Obama calls for pursuing smart strategy to wipe out terrorism

As he justified sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion a year, President Barack Obama’s description Tuesday of the al Qaeda “cancer” in that country left out one key fact: us intelligence officials have concluded there are only about 100 al Qaeda fighters in the entire country.

During the presidential campaign, Trump argued for a more aggressive approach to combating terrorism, including reintroducing torture techniques such as waterboarding for interrogations, and banning Muslims from entering the US. Yet given the relatively low-grade fever that terrorism has become, the nation is in no mood to launch a third war requiring years of fighting and thousands of American deaths. That number also includes advisers in Syria. There are 1,352 troops scheduled to depart Afghanistan by January 1, however. He reminded everyone he drew the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq to a close, bringing troop levels there to about 15,000, down from the combined 180,000 when he took office.

Under his leadership, the number of United States troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has dropped from roughly 180,000 to 15,000 today, according to deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

“For eight years, the Obama administration reluctantly played global whack-a-mole with terrorists rather than leaning into the fight with decisive leadership”, Mr. McCaul said.

The net result is a less costly counterterror campaign with fewer casualties, Rhodes said.

Of course the terrorist threat was never restricted to south Asia or to Afghanistan or Pakistan, he said.

The president received a warm welcome from the troops he’s commanded for nearly eight years. He said, explicitly, that liberties extend to American Muslims, “including many who wear the uniform”, as much as they extend to anyone.

“We need the wisdom to see that upholding our values and adhering to the rule of law is not a weakness, in the long run it is our greatest strength”, he said.

“And for all of its imperfections, we depend on that worldwide order to protect our own freedom. But any new team is going to take a look at that”.

He’ll also restate his strategy of limited deployments in Iraq and Syria, instead putting local forces on the front lines of fighting the Islamic State. “That’s what separates us from tyrants and terrorists”. “If he believes he has to use military force to keep the American people safe, he has done that”.

Before taking the stage for his speech, Obama met with top military leaders at the base, including Gen. Raymond Thomas, who heads U.S. Special Operations Command.

Obama also noted that the USA won world wars without grabbing the resources or territory of those we defeated.

Trump has called for the use of torture against terror suspects, advocated a ban on Muslim immigration and questioned the United States’ involvement in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, although he’s tweaked some of those positions after his election.

He pointed to his move to prohibit torture, including waterboarding, a tactic that Trump at one point advocated, despite having backed away from the remarks after hearing different advice from his nominee for defence secretary, James Mattis. “Alienating the Muslim population is a risky issue”.

Trump’s primary opponents charged that he had flip-flopped on the DREAM Act after he emerged as an immigration hard-liner past year.

Broadly, Obama argued that he saved American lives by not sending them into harm’s way without a clear strategy and achievable goal – and that he did it while remaining within the bounds of his presidential power.

As Intercept reporter Alex Emmons put it, “in trying to defend Obama’s legacy, the report paints a picture of an administration far more restrained than it was in practice”.

“We will build up our military not as an act of aggression, but as an act of prevention”, he said.

Obama also seemed to make a dig about the President-Elect’s upset over being ridiculed on shows like Saturday Night Live, and his fractious relationship with the press.