President Barack Obama deliverers the commencement address to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point's Class of 2014, in West Point, N.Y., Wednesday, May 28, 2014. In a broad defense of his foreign policy, the president declared that the U.S. remains the world's most indispensable nation, even after a "long season of war," but argued for restraint before embarking on more military adventures. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
May 28, 2014 - 7:34 AM
WEST POINT, N.Y. - President Obama says he will continue to "take direct action" by ordering drone strikes and capture operations against terror suspects "when necessary to protect ourselves."
In a speech outlining a new foreign policy framework stressing co-operation with allies, the president said there still would be times when the U.S. must go it alone. He restated a policy he disclosed last May, however, that no drone strike should occur unless there is "a near certainty" that no civilians will be harmed.
That policy has contributed to a reduction in U.S. drone attacks and claims of civilian deaths. The CIA has acknowledged to Congress, though, that a child — the brother of a targeted militant — was killed in a drone strike in Yemen last June.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014