In a major address Thursday President Barack Obama sought to reframe his counterterrorism strategy saying that “America is at a crossroads.”
“We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us, mindful of James Madison’s warning that ‘No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.’ Neither I, nor any president, can promise the total defeat of terror,” he declared in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington.
As part of that effort, the president announced more narrow parameters for the use of drones to kill terrorists overseas and limit collateral casualties and he reiterated his pledge to renew efforts to persuade Congress to agree to close the Guantanamo detention site in Cuba where 110 terrorist suspects are being held.
He said he would appoint a new envoy at the State Department and an official at the Defense Department who will attempt to negotiate transfers of Guantanamo detainees to other countries. And he said he is lifting the moratorium on some detainee transfers.
CLICK HERE for the full story and watch “The Ed Show” Saturday at 5pET on msnbc for reaction and analysis to Obama’s speech by Robert Greenwald, documentary filmmaker and the Director of the Brave New Foundation.
Steve Frank