The president spoke of winding down the boundless, militarised war on terror that he inherited.
There would be no more "boundless global war on terror", he promised.
With its absence of safeguards, the "boundless 'global war on terror' " that Mr. Obama vowed to end threatened not only our image in the world but our democracy as well.
"We must define our effort," the president said, "not as a boundless global war on terror, but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America".
Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless "global war on terror," but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America.
"Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror,' " he said, using Mr. Bush's term, "but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America".
Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' – but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America.
7.16pm BST In a not-so-subtle dig at the George W. Bush strategy, Obama says a "boundless 'global war on terror'" is out and "a series of persistent, targeted efforts" is in: Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' – but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America.
Twelve years later, speaking at the National Defense University, President Obama proposed a rhetorical exit: "We must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' but, rather, as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists".
