Obama Hits Back At Foreign Policy Critics

President Barack Obama has defended his foreign policy, advocating restraint before embarking on more military adventures.

The speech at West Point military academy in New York was Mr Obama's riposte to critics who accuse him of an overly cautious approach that has emboldened adversaries in Syria, Russia and China, says Sky News' Hannah Thomas-Peter, who attended.

Standing by his decision not to intervene militarily in Syria's civil war, Mr Obama said he aimed to "ramp up" US support for moderate Syrian rebels.

Some of America's more costly mistakes in recent years had stemmed from its "willingness to rush into military adventures", he said.

Mr Obama spoke during a graduation ceremony at West Point

He also laid out his argument that modern foreign policy should be rooted in diplomacy rather than intervention.

"Here's my bottom line," said Mr Obama, "America must always lead on the world stage.

"If we don't, no one else will. The military that you have joined is, and always will be, the backbone of that leadership.

Underclassmen listen from the back of the stadium as Mr Obama speaks

"But US military action cannot be the only - or even primary - component of our leadership in every instance.

"Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail."

He also defended his approach to the Ukraine crisis, of seeking to build an international consensus against Russia.

"This isn't the Cold War," he said. "Our ability to shape world opinion helped isolate Russia right away. Because of American leadership, the world immediately condemned Russian actions."

Mr Obama congratulates one of the graduates

Mr Obama said America's planned withdrawal from Afghanistan would enable it to focus on emerging threats from the Middle East to North Africa. 

He said he would ask Congress to support the establishment of a $5bn (£3bn) fund to help countries tackle extremists.

Mr Obama said that extremism remained the principal threat to the US at home and abroad.

Mr Obama also defended his approach to the Ukraine crisis

"But a strategy that involves invading every country that harbours terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable," he added.

He continued to defend his use of drone strikes in countries like Yemen and Somalia, but called for increased transparency on such covert operations.

Republicans have criticised Mr Obama's plan, announced on Tuesday, for the US to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the war there formally ends later this year.

But he said on Wednesday the US had made much headway in Afghanistan against al Qaeda, and "sustaining this progress depends on the ability of Afghans to do the job". 

Mr Obama also said he would continue to press for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, and place new restrictions on how America gathers intelligence, amid the fallout from the NSA leaks.

"I believe in American exceptionalism with every fibre of my being," said the President.

"But what makes us exceptional is not our ability to flout international norms and the rule of law."

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