This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/us/politics/obama-foreign-policy-west-point-speech.html
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Obama Warns U.S. Faces Diffuse Terrorism Threats | Obama Warns U.S. Faces Diffuse Terrorism Threats |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| WEST POINT, N.Y. — President Obama tried once more to articulate his vision of the American role in the world on Wednesday, telling graduating cadets here that the nation they were being called to serve would seek to avoid military misadventures abroad, even as it confronts a new set of terrorist threats from the Middle East to Africa. | WEST POINT, N.Y. — President Obama tried once more to articulate his vision of the American role in the world on Wednesday, telling graduating cadets here that the nation they were being called to serve would seek to avoid military misadventures abroad, even as it confronts a new set of terrorist threats from the Middle East to Africa. |
| Speaking at the commencement of the United States Military Academy, Mr. Obama disputed critics who say his cautious response to crises like Syria’s civil war and Russian aggression toward Ukraine had eroded America’s leadership in the world. Those critics, he said, were “either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics.” | Speaking at the commencement of the United States Military Academy, Mr. Obama disputed critics who say his cautious response to crises like Syria’s civil war and Russian aggression toward Ukraine had eroded America’s leadership in the world. Those critics, he said, were “either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics.” |
| But for a president who has promised to take the United States off a permanent war footing, Mr. Obama painted an unsettling portrait of the world, 13 years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The nation, he said, had, in effect, traded Al Qaeda in Afghanistan for a more diffuse threat from extremists in Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Mali and other countries. | |
| A day after announcing that the last American soldier would leave Afghanistan at the end of 2016, Mr. Obama told a new class of Army officers that some of them would be sent on murkier missions, helping endangered nations deal with their own terrorist groups. | A day after announcing that the last American soldier would leave Afghanistan at the end of 2016, Mr. Obama told a new class of Army officers that some of them would be sent on murkier missions, helping endangered nations deal with their own terrorist groups. |
| In the only new policy announcement of the speech, he called on Congress to finance what he called a Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund, with up to $5 billion to provide training in these operations to vulnerable countries like Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey, all neighbors of Syria. | In the only new policy announcement of the speech, he called on Congress to finance what he called a Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund, with up to $5 billion to provide training in these operations to vulnerable countries like Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey, all neighbors of Syria. |
| “We have to develop a strategy that matches this diffuse threat; one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin, or stirs up local resentments,” Mr. Obama declared. “We need partners to fight terrorists alongside us.” | “We have to develop a strategy that matches this diffuse threat; one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin, or stirs up local resentments,” Mr. Obama declared. “We need partners to fight terrorists alongside us.” |
| The president has spoken before about the threat from terrorism, most notably in a speech last May at the National Defense University. But on those occasions he had taken pains to note that the threat was on a lesser scale than the Sept. 11 attacks and could be dealt with “smartly and proportionately.” | The president has spoken before about the threat from terrorism, most notably in a speech last May at the National Defense University. But on those occasions he had taken pains to note that the threat was on a lesser scale than the Sept. 11 attacks and could be dealt with “smartly and proportionately.” |
| On Wednesday, his language was more ominous: “For the foreseeable future,” he said, “the most direct threat to America at home and abroad remains terrorism.” | On Wednesday, his language was more ominous: “For the foreseeable future,” he said, “the most direct threat to America at home and abroad remains terrorism.” |
| Mr. Obama singled out Syria, which he said was becoming a haven for extremists, a situation that his critics have attributed in part to his own unwillingness to take more aggressive action. While pledging to strengthen American support for the opposition — something he has done several times before — the president did not discuss expanding the C.I.A.’s covert training program for Syrian rebels in Jordan, perhaps bringing in the military, an option that is being discussed inside the administration. | Mr. Obama singled out Syria, which he said was becoming a haven for extremists, a situation that his critics have attributed in part to his own unwillingness to take more aggressive action. While pledging to strengthen American support for the opposition — something he has done several times before — the president did not discuss expanding the C.I.A.’s covert training program for Syrian rebels in Jordan, perhaps bringing in the military, an option that is being discussed inside the administration. |
