In a major address on national security and counterterrorism at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Thursday, President Barack Obama declared that America is at a crossroads and “this is the moment to ask ourselves hard questions — about the nature of today’s threats and how we should confront them.” He said that after the elimination of Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking leaders, al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat and its regional affiliates — in places like Iraq, Yemen, and North Africa — pose regional threats to U.S. interests abroad, not direct threats to the U.S….

On New Year’s Eve, President Barack Obama signed the $662 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which funds the Defense Department and other national security programs. The bill had became the focus of fierce debate over the past few months after Congress included provisions that mandated that suspected terrorist be detained and adjudicated by the military (see this month’s issue of International Debates). Critics of the bill argued that the language would grant the military the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens accused of terrorism, while supporters countered that it merely streamlined and codified existing policies. Although Obama had originally threatened…