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Barack Obama defends 'just war' using drones Barack Obama defends 'just war' using drones
(34 minutes later)
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.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 wide-ranging speech on a programme shrouded in secrecy, he said there must be "near certainty" that no civilians would die in such 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.
In a renewed push to shut Guantanamo Bay, he also lifted a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen.In a renewed push to shut Guantanamo Bay, he also lifted a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen.
Mr Obama also defended the use of drones to kill four US citizens.Mr Obama also defended the use of drones to kill four US citizens.
"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. "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 the National Defense University in Washington DC.
"So this is a just war - a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defence.""So this is a just war - a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defence."
Heckler
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."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."
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.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.
He warned that a "perpetual" US war on terror, whether through drone strikes, special forces or troop deployments, would be "self-defeating".He warned that a "perpetual" US war on terror, whether through drone strikes, special forces or troop deployments, would be "self-defeating".
As the president addressed efforts to close Guantanamo Bay, he was interrupted by a protester shouting about the current hunger strike at the prison.
"I'm willing to cut the young lady who interrupted me some slack because it's worth being passionate about," he said.
Mr Obama told his audience: "Guantanamo has become a symbol around the world for an America that flouts the rule of law."
Calling on Congress not to block his efforts to transfer the facility's inmates to American high-security jails, the Democratic president added: "No person has ever escaped from one of our super-max or military prisons in the United States."
Mr Obama also said he would lift a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen, and call on US lawmakers to shut down the prison entirely.
The speech 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.
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".
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.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.
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. 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 along with Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who produced an online al-Qaeda magazine.
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's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later.
Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who produced an online magazine promoting al-Qaeda's ideology, died in the same missile strike. Mr Holder also confirmed Jude Kenan Mohammad, a North Carolina resident, had been killed in a drone strike. He is thought to have died in a strike in November 2011 in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.
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.
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".