Obama defends counterterrorism plan before handover to Trump
TAMPA, Fla. — Closing out two terms as a president at war, Barack Obama staunchly defended his counterterrorism strategy as one that rejected torture, held to American values and avoided large-scale troop deployments, in an implicit effort to shape the strategy his successor might employ.
Obama came to MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Special Operations Command and Central Command, to give his final speech on national security. He delivered a strident argument for his reliance on drone strikes and U.S.