| A senior administration official said after the speech that the White House was consulting with Congress about ways to expand the military’s role in counterterrorism operations. But he declined to say whether the administration had decided on a bigger Pentagon role in Syria and noted there were other ways to help the opposition. | A senior administration official said after the speech that the White House was consulting with Congress about ways to expand the military’s role in counterterrorism operations. But he declined to say whether the administration had decided on a bigger Pentagon role in Syria and noted there were other ways to help the opposition. |
| Little in Mr. Obama’s tone suggested he had dropped his reluctance to get involved militarily in Syria, a position that has not changed despite three years of war and a death toll above 160,000. | Little in Mr. Obama’s tone suggested he had dropped his reluctance to get involved militarily in Syria, a position that has not changed despite three years of war and a death toll above 160,000. |
| “I made a decision that we should not put American troops into the middle of this increasingly sectarian war, and I believe that is the right decision,” Mr. Obama said. “But that does not mean we shouldn’t help the Syrian people stand up against a dictator who bombs and starves his own people.” | “I made a decision that we should not put American troops into the middle of this increasingly sectarian war, and I believe that is the right decision,” Mr. Obama said. “But that does not mean we shouldn’t help the Syrian people stand up against a dictator who bombs and starves his own people.” |
| Weeks in the drafting, the president’s speech was meant to be a wide-ranging rebuttal to critics who say he should have done more to curb the bloodshed in Syria or stop Russia’s takeover of Crimea. But it also rejected arguments that the United States should retreat from its post-World War II centrality in global affairs. | Weeks in the drafting, the president’s speech was meant to be a wide-ranging rebuttal to critics who say he should have done more to curb the bloodshed in Syria or stop Russia’s takeover of Crimea. But it also rejected arguments that the United States should retreat from its post-World War II centrality in global affairs. |
| Mr. Obama instead called for a middle course between isolationism and overreach, citing the international coalition the United States had mobilized to counter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine as an example of how to use American muscle “without firing a shot.” | Mr. Obama instead called for a middle course between isolationism and overreach, citing the international coalition the United States had mobilized to counter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine as an example of how to use American muscle “without firing a shot.” |
| “America must always lead on the world stage,” the president said. “But U.S. military action cannot be the only — or even primary — component of our leadership in every instance. Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.” | “America must always lead on the world stage,” the president said. “But U.S. military action cannot be the only — or even primary — component of our leadership in every instance. Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.” |
| West Point, with its 1,064 graduating cadets in full dress uniform, offered a grand backdrop for Mr. Obama’s foreign policy blueprint. But he got a subdued reception under leaden skies and chilly wind, which left family members of the cadets, many in shirt sleeves and sundresses, shivering in the stands of the football stadium. | |
| One line that did bring a burst of applause, mainly from parents, came when Mr. Obama told the graduates they might be the first class since 2001 not sent to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. It was a very different theme than in 2009, when he came here to announce the United States would send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. | One line that did bring a burst of applause, mainly from parents, came when Mr. Obama told the graduates they might be the first class since 2001 not sent to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. It was a very different theme than in 2009, when he came here to announce the United States would send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. |
| Mr. Obama presented Afghanistan as a mission all but fulfilled and described a world of threats that require a more targeted and varied American response. He also repeated a call for the United States to be more transparent about its counterterrorism operations — something on which it has made scant progress since last year. | Mr. Obama presented Afghanistan as a mission all but fulfilled and described a world of threats that require a more targeted and varied American response. He also repeated a call for the United States to be more transparent about its counterterrorism operations — something on which it has made scant progress since last year. |
