Obama: U.S. must not rush into foreign wars

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday his government would not rush into foreign wars but would take unilateral action when “core national security interests demand it.”
In the foreign policy speech at West Point, Obama also reaffirmed his decision not to put U.S. troops in the middle of the Syrian civil war between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels seeking to end his reign.
Obama said there were no easy solutions in the war-torn country but vowed to ramp up support for the Syrian opposition as an alternative to Assad and extremist groups operating in there.

He said he would work with the U.S. Congress to boost support for members of the Syrian opposition and urged it to support a $5 billion counterterrorism fund that would help support Syria’s neighbors: Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

During his speech at the U.S. Military Academy, Obama stressed that the most direct threat facing the U.S. and world was terrorism, particularly from “decentralized Al-Qaeda affiliates” and extremists.

He declared that the U.S. remains the world's most indispensable nation, even after a "long season of war," but argued for restraint before embarking on more military adventures.
Although stressing restraint, he said the United States would continue to use military force unilaterally when “core national security interests demand it.”

Obama said he would continue to "take direct action" by ordering drone strikes and capture operations against suspected terrorists "when necessary to protect ourselves."
Referring to the recent case of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria, Obama said no security operation could eradicate the threat of Boko Haram and that the focus should be on rescuing the schoolgirls.

Turning to Iran’s suspect nuclear program, Obama said the odds of success for nuclear agreement with Tehran are still long but that there was a very real chance of a “breakthrough.”

Last Update: Wednesday, 28 May 2014 KSA 18:45 - GMT 15:45 

[english.alarabiya.net]

28/5/14

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