¶ … President's Address
The counter-terrorism speech given by president Obama came with a couple of messages. His first address touched on the restrictive policy strikes using drones; of course this was not new or restrictive according to prior experience. His second focus was directed at the need to close down Guantanamo Bay detention center. The latter was also not a new stand taken by the president but it surely opposed a long standing position by the powers that be. Here are the major highlights of President Obama's speech.
Responding to the Threat: Leveraging Effective Partnerships and Targeting Terrorists
Effective response to terrorism needs a lot more than just military response and law enforcement. There is need for a concerted effort to be directed towards winning the war of ideology and the battle of will. The first item should be to complete the task of defeating the Al Qaeda forces.
Standards for Taking Lethal Action
Although we all prefer to prosecute and detain terrorists, there are times when this method is dead at the onset. The Al Qaeda forces tend to retreat to unreachable places of the planet to plan their attacks from there and control the populace and the resources. The United States has opted to apply targeted lethal force in such a scenario. The U.S. forces have also used drones in such resolve.
Oversight and Authorities
We are strong believers of the oversight role that the congress has. Since the president assumed office, the administration has been briefing committees of the house on all strikes carried out outside of Afghanistan and Iraq. We have done this including the cases that involved targeting a citizen of the U.S. named Anwar Awlaki. He was the Chief External Operations officer for the Alqaeda within the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Going Beyond Force: Assistance...
We must make such effort for both our security needs and our values. If we are to succeed on our mission, we need a concerted engagement and sufficient supply of resources.
Domestic Radicalization
The threat from within is just as bad if not worse. We must guard against terrorism from both outside and the inside. Although the threat from inside in not exactly new, technology and the widespread use of the internet have made it a lot more lethal. Its frequency has also increased.
Closing Guantanamo
The president has made tangible attempts at closing Guantanamo Bay. He transferred 67 detainees to other countries abroad but congress soon imposed sanctions to prevent the transfer of detainees or even imprisoning them inside the U.S. The president, in his speech, asked the Congress to consider lifting the restrictions and establish a site for military commissions. President Obama has also picked on new senior envoys from Defense and state departments to negotiate the possibility of transferring detainees to other countries (The White House, 2013).
Opinion on the Speech
If the president had given his speech before the one by Senator Rand Paul, he could have probably had his way. President Obama could have had an opportunity to convince the world that the most contemptible excesses in the war against terror were coming to an end. He could have possibly had his day with such agencies and organizations as the United Nations human rights advocates and investigators, international and National courts including the Peoples of the United States that his closure of Guantanamo Bay was a feat worth of honor.
Essentially, the president, far from ending…
