell.

Pelosi's office said she became sick after "several flights yesterday in Afghanistan and a long flight back to Italy that arrived early this morning."

As a result of not feeling well, "this morning in Rome, the leader was advised to visit a clinic, and the closest medical facility was a hospital. The leader is now resuming her schedule in Italy."

Vice President Joe Biden left for Europe this morning. He’s headed to Brussels and Madrid for meetings with NATO and the European Union as well as the leaders of Belgium and Spain.

One mission: make up for President Obama’s decision not to attend a regular meeting of the US and EU in Madrid this spring, a decision that led to the cancellation of the summit.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair traveled to Capitol Hill this week to deliver the U.S. Intelligence Community's annual threat assessment.

Most of the resulting news coverage focused on what the assessment had to say about al Qaida. Not so surprising, they still want to attack inside the United States.

The assessment, however, covers much more than that, from cybersecurity to nuclear proliferation to concerns about global warming. Here's Blair's unclassified testimony prepared for today's appearance before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Some of the more interesting observations:

Cyber Threat

"[A]cting independently, neither the US government nor the private sector can fully control or protect the country's information infrastructure . . . [T]he existing balance in network technology favors malicious actors and is likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future."

Economic Recovery

"Exit strategy missteps could set back the recovery, particularly if inflation or political pressures to consolidate budgets emerge before household consumption and private investment have begun to play a larger role in the recovery. From a geographic perspective, this risk is greatest in Europe, where the recovery is anemic, and some governments are likely to begin consoldiating their budgets despite weak economic conditions." Other problem countries: Pakistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. (Blair didn't mention what the threat level for inopportune budget cuts might be in the United States. See today's story on Obama's talk to Democrats).

Oil Prices

"Sufficient OPEC spare production capacity exists . . . to meet oil demand growth in 2010. . . . [M]ost market observers expect the combination of high inventory levels and excess production capacity will limit upward movements in oil prices for the next year."

Terrorist Threats

AL QAIDA -- "The most recent [disrupted] plot for which we knew the target was the London-based aviation plot in 2006 . . .The ongoing investigation into the case of Najibullah Zazi has not yet revealed the intended target(s) of this alleged plot."

BIN LADEN -- "We assess that at least until Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri are dead or captured, al Qaida will retain its resolute intent to strike the Homeland."

AL QAIDA AFFILIATES -- "We are concerned that [al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] will continue to try [to attack inside the United States] but we do not know to what extent they are willing to direct core cadre to that effort given the group's prior focus on regional operation. . . . We judge most al Shabaab [Somalia] and East Africa-based al Qaida members will remain focused on regional objectives in the near term."

DOMESTIC THREATS -- "The tragic violence at Fort Hood underscores our concerns about the damage an individual or small number of homegrown extremists can do . . . It is clear, however, that a sophisticated, organized threat from radicalized individuals and groups in the United States . . . has not emerged. Indeed, the elements most conducive to the development of an entrenched terrorist presence -- leadership, a secure operating environment, trained operatives and well developed support base -- have been lacking to date in the United States or, where they have been nascent, have been interrupted by law enforcement authorities."

HEZBOLLAH -- "Hezbollah, which has not directly attacked US interests overseas over the past 13 years, is not now actively plotting to strike the Homeland."

CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOCATIVE AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS

"We do not know of any state deliberately providing CBRN assistance to terrorist groups. Although terrorist groups and individuals have sought out scientists with applicable expertise, we have no corroborated reporting that indicates such experts have advanced terrorist CBRN capability with the permission of any government."

NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AND ITS CONVENTIONAL ARMY

The Korean People's Army's "capabilities are limited by an aging weapons inventory, low production of military combat systems, deteriorating physical condition of soldiers, reduced training, and increasing diversion of the military to infrasutrcutre support. . . Because the conventional military capabilities gap between North and South Korea has become so overwhelmingly great and prospects for reversal of this gap so remote, [North Korea] relies on its nuclear program to deter external attacks . . . Although there are other reasons for the North to pursue its nuclear program, redressing conventional weaknesses is a major factor . . . that Kim and his likely successor will not easily dismiss."

AFGHANISTAN'S DRUG TRADE

"High wheat prices and low opium prices during the planting season in the fall of 2008 encouraged farmers to grow more wheat at the expense of poppy. . . . Recent price trends may lead to a larger poppy crop this year. Wheat prices have dropped by half . . . in response to an abundant Afghan wheat harvest last year and global price declines, reducing the profitability of wheat and probably making the crop less desirable than poppy to farmers."

CENTRAL AMERICA CRIME

"According to the United Nations Development program, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have homicide rates five to seven times higher than the world average of nine per 100,000 people. El Salvador last year had a homcide rate of 71 per 100,000, the highest rate in Latin America."

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's "regional influence may have peaked, but he is likely to continue to support likeminded political allies and movements . . . and seek to undermine pro-U.S. governments. . . .He has developed a close personal relationship with Iranian President Ahmadinejad and they have signed numerous agreements. . . . Following Chavez's lead, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua have increased their ties to Iran."

MASS KILLINGS

"The mass killing of civilians -- defined as the deliberate killing of at least 1000 unarmed civilians of a particualr political identity by state or state-sponsored actors in a single event or over a sustained period -- is a persistent feature of the global landscape . . . Looking ahead over the next five years, a number of countries in Africa and Asia are at significant risk for a new outbreak of mass killing. . . . Among these countries, a new mass killing or genocide is most likely to occur in Southern Sudan."

President Obama will visit wounded GIs and their families at Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility in Germany next week, the White House announced.

The stop could be a makeup for Obama’s decision last year as a candidate not to visit Landstuhl when he went to Germany as a candidate.

The stop on June 5 will come during an already scheduled trip next week to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France.

Landstuhl, the White House notes, “supports our service men and women stationed in Europe, and serves a leading and vital role in the care and recovery of personnel medically evacuated from Afghanistan, Iraq, and other forward-deployed posts within the U.S. European Command, Central Command and Africa Command areas of responsibility.”

President Barack Obama will travel to Russia, Italy and Ghana this July, the White House announced Saturday.

From the White House release:

The President is scheduled to travel to Moscow, Russia, July 6 to 8 at the invitation of President Medvedev. The summit meeting will provide an opportunity for the United States and the Russian Federation to deepen engagement on reducing nuclear weapons, cooperating on non-proliferation, exploring ways to cooperate on missile defense, addressing mutual threats and security challenges, and expanding the ties between American and Russian society and business.

The President will then attend the G-8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, from July 8 to 10. The Summit and related meetings with world leaders from emerging and African economies will provide an opportunity for the United States to engage with its partners on a broad range of issues. The President will also chair a meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate while at L’Aquila.

The President and Mrs. Obama will visit Accra, Ghana, from July 10 to 11. While in Ghana, the President will discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues with Ghanaian President Mills. The President and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.