| “When we cannot explain our efforts clearly and publicly, we face terrorist propaganda and international suspicion,” Mr. Obama said. “We erode legitimacy with our partners and our people; and we reduce accountability in our own government.” | “When we cannot explain our efforts clearly and publicly, we face terrorist propaganda and international suspicion,” Mr. Obama said. “We erode legitimacy with our partners and our people; and we reduce accountability in our own government.” |
| The president once again pledged to be more open about America’s secret wars, saying that drone strikes “like those we’ve carried out in Yemen and Somalia” need to be explained publicly to counter militant propaganda. He did not mention Pakistan, which for a decade has been the epicenter of America’s drone wars, but where the United States government still considers the strikes, carried out by the C.I.A., a covert action. But he reiterated a vow to transfer the drone strikes and other counterterrorism operations from the C.I.A. to the Pentagon, a pledge he made a year ago, but which has been unfulfilled because of turf fights and congressional resistance. | The president once again pledged to be more open about America’s secret wars, saying that drone strikes “like those we’ve carried out in Yemen and Somalia” need to be explained publicly to counter militant propaganda. He did not mention Pakistan, which for a decade has been the epicenter of America’s drone wars, but where the United States government still considers the strikes, carried out by the C.I.A., a covert action. But he reiterated a vow to transfer the drone strikes and other counterterrorism operations from the C.I.A. to the Pentagon, a pledge he made a year ago, but which has been unfulfilled because of turf fights and congressional resistance. |
| Mr. Obama has been deeply frustrated by the criticism of his foreign policy, which during his first term was generally perceived as his strong suit. He has lashed out at critics, whom he accuses of reflexively calling for military action as the remedy for every crisis. | Mr. Obama has been deeply frustrated by the criticism of his foreign policy, which during his first term was generally perceived as his strong suit. He has lashed out at critics, whom he accuses of reflexively calling for military action as the remedy for every crisis. |
| On a trip to Asia last month, Mr. Obama described his foreign policy credo with a baseball analogy: “You hit singles, you hit doubles; every once in a while we may be able to hit a home run.” But, he added, the overriding objective is to avoid an error on the scale of the Iraq war. | |
| In private conversations, the president has used a saltier variation of the phrase, “don’t do stupid stuff” — brushing aside as reckless those who say the United States should consider enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria or supplying arms to Ukrainian troops. | In private conversations, the president has used a saltier variation of the phrase, “don’t do stupid stuff” — brushing aside as reckless those who say the United States should consider enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria or supplying arms to Ukrainian troops. |
| At West Point, a 212-year-old institution on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, Mr. Obama struck a loftier tone, quoting Dwight D. Eisenhower on the folly of war and John F. Kennedy on the need for peace based on “a gradual evolution in human institutions.” | At West Point, a 212-year-old institution on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, Mr. Obama struck a loftier tone, quoting Dwight D. Eisenhower on the folly of war and John F. Kennedy on the need for peace based on “a gradual evolution in human institutions.” |
| Mr. Obama said the Iran nuclear negotiations and a new climate-change accord would be among his top foreign policy priorities for his final two and a half years in office, noting tartly that a deal on climate change would be a stretch “if a whole lot of our political leaders deny that it is taking place.” | |
| To make his case for the United States as the ultimate guarantor of an international order, the president drew on the example of Russia and Ukraine. Far from conceding the episode was a setback, he said American leadership in putting together an international coalition and imposing sanctions had thrown President Vladimir V. Putin on the defensive. | To make his case for the United States as the ultimate guarantor of an international order, the president drew on the example of Russia and Ukraine. Far from conceding the episode was a setback, he said American leadership in putting together an international coalition and imposing sanctions had thrown President Vladimir V. Putin on the defensive. |
| “This mobilization of world opinion and institutions served as a counterweight to Russian propaganda, Russian troops on the border and armed militias in ski masks,” Mr. Obama said. | “This mobilization of world opinion and institutions served as a counterweight to Russian propaganda, Russian troops on the border and armed militias in ski masks,” Mr. Obama said. |