Posted on 05/29/2014 3:35:11 PM PDT by nickcarraway
US President Barack Obama stressed multilateralism over militarism in what was billed as a major foreign policy address an a rebuttal to an ever-louder chorus of criticism, mostly by Republicans and neo-conservatives, that his tenure has been marked by weakness and retreat.
Speaking on Wednesday at the graduation ceremonies of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York - the same forum at which his predecessor, George W Bush, set forth his doctrine of military pre-emption nine months before invading Iraq - Obama insisted that the United States remains the world's "indispensable nation" but emphasized that military force should be used only under very limited circumstances.
"Here's my bottom line," he told the cadets, some of whom may soon be deployed to Afghanistan from which Obama announced on Tuesday he intends to withdraw all US combat troops by the end of 2016. "America must always lead on the world stage. If we don't, no one else will. The military that you have joined is, and always will be, the backbone of that leadership.
"But US 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," he declared.
"... I would betray my duty to you, and to the country we love, if I sent you into harm's way simply because I saw a problem somewhere in the world that needed fixing, or because I was worried about critics who think military intervention is the only way for America to avoid looking weak," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
My reaction to what this bumbling weak degenerate said: “Wha???????????”
His bottom line? A goatsie????
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