Speaking today at the West Point commencement speech, President Obama put forward his foreign policy vision, which he described as “might doing right,” declaring that “I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.”
Obama went on to insist that America is exceptional because of its “true leadership” position, and its constant intervention across the world to “affirm” international norms.
He went on to claim that the only people who would dare to question America’s unrivaled might on the world stage are engaging in “partisan politics,” and that large-scale 9/11-style attacks are less likely now because of America’s global power.
The only specific policy he seemed to touch on at any great length was his desire to close Guantanamo Bay, saying America’s “legal traditions don’t permit the indefinite detention of people beyond our borders.” Increasingly, his administration has pushed to bring the detainees to some sort of site inside the US, so they could carry out the open-ended detention without trial within the borders.
