Obama Wants an End to War
Published:23 May 2013 By Abiodun Giwa
In a speech at the National Defense University in Fort McNair on Thursday, President Obama sought re-appraisal of counter-terrorism to allow the rule of law that defines the country. Toward this end, the president made strenuous effort to convince Americans that the danger of terrorism today is lesser compared to its level before the country's wars that have almost decimated the terror networks. He said the country no longer need to be in perpetual warfare and that it is time to turn attention to the development of the country.
"So America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us. We have to be mindful of James Madison's warning that no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual war. Neither I nor any president can promise the total defeat of terror. We will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some humanbeings nor stamp out every danger to our open society."
Believing that the dangers are no longer as in the past, the president says he looks forward to engaging the Congress and the American people, in efforts to refine and ultimately repeal the Authorization to Use Military Force, AUMF, enacted three days after the 11 September 2001 attack.
Aside from the AUMF, President Obama wanted the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center closed and the detainees there tried in conventional courts. As the country winds down on combat and the soldiers returning home, minimized and careful application of the drone, collaboration with foreign partners in intelligence and the conversion of massive fund for combat to foreign assistance, the president said, will be enough to check current operational level of terror networks.
“This war, like all wars, must end,” the president declared, narrating the huge cost of keeping the Guantanamo Detention Center at a time the country is cutting investment in education and research at home.
Notable members of the Republican Party were quick to express opposition to the president's assertion that Al Qaida was on the run and that its network no longer poses the level of threat that warranted AUMF. Some Republican Party members rule out repealing the AUMF, but are accommodating to its refinement.
Observers say the president's argument for the closure of Guantanamo Center represents a good sell, unlike the AUMF that the president will have to contend with opposition from the Republicans and some Democrats, in view of recent and continuous cases of terror around the world.
"So America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us. We have to be mindful of James Madison's warning that no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual war. Neither I nor any president can promise the total defeat of terror. We will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some humanbeings nor stamp out every danger to our open society."
Believing that the dangers are no longer as in the past, the president says he looks forward to engaging the Congress and the American people, in efforts to refine and ultimately repeal the Authorization to Use Military Force, AUMF, enacted three days after the 11 September 2001 attack.
Aside from the AUMF, President Obama wanted the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center closed and the detainees there tried in conventional courts. As the country winds down on combat and the soldiers returning home, minimized and careful application of the drone, collaboration with foreign partners in intelligence and the conversion of massive fund for combat to foreign assistance, the president said, will be enough to check current operational level of terror networks.
“This war, like all wars, must end,” the president declared, narrating the huge cost of keeping the Guantanamo Detention Center at a time the country is cutting investment in education and research at home.
Notable members of the Republican Party were quick to express opposition to the president's assertion that Al Qaida was on the run and that its network no longer poses the level of threat that warranted AUMF. Some Republican Party members rule out repealing the AUMF, but are accommodating to its refinement.
Observers say the president's argument for the closure of Guantanamo Center represents a good sell, unlike the AUMF that the president will have to contend with opposition from the Republicans and some Democrats, in view of recent and continuous cases of terror around the world.
