Obama: ’America is at a crossroads’ in terror fight
NBC News: In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, President Barack Obama sought to reframe the nation’s counterterrorism strategy.
Obama outlined new guidelines for the use of drones to kill terrorists overseas and pledged a renewed effort to close the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay.
In the speech, Obama argued that, “In the years to come, not every collection of thugs that labels themselves al-Qaida will pose a credible threat to the United States.” He warned that “unless we discipline our thinking and our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we don’t need to fight.”
He also announced he is lifting the moratorium he imposed in 2010 on transferring some detainees at Guantanamo Bay to Yemen.
When discussing Guantanamo detainees, Obama was repeatedly interrupted by a co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink.
Photo: President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)
POW Week at the Nixon Library
A sheriff-led motorcade will escort Vietnam POWs to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California at 12:30PM PT. Their arrival at the Library coincides with the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s POW homecoming dinner at the White House.
An All-American Homecoming is a new exhibit at the Nixon Library about the POWs visit to the White House. The event occurred on May 24, 1973, and it remains the largest dinner ever held at the White House. This week, the Nixon Foundation is hosting a series of events to celebrate the POWs.
Tomorrow evening, on the anniversary of the original White House homecoming, the Foundation will hold a reunion dinner for the POWs in the Nixon Library’s “East Room.” The original menu will be recreated, including American comfort foods like sirloin steak and potatoes.
Learn more about POW Week at the Nixon Library through the Nixon Foundation.Photo: Entertainers sing “God Bless America” to the returned POW troops at the White House. From L-R: Phyllis Diller, Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley, actress Joey Heatherton, President Nixon, Songwriter Irving Berlin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pat Nixon and Comedian Bob Hope. 5/24/73.
Today I voted against a Republican plan that would have raised interest payments on student loans by thousands of dollars. However, we won’t prevent students from being saddled with debt until we address the actual cost of tuition. Lower the principal and you make every type of loan more affordable.
