OBAMA’S VISION OF US MILITARY LEADERSHIP: OUR FOREIGN POLICIES

Reflect on those who’ve sacrificed so much for our freedom

Click for Text of Obama’s Speech

WARS ENDING = Iraq or Afghanistan

2009 = USA had 100,000 troops in Iraq + Surge in Afghanistan + Counterterrorism focused on AQ’s core leadership + Long climb out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

2014 = Iraq War is over + Winding down Afghanistan + AQ’s leadership decimated + OBL is no more + A growing economy

America has rarely been stronger relative to the rest of the world. = Our military has no peer. Odds of a direct threat against us by any nation are low. + Our economy remains the most dynamic on Earth = Most innovative. + US grows more energy independent.

We are the hub of alliances with EU and Asia = unrivaled in the history of nations. =
America – the world looks to for help = US remains the one indispensable nation.

Technology and globalization has put power once reserved for states in the hands of individuals, raising the capacity to do harm.
BRIC Nations Rising middle classes compete with us
Developing nations embrace democracy and market economies
Media = Impossible to ignore the sectarian conflicts + failing states + popular uprisings

US task to respond to this new world but how we America lead to secure our peace and prosperity but also extend peace and prosperity around the globe.

George Washington warned against foreign entanglements that do not touch directly on our security or economic well-being.

Costly wars and continuing challenges here at home = Americans want NATION BUILDING AT HOME

Interventionists warn we ignore conflicts at our own peril = America must apply force around the world. = America’s failure to act invites escalating aggression in the future.

American ignoring what happens beyond our borders is Not an option.

Civil wars with AQ Contractors = Regional aggression ultimately impacts our allies = Could draw in our military + Our abiding self-interest + A world of greater freedom and tolerance helps keep us safe.

Pursuing peace and freedom beyond our borders = NOT every problem has a military solution = Often Costly Mistakes with MIDDLE CLASS PAYING THE TAB and the POOR suffering OUR losses. = Over-willingness to rush into military adventures without thinking through the consequences + Without building international support and legitimacy for our action + Without leveling with the American people.

General Eisenhower said in 1947, “War is mankind’s most tragic and stupid folly; to seek or advise its deliberate provocation is a black crime against all men.”

Haunted by deaths and wounded = We cannot sent our troops into harm’s way simply because of a problem somewhere in the world that needed to be fixed or worried about critics who think military intervention is the only way.

Vision of US Military Leadership: America must always lead on the world stage (no one else will) = Military is the backbone of that leadership. While US military may be the “best hammer” but many problems are NOT NAILS. = Military action = HIGH COSTS require clear justification for the use of that awesome power.

Vision of US Military Leadership: The US will use military force, unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it — when our people are threatened; when our livelihoods are at stake; when the security of our allies is in danger. = That covers a LOT! = Ask tough questions about whether our actions are proportional and effective and just. International opinion matters + But America should never ask permission to protect our people, our homeland or our way of life.

Vision of US Military Leadership: When issues of global concern, that stir our conscience or push the world in a more dangerous direction, do not pose a direct threat to the US, then the threshold for military action must be higher. US should not go it alone, but instead mobilize allies and partners to take collective action.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Broaden our tools to include diplomacy and development, sanctions and isolation, appeals to international law, and, if just, necessary and effective, multilateral military action. = Work with others in collective action in these circumstances to better succeed and reduce costly mistakes.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Fortunately Terrorism is one of the rarest forms of dangers to Americans and preventing it MUST not involve invading other countries = Costly + Naive + Unsustainable. = Instead US must be a more effectively partner with countries where terrorist networks seek a foothold.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Recognize a centralized AQ is NO LONGER A THREAT but well funded floating AQ Contractors that go wherever the money agenda flows. = Heightens the danger of US personnel overseas being attacked, as we saw in Benghazi. = Danger to less defensible targets like Nairobi. = So 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 stir up local resentments or COST OUR MIDDLE CLASS $TRILLIONS.

