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| WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to use a speech at the West Point military academy on Wednesday to lay out a foreign policy vision for his final two-and-a-half years in office, defending his approach against a wave of criticism that he has been too passive on the world stage. | WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to use a speech at the West Point military academy on Wednesday to lay out a foreign policy vision for his final two-and-a-half years in office, defending his approach against a wave of criticism that he has been too passive on the world stage. |
| A day after Mr. Obama outlined plans to pull troops out of Afghanistan before the end of his presidency, he will argue that he is steering the United States away from what he considers the overreach of his predecessor without sacrificing American leadership in the world. | A day after Mr. Obama outlined plans to pull troops out of Afghanistan before the end of his presidency, he will argue that he is steering the United States away from what he considers the overreach of his predecessor without sacrificing American leadership in the world. |
| As part of the transition out of Afghanistan, Mr. Obama will announce on Wednesday a request to Congress for a new $5 billion fund to train, equip and otherwise help nations in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia fight terrorism on their own, aides said. It was unclear how much of that would be money on top of other counterterrorism programs or a shift from current activities. | |
| The commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point comes at a time when Mr. Obama has been increasingly under fire from many foreign policy specialists for his handling of issues like the civil war in Syria, the political crisis in Ukraine and the struggle against terrorism. Critics have complained that Mr. Obama has not exerted enough leadership in a world they see as still dangerous more than a dozen years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. | The commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point comes at a time when Mr. Obama has been increasingly under fire from many foreign policy specialists for his handling of issues like the civil war in Syria, the political crisis in Ukraine and the struggle against terrorism. Critics have complained that Mr. Obama has not exerted enough leadership in a world they see as still dangerous more than a dozen years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. |
| Mr. Obama has expressed frustration with such assertions, contending that his critics seem intent on using military power to solve problems despite the enormous costs in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade. At a time when Americans seem weary of overseas intervention, Mr. Obama maintains that the country can still play a vital role in international affairs without resorting to unilateral force or retreating to isolationism, an argument he plans to make at the academy. | Mr. Obama has expressed frustration with such assertions, contending that his critics seem intent on using military power to solve problems despite the enormous costs in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade. At a time when Americans seem weary of overseas intervention, Mr. Obama maintains that the country can still play a vital role in international affairs without resorting to unilateral force or retreating to isolationism, an argument he plans to make at the academy. |
| “I’ll travel to West Point and speak to America’s newest class of military officers to discuss how Afghanistan fits into our broader strategy going forward,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday as he announced his withdrawal plan. “And I’m confident that if we carry out this approach, we cannot only responsibly end our war in Afghanistan and achieve the objectives that took us to war in the first place, we’ll also be able to begin a new chapter in the story of American leadership around the world.” | “I’ll travel to West Point and speak to America’s newest class of military officers to discuss how Afghanistan fits into our broader strategy going forward,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday as he announced his withdrawal plan. “And I’m confident that if we carry out this approach, we cannot only responsibly end our war in Afghanistan and achieve the objectives that took us to war in the first place, we’ll also be able to begin a new chapter in the story of American leadership around the world.” |
| The plan Mr. Obama announced on Tuesday will leave 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the end of this year when he says the American combat mission will end. After a more limited role of training Afghan troops and conducting targeted counterterrorism missions, the American force will be cut by roughly half by the end of 2015. By the end of the following year, as Mr. Obama prepares to leave office, all troops will be withdrawn except for a force to guard the American embassy. | The plan Mr. Obama announced on Tuesday will leave 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the end of this year when he says the American combat mission will end. After a more limited role of training Afghan troops and conducting targeted counterterrorism missions, the American force will be cut by roughly half by the end of 2015. By the end of the following year, as Mr. Obama prepares to leave office, all troops will be withdrawn except for a force to guard the American embassy. |
| The plan will allow Mr. Obama to claim that he ended the American wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, drawing to a close an era that began with the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics complain that he has all but abandoned Iraq to terrorist forces that have surged there since American troops pulled out at the end of 2011 and that his plan may have the same result in Afghanistan. | The plan will allow Mr. Obama to claim that he ended the American wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, drawing to a close an era that began with the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics complain that he has all but abandoned Iraq to terrorist forces that have surged there since American troops pulled out at the end of 2011 and that his plan may have the same result in Afghanistan. |
| Mr. Obama lashed out at critics during a recent trip in Asia, defining his foreign policy as trying to hit singles and doubles rather than swinging for the fences and decrying the calls to use American power to resolve global issues. “Why is it that everyone is so eager to use military force after we’ve just gone through a decade of war at enormous costs to our troops and to our budget?” he asked. “And what is it exactly that these critics think would have been accomplished?” | Mr. Obama lashed out at critics during a recent trip in Asia, defining his foreign policy as trying to hit singles and doubles rather than swinging for the fences and decrying the calls to use American power to resolve global issues. “Why is it that everyone is so eager to use military force after we’ve just gone through a decade of war at enormous costs to our troops and to our budget?” he asked. “And what is it exactly that these critics think would have been accomplished?” |
| The West Point speech comes just days before Mr. Obama heads overseas again, this time to Europe where his international leadership will be tested as he tries to pressure Russia to stop disrupting a new pro-European government in neighboring Ukraine. He will leaveWashington on Monday night headed for Warsaw, where he will reassure Poles and other Eastern Europeans that the United States will stand by its NATO allies against any potential Russian aggression. | The West Point speech comes just days before Mr. Obama heads overseas again, this time to Europe where his international leadership will be tested as he tries to pressure Russia to stop disrupting a new pro-European government in neighboring Ukraine. He will leaveWashington on Monday night headed for Warsaw, where he will reassure Poles and other Eastern Europeans that the United States will stand by its NATO allies against any potential Russian aggression. |
| From there, he will head to Brussels to meet with other leaders of the major industrial powers known as the Group of 7 for its first annual summit meeting since suspending Russia, which was to have host the gathering. Mr. Obama has strained to coordinate the American response to Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine with European allies who have been more reluctant to take action that could jeopardize their economic ties with Russia. | From there, he will head to Brussels to meet with other leaders of the major industrial powers known as the Group of 7 for its first annual summit meeting since suspending Russia, which was to have host the gathering. Mr. Obama has strained to coordinate the American response to Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine with European allies who have been more reluctant to take action that could jeopardize their economic ties with Russia. |
| Mr. Obama will end his trip in Normandy, France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which turned the tide in World War II. That may be the most awkward stop because among the leaders planning to attend is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. | Mr. Obama will end his trip in Normandy, France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which turned the tide in World War II. That may be the most awkward stop because among the leaders planning to attend is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. |