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Obama to give much-anticipated speech on terrorism, drones
President Barack Obama will deliver long-promised remarks Thursday on the administration's counterterrorism policy and explain the legal framework behind the use of drones against terrorist threats, according to a White House official.In his speech at the National Defense University, the president also plans to review the state of threats the country currently faces and efforts to close down Guantanamo Bay's detention facility, the official said. After facing a barrage of criticism from both parties about the administration's secretive drone policy, Obama pledged in his February State of the Union address to work with Congress on the issue to ensure "that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances." He also vowed to make the administration's efforts "more transparent to the American people and to the world." A controversial memo leaked from the Justice Department in February confirmed the Obama administration considers drone attacks legal when it entails American citizens involved with al Qaeda or one of its affiliates overseas. While the policy paper had been shown to the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees last June, it only became public earlier this year. Posted by: tipper 2013-05-19 |
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