National Security

Today, we are again called to provide visionary leadership. This century's threats are at least as dangerous as, and in some ways more complex than, those we have confronted in the past. They come from weapons that can kill on a mass scale and from violent extremists who exploit alienation and perceived injustice to spread terror. They come from rogue states allied to terrorists and from rising powers that could challenge both America and the international foundation of liberal democracy. They come from weak states that cannot control their territory or provide for their people. They come from an addiction to oil that helps fund the extremism we must fight and empowers repressive regimes. And they come from a warming planet that will spur new diseases, spawn more devastating natural disasters, and catalyze deadly conflicts.

We will confront these threats head on while working with our allies and restoring our standing in the world. We will pursue a tough, smart, and principled national security strategy. It is a strategy that will end the war in Iraq responsibly and focus our efforts on the terrorists who did strike us. It is a strategy that recognizes that we have interests not just in Baghdad, but in Kandahar and Karachi, in Beijing, Berlin, Brasilia and Bamako. It is a strategy that contends with the many disparate forces shaping this century, including: the fundamentalist challenge to freedom; the emergence of new powers like China, India, Russia, and a united Europe; the spread of lethal weapons; uncertain supplies of energy, food, and water; the persistence of poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor; and extraordinary new technologies that send people, ideas, and money across the globe at ever faster speeds.

The Latest »

President Obama's Remarks from Cairo

June 4, 2009 - President Obama delivered a major speech in Cairo this morning, where he proposed a new beginning for the United States and Muslims around the world, based upon a sustained effort to listen, learn and respect one another.
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President Signs Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act

May 22, 2009 - President Obama signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act this morning at a bill signing in the Rose Garden.
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President Obama’s National Security Speech at the National Archive

May 21, 2009 - President Obama gave a major national security speech at the National Archives this morning where he provided the broad context in which his Administration makes national security decisions.
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Senate Confirmation Hearings: Hillary Clinton

January 13, 2009 - Senator Hillary Clinton is speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee right now as part of her confirmation hearings for Secretary of State.
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Gen. Eric Shinseki Named VA Secretary-Designate

December 8, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama named General Eric Shinseki (ret.) to the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
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Another Former Republican Senator for Obama

October 28, 2008 - In an op-ed printed in the Washington Post this morning, former Maryland Senator Charles Mathias (R) endorsed Senator Barack Obama. Mathias served in the House of Representatives from 1961 until 1969 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1987.
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McCain Claims He Hasn't Flipped on Anything from 2000

October 23, 2008 - John McCain told the local CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. that ''I'm the same guy'' from 2000, claiming that he hasn't flipped on any issue since his last run for the presidency.
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White House Endorsed CIA Tactics in Memos

October 15, 2008 - The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects -- documents prompted by worries among intelligence officials about a possible backlash if details of the program became public.
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Count the Lies #106: McCain's Afghanistan Ad Distorts the Record

October 5, 2008 - The Democratic National Committee today updated the Count the Lies counter after FactCheck.org said John McCain's latest campaign ad distorted Barack Obama's words and votes. The ad 'recycles a misleading, 14-month-old charge that Sen. Barack Obama disrespected U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan' and 'misrepresents' his votes.
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Fmr. U.S. Amb. to Pakistan Disputes McCain's ''Failed State'' Claim

October 1, 2008 - At the first Presidential debate last Friday, John McCain claimed Pakistan was a 'failed state' at the time of the coup that swept General Pervez Musharraf into power. William Milan, the former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the coup disputed that claim in an e-mail to Matthew Yglesias.
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