West Point:Obama addressed the aspiring cadets.
President Barack Obama, in the presence of West Point superintendent, Lieutenant General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, addressed the graduating cadets, who eventually headed for war, that their country needs allies standing with the U.S. in Afghanistan at a time
PRESIDENT BARRACK Obama, in the presence of West Point superintendent, Lieutenant General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, addressed the graduating cadets, who eventually headed for war, that their country needs allies standing with the U.S. in Afghanistan at a time when some nations are questioning their commitment to that fight and the costs of war, on Saturday, May22.
Eight years after President George W. Bush came to the United States Military Academy to set a new course for American security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Obama used the same setting to offer a revised doctrine, one that vowed no retreat against American enemies while seeking “national renewal and global leadership.” "The burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders alone," the commander in chief said at the U.S. Military Academy, where in December he announced he was sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. As Mr. Obama took the stage on a mild, overcast day, the American war in Iraq was finally beginning to wind down as combat forces prepare to withdraw by August, but Afghanistan has flared out of control and tens of thousands of reinforcements are flowing into the theater. Terrorists have made a fresh effort to strike on American soil as a new president tries to reformulate the nation’s approach to countering them. Obama said the fight against al-Qaida, begun under President George W. Bush after the attacks of September 11, 2001, is part of an international effort that was necessary and just. "The threat will not go away soon," Obama told the nearly 1,000 cadets seated on the field at Michie Stadium on an overcast day. "But let's be clear, al-Qaida and its affiliates are small men on the wrong side of history." America, he said, has a history of not acting alone – citing World War II and the Cold War as among more recent examples. "We are the United States of America. We've repaired our union, faced down fascism and outlasted communism," he said. "We have gone through turmoil and come out stronger, and we will do so once more." Obama said that although the nature of the war in Afghanistan has changed since it was launched late in 2001, it remains as important as it was in the days after September 11.
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