PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday began his first full day as United States President with a full menu of reality on his table at the Oval Office where the buck stops. Among his major actions was to suspend the trial of Guantanamo Bay suspects and a reported phone call to some Middle East leaders on solving the many problems of the region.

"Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow the work begins," Obama had told troops on Tuesday night at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, one of 10 official events marking his inauguration. He made the rounds of those celebrations with his wife, Michelle, until about 12:45 a.m.

Yesterday began for the new president with a prayer service at the National Cathedral in northwest Washington at 10 a.m.

The President also met with his economic team and top brass from the Pentagon. He had told the ABC Network live television a day before inauguration that he would make quick decision on the economy, one of the top priorities of his administration.

As expected yesterday, he met with top military brass where he told them that he would want them to plan to have combat forces out of Iraq in 16 months, as he promised during his election campaign, an adviser revealed.

His words: "It's something he still believes is a responsible timetable," White House adviser, David Axelrod, told CNN in an interview. "But they'll discuss it. Everyone agrees that we need to be on a pace to withdraw our troops, and how that will be implemented I'm sure will be something he'll discuss."

Gen. David Petraeus, whose command oversees American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, was said to have attended the meeting, it was learnt on Tuesday. Petraeus, who had just arrived from Afghanistan and Pakistan, is expected to brief Obama on the latest developments in the troubled region.

Meanwhile, Obama also took a tough decision yesterday on one of the areas he touched in his inaugural address where he tactfully blamed his predecessor on the issue of rule of law, which he said even the founding father, George Washington, did not compromise in civil war live situation: A judge yesterday granted Obama's request to stop the trials of Guantanamo Bay suspects.

Obama subsequently ordered a 120-day halt to the trials to review the military commissions used to try them.

Papers filed at the U.S. prison camp noted that the request is made "in the interest of justice and at the direction of the president of the United States."

"The judges will receive the requests and review them, and we anticipate a ruling soon," said Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Defence Department spokesman.

Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, sent a memo to all federal agencies and departments to halt consideration of pending regulations throughout the government until the new staff can examine them, White House officials also said yesterday.

An estimated 1.5 million people packed the National Mall in freezing temperatures to watch Obama take the oath of office at noon on Tuesday, capping a remarkable rise for a politician who, until 2004, was a little-known Illinois state senator. The 47-year-old president, the son of a Kenyan immigrant, is the first African-American to hold the office.

Also yesterday, the new president reportedly spoke with leaders of Middle East nations over ways to tackle the crises in the region.

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