President Obama

President Obama hailed the nation's fallen service members in a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, in which he noted that the war in Afghanistan was winding down but not over. "Fewer Americans are making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, and that's progress for which we are profoundly grateful," Obama said Monday. "And this time next year, we will mark the final Memorial Day of our war in Afghanistan. "But even as we turn the page on a decade of conflict, even as we look forward, let us never forget, as we gather here today, that our nation is still at war. " As of Friday , 2,093 U.S. troops had died in more than a decade of war in Afghanistan, according to Pentagon figures.

President Obama's speech last week on the future course of America's 11-year-old war against Al Qaeda was long overdue. Never before has he offered the public such a detailed explanation of his anti-terrorism strategy. In part, that's surely because so much of it was officially secret - but also because the public hasn't demanded a position more nuanced than "tough on terrorism. " The president did three big things in his speech Thursday at the National Defense University in Washington.

On May 19, President Obama gave a commencement address at Morehouse College , a predominantly black men's college in Atlanta. His words and message were forceful, timely and uniquely befitting the first African American president. The president said what few others could say and still be considered politically acceptable. He debunked the notions of victimization and impotence so pervasive in talk about race, religion and ethnicity today, and encouraged the young black grads to "strive to do what's right … [to]

MOORE, Okla. - They filled the sanctuary after one of the worst weeks they had ever known. The tornado that tore through the Oklahoma City area killed two dozen people, including 10 children. It destroyed homes. It wiped away mementos. It upended lives. But the crowd hadn't come on this Sunday evening to dwell. They wanted to push forward, to reclaim what they could and to rebuild what they couldn't. They were here to pray for the strength to persevere. PHOTOS: Oklahoma tornado "We choose not to walk as victims, Lord," Dennis Jernigan, the worship leader, prayed at First Baptist Church in Moore.

President Obama visited Moore, Okla., on Sunday to view the devastation left by last week's vast tornado and to reassure the community of sustained support from the federal government on its cleanup and rebuilding. "Oklahomans have inspired us with their love, their courage and their fellowship," Obama said, surrounded by state and federal officials and tornado survivors clustered in front of high mounds of debris. "This is a strong community with strong character. There's no doubt they will bounce back.

WASHINGTON - The White House decided to release internal emails about the deadly attack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya - but only after summaries of the exchanges had leaked. The president's spokesman disclosed details of closed-door discussions about a report that found the IRS targeted conservative groups - but did so in a drip-drip-drip fashion that only raised more questions. And in a speech meant to expose the top-secret drone program to public examination, President Obama shrouded key details, such as whether the CIA would still use drones.

At times defensive, solemn, lawyerly and personal, President Obama on Thursday offered a rare glimpse of the burden that the nation's fight against terrorism has placed on the man who leads it. In a speech spanning nearly an hour, the former constitutional law professor addressed what is likely to be a central piece of his legacy, weighing what is "effective" and "legal" in warfare against what is "wise or moral. " Obama acknowledged that drone strikes he has ordered have killed innocent people.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Obama's commitment to scaling back the use of unmanned aircraft to kill suspected terrorists could pave the way for improved relations between the United States and Pakistan, analysts and political leaders said Friday. But the Pakistani government maintained its insistence that the drone campaign does more harm than good and should be shut down. Obama's decision to continue using targeted killings abroad while imposing restrictions that could significantly reduce the frequency of drone strikes comes at a particularly sensitive time for Islamabad as it prepares for a new civilian government led by Nawaz Sharif, who served as prime minister in the 1990s.

WASHINGTON - President Obama took pains to place the new restrictions on targeted killings he announced Thursday into the context of a broad reappraisal of the nation's anti-terrorism effort. Drones are not "a cure-all for terrorism," he said in his speech at the National Defense University. They are not always "wise or moral," he said. "All wars must end. " But a large measure of expediency helped push those principles along, former U.S. officials and analysts say. The five-year surge in missile strikes that Obama authorized after inheriting the program from President George W. Bush already has accomplished most of what it could, the analysts say. "We're running out of viable targets," said Mark Lowenthal, a former CIA assistant director for analysis.