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Barack Obama sets out US drone policy Barack Obama defends 'just war' using drones
(34 minutes later)
President Obama has said the US is safer because of his administration's efforts to combat militancy, in a speech defending the use of drones. President Barack Obama has defended the use of drones as a "just war" of self-defence against deadly militants, and a campaign that had made America safer.
In a major speech on counter-terrorism, he is also expected to offer some transparency over the strikes. In a wide-ranging speech on a programme shrouded in secrecy, he said there must be "near certainty" that no civilians would die in such strikes.
The speech comes a day after the US said publicly for the first time that drones had killed four US citizens. In a renewed push to shut Guantanamo Bay, he also lifted a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen.
In Thursday's speech, Mr Obama will also address his aim of closing the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mr Obama also defended the use of drones to kill four US citizens.
"From our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions we are making will define the type of nation and world that we leave to our children," he said in Thursday's address. "We are at war with an organisation that right now would kill as many Americans as they could if we did not stop them first," he said in Thursday's address at National Defense University in Washington DC.
"So America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us." "So this is a just war - a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defence."
'Traditions and laws' He added: "And yet as our fight enters a new phase, America's legitimate claim of self-defence cannot be the end of the discussion. To say a military tactic is legal, or even effective, is not to say it is wise or moral in every instance."
Last month, the US president pledged a new push to transfer the remaining prisoners from the facility, saying it was "contrary to who we are" and harmful to US interests. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in its efforts to combat militancy, Mr Obama also said his administration would be willing to accept increased oversight of drone strikes outside war zones like Afghanistan.
Administration officials said the president would discuss on Thursday "why the use of drone strikes is necessary, legal and just, while addressing the various issues raised by our use of targeted action". He warned that a "perpetual" US war on terror, whether through drone strikes, special forces or troop deployments, would be "self-defeating".
The speech at the National Defense University in Washington coincides with the signing of new "presidential policy guidance" on when drone strikes can be used, the White House said. The speech coincides with the signing of new "presidential policy guidance" on when drone strikes can be used, the White House said.
The policy document sharply curtails the instances in which drones can be used in places that are not overt war zones, such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, the New York Times reported.The policy document sharply curtails the instances in which drones can be used in places that are not overt war zones, such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, the New York Times reported.
It was unclear whether Mr Obama would offer any specifics about the drone policy, which remains shrouded in secrecy, or about a reported shift of responsibility for many drone strikes from the CIA to the Pentagon.
Such a shift would give Congress greater scrutiny over the drone programme.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday that Mr Obama "believes that we need to be as transparent about a matter like this as we can".
"It is his belief that there need to be structures in place that remain in place for successive administrations,'' Mr Carney said, so that counter-terrorism policy is "conducted in a way that ensures that we're keeping with our traditions and our laws".
Human rights groups have long condemned the use of unmanned drones to carry out killings.Human rights groups have long condemned the use of unmanned drones to carry out killings.
Dixon Osburn of Human Rights First welcomed the White House pledge for more transparency, but said in a statement he remained "deeply concerned that the administration appears to be institutionalizing a problematic targeted killing policy without public debate".Dixon Osburn of Human Rights First welcomed the White House pledge for more transparency, but said in a statement he remained "deeply concerned that the administration appears to be institutionalizing a problematic targeted killing policy without public debate".
'Imminent threat' On Wednesday, the US disclosed that four Americans had been killed by drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, marking the first formal public acknowledgement of the US citizen deaths in drone strikes.
Wednesday's disclosure of the drone killings in Yemen and Pakistan marked the first formal public acknowledgement of the US citizen deaths in drone strikes.
In a letter to the Senate judiciary committee, US Attorney General Eric Holder defended the targeted killing in 2011 of Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he described as a "senior operational leader" of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.In a letter to the Senate judiciary committee, US Attorney General Eric Holder defended the targeted killing in 2011 of Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he described as a "senior operational leader" of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
He said that officials "appropriately concluded that [Awlaki] posed a continuing and imminent threat" to the US.He said that officials "appropriately concluded that [Awlaki] posed a continuing and imminent threat" to the US.
Awlaki, who was born in the US state of New Mexico, was killed in a missile strike from an unmanned plane in Yemen in September 2011.Awlaki, who was born in the US state of New Mexico, was killed in a missile strike from an unmanned plane in Yemen in September 2011.
Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who produced an online magazine promoting al-Qaeda's ideology, died in the same missile strike.Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who produced an online magazine promoting al-Qaeda's ideology, died in the same missile strike.
Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, who was born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later.Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, who was born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later.
Mr Holder also confirmed that Jude Kenan Mohammad, a North Carolina resident with a Pakistani father and an American-born mother, had been killed in a drone strike.Mr Holder also confirmed that Jude Kenan Mohammad, a North Carolina resident with a Pakistani father and an American-born mother, had been killed in a drone strike.
Mohammad is thought to have died in a strike in November 2011 in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.Mohammad is thought to have died in a strike in November 2011 in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.
Mr Holder said only Awlaki had been "specifically targeted and killed", and that the other men "were not specifically targeted by the United States".Mr Holder said only Awlaki had been "specifically targeted and killed", and that the other men "were not specifically targeted by the United States".