Vision of US Military Leadership: We need empowered partners to fight alongside us – Like Afghanistan is now. = Calling on Congress to support a new counterterrorism partnerships fund of up to $5 billion to train, build capacity and facilitate partner countries on the front lines.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Resources to increase our flexibility to fulfill different missions, including training security forces + supporting a multinational force + working with European allies to train a functioning security force + Border patrols.

Vision of US Military Leadership: In Syria there are no easy answers = No American military solution can eliminate the terrible suffering in this sectarian civil war BUT US should help the suffering Syrian people survive and prosper and stop AQ Contractors from taking Control of the country for ONE GROUP over another. Help Jordan and Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq take care of the many refugees and negotiate and END TO THE WAR. = Coordinate with our friends and allies in Europe and the Arab World to push for a political resolution of this crisis. = Those countries (not just US) contribute their fair share of support to the Syrian people.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Partnerships do not eliminate the need to take direct action when necessary to protect ourselves especially when we have actionable intelligence. That means taking strikes only when we face a continuing, imminent threat, and only with near certainty of no civilian casualties = US actions should meet a simple test: We must not create more enemies than we take off the battlefield.

Vision of US Military Leadership: War Profiteers Pay = NOT MIDDLE CLASS PAYING FOR WARS OF CHOICE!

Vision of US Military Leadership: US must be more transparent about both the basis of our counterterrorism actions and the manner in which they are carried out. We have to be able to explain them publicly, whether it is drone strikes or training partners. Increasingly our military must take the lead and provide information to the public about our efforts. = We must explain our efforts clearly and publicly to keep legitimacy with our partners and our people, and increase accountability in our own government.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Transparency in our effort to strengthen and enforce international order – keep the peace and support human progress = NATO + UN + World Bank + IMF = A force multiplier and increase restraint among other nations. = Must Change for a peace based upon today’s demands with a gradual evolution in these institutions. = Use more effective multilateral actions.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Our ability to shape world opinion (Media) and use international institutions to apply pressure (Sanctions) helps America gain control and enforce International Order. = NATO + IMF help stabilize countries and economies and institute Democracy + Standing with our allies on behalf of international order. + Increase World Safety with reduced WMDs.

Vision of US Military Leadership: NATO is the strongest alliance the world has ever known + Meets new missions beyond Europe’s borders + NATO allies pull their weight

Vision of US Military Leadership: UN is a platform to keep peace in states torn apart by conflict = Provide trained and equipped peacekeepers to prevent loss of life. = Deepen our investment in countries that support these peacekeeping missions because having other nations maintain order in their own neighborhoods lessens the need for us to put our own troops in harm’s way. It’s a smart investment. It’s the right way to lead.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Secure our networks and join global effort to prevent further climate change. American influence is always stronger when we lead by example. We cannot exempt ourselves from the rules that apply to everyone else. + Show our willingness to work within international norms and the rule of law + Close Gitmo costing $2.7 Million / prisoner/year = End Indefinite detention + New restrictions on how America collects and uses intelligence of our ordinary citizens. = Protect Our 237 Year Old Freedoms.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Our willingness to act on behalf of human dignity.
America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism; it is a matter of national security. Democracies are our closest friends and are far less likely to go to war. Economies based on free and open markets perform better and become markets for our goods. Respect for human rights is an antidote to instability and the grievances that fuel violence and terror.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Tyranny including, unfortunately, some of America’s partners = crackdown on civil society + Cancer of corruption enriches cronies and enraged citizens + Violent upheavals = But more people live under elected governments today than at any time in human history. Technology is empowering civil society and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. + Rejection of an authoritarian order and replaced by a long-term prospect of more responsive and effective governance.

Vision of US Military Leadership: US supports reform and badly needed national reconciliation through assistance and investment, through coaxing and, at times, public criticism. Change does not happen overnight. That’s why we form alliances with governments and to empower ordinary people. = Strengthened striving entrepreneurs + Educational exchange and opportunity for all people and women and girls.

Vision of US Military Leadership: Requires us to see the world as it is, with all its danger and uncertainty = Pepared for every contingency + Leadership requires us to see the world as it should be — a place where the aspirations of individual human beings really matters, where hopes and not just fears govern; where the truths written into our founding documents can steer the currents of history in the direction of justice.