"For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq," Obama said. "For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al-Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home."
Obama announced 23,000 troops in Afghanistan will come home by the end of the summer, sticking with his timetable for ending the surge on schedule, and then set out to convince lawmakers, voters -- and perhaps GOP presidential contenders -- that his policies have kept terrorists on the run and unified a once-divided global community against Iran (see GSN, Jan. 24).
"Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better," he said, directly contrasting with the hawkish rhetoric of GOP contenders to unseat him (see GSN, Oct. 7, 2011).
Indeed, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have accused Obama of “appeasement” and endangering U.S. influence by abdicating strength in rhetoric and military posture. Obama has constantly pushed back -- he recently responded to a reporter asking him about the appeasement charge with the retort: "Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-Qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement."
During his speech Tuesday evening, he again hit back at claims the U.S. has lost global influence during his term, arguing he has made good on a campaign promise of his own by reversing the legacy of the last Republican president, George W. Bush. "The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe," he said, "America is back."
Obama made only passing reference to his new defense strategy, revealed at the Pentagon a week ago, or the budget request to slash nearly $500 billion from the next decade of defense spending, something that has broad support on Capitol Hill save for the most hawkish House Republicans (see GSN, Jan. 6).
The White House said Tuesday evening in its “Blueprint for An America Built to Last,” Obama is proposing using half of the savings from ending the Iraq war and winding down Afghanistan to “rebuild America” and pay for infrastructure projects. The other half would go toward paying down the debt. It’s unclear if those savings mean the off-the-books “overseas contingency account” or the regular defense budget, but the promise of using war savings for more federal spending is sure to draw critics across the spectrum.
Coming full circle, Obama closed his speech urging Congress to overcome bitter partisan divisions and work together. He cited the May 1 capture and kill raid that netted bin Laden, saying former (George W. Bush-appointed Republican) Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his campaign opponent, were at his side in the Situation Room (see GSN, May 2, 2011).
He also pointed to the SEAL Team Six unit that took out bin Laden in the Pakistani compound.
"One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter," he said. "All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves."
