03:12USA: Obama talks Cuba, Ukraine & Gitmo at State of the Union address
US President Barack Obama delivered his last ever State of the Union address in Washington DC, Tuesday, where he touched up on topics concerning current national as well as international politics.
In his address, Obama appeared to criticise the politics and policies of the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, saying "there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control ... and each time, we overcame those fears."
Obama went on to mention Cuba and the 50 years of isolation that "had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America." He went on, emphasising the need to "recognise that the Cold War is over" and lift the embargo.
The US President continued to talk about US' international role, saying on the one hand that the US "cannot try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. Even if it is done with the best of intentions. That is not leadership; that is a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us. It is the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq-and we should have learned it by now." On the other hand he added "When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we depend on."
Listing his achievements in the past year, Obama did not fail to mention that the Guantanamo Bay issue is yet to be resolved. He said “That is why I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it's expensive, it's unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies."
03:12US President Barack Obama delivered his last ever State of the Union address in Washington DC, Tuesday, where he touched up on topics concerning current national as well as international politics.
In his address, Obama appeared to criticise the politics and policies of the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, saying "there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control ... and each time, we overcame those fears."
Obama went on to mention Cuba and the 50 years of isolation that "had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America." He went on, emphasising the need to "recognise that the Cold War is over" and lift the embargo.
The US President continued to talk about US' international role, saying on the one hand that the US "cannot try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. Even if it is done with the best of intentions. That is not leadership; that is a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us. It is the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq-and we should have learned it by now." On the other hand he added "When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we depend on."
Listing his achievements in the past year, Obama did not fail to mention that the Guantanamo Bay issue is yet to be resolved. He said “That is why I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it's expensive, it's unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies."